title: Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball
author:  Phil Pepe 
description: Former <i>New York Daily News </i>beat reporter Pepe considers the 1970s to be the decade that changed baseball, and he makes a strong case. In the seventies, the reserve clause was replaced by free agency (1975), leading to the first -million-dollar contract (Nolan Ryan, Houston, 1979); the designated hitter was established (Ron Blomberg, Yankees, 1973); and the first players' strike occurred (1972). These are among hundreds of examples sited in this impressive, well-illustrated compendium, which is accompanied by a DVD, <i>Baseball Comes of Age.</i> Chapters are called "innings," one for each year of the decade, and feature excerpts from conversations with notable sluggers, pitchers, base stealers, and managers, all held together by Pepe's own lively prose. Whether describing Reggie Jackson's amazing feat of hitting three back-to-back home runs in the 1977 World Series or recounting the poignant day when Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the majors (for the Indians in 1974), Pepe delivers an enticing piece of baseball history. A must for any sports collection. <i>Mary Frances Wilkens</i><br /><i>Copyright  American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
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  Okay for Now
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Gary D. Schmidt
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  >
  
  
  CHAPTER ONE
  
  The Arctic Tern Plate CCL
  
  ![](images/00013.jpg)
  
  
  JOE PEPITONE once gave me his New York Yankees baseball cap.
  
  I'm not lying.
  
  He gave it to me. To me, Doug Swieteck. To me.
  
  Joe Pepitone and Horace Clarke came all the way out on the Island to Camillo
  Junior High and I threw with them. Me and Danny Hupfer and Holling Hoodhood,
  who were good guys. We all threw with Joe Pepitone and Horace Clarke, and we
  batted too. They sang to us while we swung away: "He's a batta, he's a batta-
  batta-batta, he's a batta..." That was their song.
  
  And afterward, Horace Clarke gave Danny his cap, and Joe Pepitone gave Holling
  his jacket (probably because he felt sorry for him on account of his dumb
  name), and then Joe Pepitone handed me his cap. He reached out and took it off
  his head and handed it to me. Just like that. It was signed on the inside, so
  anyone could tell that it was really his. Joe Pepitone's.
  
  It was the only thi