
They Said It Couldn't Be Done
The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History
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Narrated by:
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Gary Cohen
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By:
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Wayne Coffey
About this listen
“One of sports’ most storied championship teams gets its proper due” (Tom Verducci) in this definitive history of the 1969 Miracle Mets from the New York Times best-selling author of The Boys of Winter.
“If you want to know what it was like to live and witness a baseball miracle in tumultuous times, this book is for you.” (Ron Darling, former New York Mets All-Star and best-selling author of Game 7, 1986)
The story of the 1969 New York Mets’ season has long since entered sports lore as one of the most remarkable of all time. But beyond the “miracle” is a compelling narrative of an unlikely collection of players and the hallowed manager who inspired them to greatness. For the 50th anniversary, renowned sports journalist Wayne Coffey brings to life a moment when a championship could descend on a city like magic, and when a baseball legend was authored one inning at a time. Future Hall of Fame ace Tom Seaver snagged the biggest headlines, but the enduring richness of the story lies in the core of a team comprised of untested youngsters, lightly regarded veterans, and four Southern-born African-American stalwarts who came of age in the shadow of Jackie Robinson.
Most of the Mets regulars were improbable candidates for baseball stardom. The number-two starting pitcher, Jerry Koosman, grew up on a Minnesota farm, never played high-school ball, and was only discovered because of a tip from a Mets usher. Outfielder Ron Swoboda was known for long home runs and piles of strikeouts, until he turned into a glove wizard when it mattered most.
All of these men were galvanized by their manager: the sainted former Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges, whose fundamental belief in the power of every man on the roster, no matter his stats, helped backup players like Al Weis and J.C. Martin become October heroes. As the Mets powered through the season to reach a World Series against the best-in-a-generation Baltimore Orioles, Hodges's steady hand guided a team that had very recently been the league laughingstock to an improbable, electrifying shot at sports immortality.
“A must-read for not just for Mets fans, but allbaseball fans who will appreciate what indeed was the most astounding season in baseball history.” (Ken Rosenthal, two-time Sports Emmy winner for Outstanding Sports Reporter)
©2019 Wayne Coffey (P)2019 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Met and Yankee All-Star Pitcher David Cone shares lessons from the World Series and beyond in this essential memoir for baseball fans everywhere. To any baseball fan, David Cone was a bold and brilliant pitcher. During his 17-year career, he became a master of the mechanics and mental toughness a pitcher needs to succeed in the major leagues. A five-time All-Star and five-time World champion now gives his full count - balls and strikes, errors and outs - of his colorful life in baseball.
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From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than 300 people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today.
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Critic reviews
“Having lived through the Mets’ 1969 World Championship in real time and re-lived it for fifty years, I thought I knew all I needed to know about my boyhood heroes, but in They Said It Couldn’t Be Done Wayne Coffey has unearthed some fresh gems; most poignantly those involving the personal backgrounds of many of that wonderful team’s players. Wayne has done a marvelous job of allowing us to relive that epochal event through a fresh prism. This is simply a great read.” (Howie Rose, New York Mets broadcaster)
“Entertaining [and] thorough.... It’s the small notes of grace that kept me engaged.... Should appeal to any baseball-loving reader who wants to know where the Mets came from and how they pulled it off.” (New York magazine)
“I would read Wayne Coffey writing about hardwood floors. So for someone who was a diehard Mets fan in 1969, I knew They Said It Couldn’t Be Done was a book I couldn’t miss. Like The Boys of Winter, his brilliant book about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, this is a fantastic piece of work. Please buy it, and enjoy every page, as I did.” (Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated senior writer and NBC sports essayist)
Featured Article: The Best Baseball Audiobooks of All Time
Ask any baseball fan and they'll tell you: some of their favorite sounds can only be heard at the ballpark—the smooth, satisfying pop of a catcher’s glove as a pitch hits its mark; the crack of a bat as it tears into a fastball, explosive and hopeful, drawing the crowd to their feet. Our list, a roundup of outstanding baseball audiobooks, offers a glimmer of that same ballpark magic with just a few of the greatest stories from our national pastime.
The indebtedness of the players backgrounds and the stories of Gill Hodges
Just loved this book
Thank you,
amazing amazing Mets
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A must for any Mets fans
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Superb!
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LFGM
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A lot of play by play
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Excellent
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Underdog epic!
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Loved it!
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A Must Listen for Mets Fans
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Great choice picking Gary Cohn to read.
Cements Gil Hodges as the central force of the 69 Mets.
Any casual baseball fan will enjoy this. My wife enjoyed it. If you were around for the season, you’ll cry.
You don’t have to be a fan
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