Giants vs. Dodgers: The Coast-to-Coast History of the Rivalry Heard 'Round the World

(Paperback)

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Games between the Dodgers and Giants are never just another day at the ballpark. Dating back to the late nineteenth century--when the teams embodied the competitive spirit of rival metropolises of New York and Brooklyn--the Giants-Dodgers rivalry gained intensity throughout the early twentieth century. The cheering and jeering continued unabated until 1957, when the clubs backed the moving vans up to the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, and took their rivalry to new venues in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Only six games into the first West Coast season, the clubs had their first beanball dustup. The venue had changed but the venom remained, and the rivalry became author Joe Konte's obsession. Fifty-eight years ago, he attended one of the first Giants-Dodgers games ever played outside of New York. A longtime newspaper editor and baseball fiend, Konte understands what is so special about this storied rivalry. And so--via statistical analysis, game summaries, roster scrutiny, manager matchups, season recaps, and more--he has put together a rivalry bible. Revised and updated to cover the events of the past three seasons--including the Giants' 2014 World Series win and the Dodgers' playoff runs--Giants vs. Dodgers captures the spirit and intensity of one of the greatest rivalries in American sports.

Reviews

"Joe Konte makes sure you are there to relive every important moment in this epic rivalry." --Brian Murphy, cohost of KNBR's Murph and Mac and author of three books on the San Francisco Giants "What we have now is a definitive book on the teams' history. It's the go-to source for everything Giants and Dodgers." --John Shea, baseball writer and columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

Author Bio

Joe Konte began his career working as a reporter at a chain of newspapers in San Mateo County before going on to the Davis Enterprise, where he was a reporter and then news editor. He is now news editor at the Marin Independent Journal, where he has also held positions of city and sports editor. As sports editor, Konte won national Associated Press awards for best daily sections, Sunday sections, and special sections. Konte has been a follower of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry since watching the clubs play in their first year out west in 1958. He is a native of San Francisco.