The Greatest Game - A Conversation with author Richard Bradley
Richard Bradley, author of The Greatest Game - The Yankees, the Red Sox and hte Playoff of ‘78, was kind enough to chat with me, regarding his work, his new book, and the rivalry of the Red Sox and Yankees in general. As the 2008 installment of this commences this weekend, the greatest game provides an in depth look of what happened 30 years ago. It’s a great read, especially for anyone who lived through it (according to my Uncle at least since I’m just 27). No matter who you are rooting for, the stories presented here are insightful enough so that every baseball fan can relate.
Can you start by giving us some background info on why you’re writing this book and some of the other work you’ve done in the past.
Sure. This is my third book, but my first about baseball. My first book was called “American Son”; it was a memoir of the time I spent working with John F. Kennedy, Jr., at George magazine. The second was called “Harvard Rules,” and it was about the controversial university presidency of Lawrence Summers at Harvard.
Having written about Harvard and the Kennedys, I wanted to write about another great American icon: baseball. And there’s no more compelling part of baseball to me than its greatest rivalry, that of the Yankees and the Red Sox.
So you live in New York and you wrote a book about the Yankees beating the Red Sox. Does that mean you are a Yankees fan? And either way, what does the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry mean to you today?
It’s true: In my personal life, I am a Yankees fan. I was born in New York and grew up in southern Connecticut, and we were a Yankees household. But I don’t think you can tell that from the book. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox of 1978 were fantastic teams. One of them edged out the other, but was either one really better than the other? After 163 games, it came down to one pitch. Things could easily have been different.
As to the rivalry…well, here’s the truth about it: Yankees and Red Sox fans spend a lot of time dissing each other. Which is actually pretty fun. But at the end of the day, we really need each other. For fans of either team, would baseball be nearly as fun without the other?
Did the rivalry peak in 1978, 2003, today, or some other time?
I think if you look at the history of the rivalry, it goes in cycles. 1978 was definitely one peak, the culmination of the intense competition of the 1970s. 2004 was clearly another peak. Or a valley, depending on your point of view.
Based on when you think it peaked, what then is the most important factor in fueling this competition?
Both teams being good at the same time. When one team has lagged, or when both teams have been mediocre–as in much of the 1960s, for example—the intensity of the rivalry has waned.
What are the two greatest moments, in your opinion, from the Sox-Yankees rivalry (One for Sox fans and one for Yankees)?
Oh, that’s an easy one. Bucky Dent’s home run in the seventh inning of the 1978 playoff, for the Yankees. And for the Sox, games 4-7 of the 2004 ALCS. I know that’s not really a moment, but still….
Do you have a blog we can read?
I do. It’s called “Shots in the Dark,” and you can find it at www.richardbradley.net.
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