Bottom of the 33rd
Hope and Redemption in Baseball's Longest Game
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Narrated by:
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Dan Barry
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By:
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Dan Barry
About this listen
On April 18, 1981, a ball game sprang eternal. What began as a modestly attended minor-league game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings became not only the longest ever played in baseball history, but something else entirely. The first pitch was thrown after dusk on Holy Saturday, and for the next eight hours, the night seemed to suspend its participants between their collective pasts and futures, between their collective sorrows and joys - the ballplayers; the umpires; Pawtucket's ejected manager, peering through a hole in the backstop; the sportswriters and broadcasters; a few stalwart fans shivering in the cold.
With Bottom of the 33rd, celebrated New York Times journalist Dan Barry has written a lyrical meditation on small-town lives, minor-league dreams, and the elements of time and community that conspired one fateful night to produce a baseball game seemingly without end. Bottom of the 33rd captures the sport's essence: the purity of purpose, the crazy adherence to rules, the commitment of both players and fans.
This genre-bending book, a reportorial triumph, portrays the myriad lives held in the night's unrelenting grip. Consider, for instance, the team owner determined to revivify a decrepit stadium, built atop a swampy bog, or the batboy approaching manhood, nervous and earnest, or the umpire with a new family and a new home, or the wives watching or waiting up, listening to a radio broadcast slip into giddy exhaustion. Consider the small city of Pawtucket itself, its ghosts and relics, and the players, two destined for the Hall of Fame (Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs), a few to play only briefly or forgettably in the big leagues, and the many stuck in minor-league purgatory, duty bound and loyal to the game.
An unforgettable portrait of ambition and endurance, Bottom of the 33rd is the rare sports book that changes the way we perceive America's pastime, and America's past.
©2011 Dan Barry (P)2011 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to become the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There, sporting long hair, and warming up to "Jesus Christ Superstar", the Ironmen would play a dramatic game that would change their lives forever.
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Outstanding.
- By Cartman18 on 08-02-13
By: Chris Ballard
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The Chicago Cubs
- Story of a Curse
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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For Rich Cohen and millions of other fans, the Chicago Cubs have always been more than a team: they've been the protagonists of a King Arthur epic, in search of the Holy Grail that is winning the World Series. A chronicle of the last few miraculous seasons as experienced through the prism of Cubs history, The Chicago Cubs tracks the famous curse, which was placed on the team in 1945 by the infamous owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, who was ejected from Wrigley Field when he tried to bring his goat into the grandstand for the fifth game of the World Series.
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just listen and it all happens again
- By Z. Kuhn on 10-28-17
By: Rich Cohen
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The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
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Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
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The Boys of Summer
- The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What's Happened to Everybody Since
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a story about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a story by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is the story about what happened to the team when their glory days were behind them.
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Classic book!
- By Christopher Arthur on 11-19-17
By: Roger Kahn
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The Bad Guys Won
- A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform - and Maybe the Best
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Jeff Pearlman
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin's left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake-hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox.
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Maybe 3.5
- By Lifeisshort on 02-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
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Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
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Ty Cobb
- A Terrible Beauty
- By: Charles Leerhsen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote.
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Two Cobb Books, One Review of a Maligned Legacy
- By Jonathan Love on 05-17-16
By: Charles Leerhsen
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The Last Folk Hero
- The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.
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If you are a sports fan and over 35 years old, you have to listen/read this. Awesome!
- By betty sammons on 06-29-23
By: Jeff Pearlman
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The Last Best League, 10th Anniversary Edition
- One Summer, One Season, One Dream
- By: Jim Collins
- Narrated by: Jim Collins
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, the finest college baseball players in the country gather in hopes of making it to "The Show." The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players. Over the last decade, baseball's hard truths became evident for the Chatham stars who went on to play professionally, and the final chapter of their story can now be written.
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Jim Collins: Great American Storyteller
- By M. Leavell on 07-01-14
By: Jim Collins
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Molina
- The Story of the Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty
- By: Bengie Molina, Joan Ryan
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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A baseball rules book. A tape measure. A lottery ticket. These were in the pocket of Bengie Molina's father when he died of a heart attack on the rutted Little League field in his Puerto Rican barrio. The items serve as thematic guideposts in Molina's beautiful memoir about his father, who, through baseball, taught his three sons about loyalty, humility, courage, and the true meaning of success.
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A book about life
- By P. Griswold on 06-11-15
By: Bengie Molina, and others
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Game Six
- Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime
- By: Mark Frost
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Mark Frost takes listeners back to the 1975 World Series in this thrilling account of the greatest baseball game ever played. The Reds and Red Sox endured three soggy days of inactivity to reach game six. But all that downtime could not prepare them for what happened when the skies finally cleared.
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For the love of Baseball
- By Al on 03-23-10
By: Mark Frost
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Bums
- An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- By: Peter Golenbock
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Before the team headed to Los Angeles in 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the most colorful and beloved teams in baseball. In Bums, best-selling author Peter Golenbock has compiled a fascinating oral history of the Ebbets Field heroes with recollections from former players, writers, front-office executives, and faithful fans.
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A MUST for the true Dodgers or Giants fan!!
- By Karen on 02-25-07
By: Peter Golenbock
What listeners say about Bottom of the 33rd
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Howard S.
- 08-12-12
Pawtucket
This is a very interesting book not only for baseball fans, but also for those who enjoy hearing how people and lives evolve over time. The author, who is also the narrator, skillfully sets the scene for us in 1981, and then switches seamlessly to events prior and subsequent to the longest baseball game ever played.
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- Sher from Provo
- 04-08-13
I love baseball
Oh, what a game! It was fun to listen to the details of this game, played by 3A teams from Rhode Island and New York in 1981. It was very interesting to learn a little bit about the lives of some of the players, some who made it to major league, and more who did not. I grew up with a father and brothers who were crazy about baseball, so I learned a lot about it at an early age. Some people stake their whole life's dreams on making it in professional sports, but when it comes right down to it, it is a game. There are lots of really great things to spend your life doing other than pro sports. Yeh, the money one could make from playing pro sports would allow you to help a whole lot of people, but really, you are not a failure if the highest rung you ever achieve in baseball is 3A. How many people even get that far?
Anyway, I liked it a lot and learned a lot too. Me, I'm a Cubbies fan. As soon as they are in the pennant race, I am going to Chicago to watch the games. It sure won't be this year, though. Why am I a Cubbies fan? Because I figure they need at least one fan who doesn't HAVE to be a fan. They'll come out on top someday. Hope I'm still alive. (Update: The Cubbies won the World Series in 2016 against the Cleveland Indians, 108 years after the last time they won it. I did not get to go to Chicago, but I watched every game on TV. Ohhhh that game 7! It was perhaps the best game in baseball ever.)
This book was read by the author, not usually the best choice for narrator. Dan did ok, but it is pretty obvious he is not a professional narrator. He was not annoying like many authors who read their own works are, but hint to authors who think they can read: let the pros do it.
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- Trish
- 09-05-12
Lots of Baseball . . .
I purchased this book on a whim--don't remember exactly why. But I truly enjoyed it for many reasons.
The basic story line follows a minor-league baseball game in the Spring of 1981 that just would not end! But the story tells so much more--every person involved with this historic game was a part of this narration. It could be daunting for those who do not enjoy tons of detail, but I found so much of it very interesting. Some of the players involved in the game went on to become big names in the majors (Cal Ripkin Jr. and Wade Boggs to name just two), and it was interesting to get an insight of them at the beginning of their careers.
The book is read by the author, and he did a wonderful job. I am very glad I chose this book to listen to.
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- Chris
- 11-20-16
A writer's writer telling an epic story
Would you listen to Bottom of the 33rd again? Why?
I'd rather read it. Dan Barry's narration is really good. But his prose is so rich that there is more to get than I at least can from just listening, which I guess might be one of the reasons people started writing stories down.
I know this might be seen as overwrought, but the stories I love most are the ones meant for singing around campfires, like the Iliad. The thing about those stories is sometimes the singer says something so good that you're left saying, "What? What? That was really good. Tell me again." And so the singers started writing things down for people like me.
There is a lot here, in the people, in the narrative drive, in the reporting, in the deft turning of a phrase and in the longer arc of the story, in how they are woven together. This is a really, really good story.
I wonder whether Barry thinks about the parallels between being a writer and a ballplayer. He is far too disciplined ever to speak of that in so many words, but the loneliness and wonder, the moments when it really does all come down to one person, are there. So is the silence, the sense of what it means to stand there alone, while people wait. But without any elitism.
Reading Barry is to know what it's like to step out onto the wrestling mat while the gym thunders around you, and then, all the sudden, how the gym goes silent -- not because people have stopped yelling but because you can't hear them any more, because all you know and hear and see is that other wrestler and what you have to do.
Years ago, my newspaper had the incongruous idea of sponsoring a series of writing seminars. It was incongruous because this was a paper that had very little understanding of, or regard for, the written word. But I did get one of the one-on-one meetings with the writer leading the seminars. He asked me who I read and I said Homer. Even though I'm a lifelong journalist, it didn't occur to me to cite journalists.
Gently, he said, "Ok, but what about newspaper writers?" I couldn't name anyone besides Edna Buchanan. I've been looking ever since.
Today, I'd certainly name Barry. This is what I went into this business to do. He's done it. Homer? No. But he's really, really, really good.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Dave Koza. Anne Koza. Ben Mondor. Wade Boggs, Michael Kinch, Thomas P. McCoy. The book is full of them.
What does Dan Barry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I heard a writer reading a book he'd poured his heart into, and that meant a lot to me. He's disciplined, which means as much.
But the book is much bigger than Barry. Read it on paper. Get mustard on it. Fall asleep with it. That's what Barry would want you to do.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Obviously, I did have a strong reaction. I think it was the way that Barry talked about the ideals we all strive for.
He did it modestly, matter-of-factually. He did it with the clarity of a line drive disappearing into a shortstop's glove, that straight white line, that certainty.
I work hard as a writer. Barry made me want to work harder. He has strengthened my love for the English language and my commitment to my trade.
Any additional comments?
Read this book. Help Barry pay his bills so he can keep writing. Read this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- J
- 05-29-11
For anyone that ever played a sport, get this book
It's great when the author narrates their own work. This book is great. You won't be disappointed.
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- Steve Martinez
- 06-10-13
The people who were there.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Only to baseball fans. This book is not too kind to the uninitiated. But to those who love the game, this is a great get. You will hear about the longest game and how it relates to other games, feats, and players.You will hear about the hard work and the heartbreak of trying to make it to the majors.And You will hear about the spirit and attitude of Pawtucket.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Bottom of the 33rd?
The book does a great job of making you feel the players fatigue and frustration. At one point, it seems like the game is finally going to end, but it comes to nothing and the game has to keep going.
What aspect of Dan Barry’s performance would you have changed?
Overall nothing. A little too Just-The-Facts for my taste; but then again this is Baseball, so meh.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Is anybody still with us?
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- eely225
- 01-08-16
A great baseball book
Well narrated by the author. It almost invites you into the meditative state of that forever game, drifting sleepily between innings and biographies, histories and statistics. It's the kind of book that makes you fall in love with baseball all over again.
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- Mary Milovic
- 04-06-18
Excellent book, great story
Finished in a few days, a gripping story brought to life by the author/narrator. Great job weaving personal history into the game story.
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- Leigh Silver
- 04-09-21
What a Game!!!
33 innings. There was no reason it should have gone all that way. It should have been called and delayed innings before so it could start again the next day or wheather the two teams would meet again. However they forgot about the rules for that weekend and it is a classic involing 2 hall of famers and a great cast of charecters.
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- Toby Caplin
- 12-10-12
Dan Barry does Dan Barry
and, what could be better? The author narrates this story with all the irony, wit, and compassion of the person who created the tale, as he did.But,from history, and boy, does Barry do his homework. Barry's tone is somewhat deadpan, but he knows how to render the longest game in history, with the right amount of inflection. Sometimes I literally laughed out loud. If you like baseball, which i do, you just might get caught up in the flow of the story of unlikely characters; ball players, managers, bat boys, announcers, writers, their families.. At times even suspenseful, the narration moves you along with human interest stories that catch you by surprise. You ache for these (mostly) young men as the rawness outside, the wee hours of the morning in this interminable game, all make you feel for their plights. Some have a happy ending. Most do not. I ended up buying book versions of "The Bottom of the 33rd" for at least 3 people this holiday season. Only because they don't do audible.
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2 people found this helpful