Phinally! The Phillies, the Royals and the 1980 Baseball Season That Almost Wasn't | Book Review

Nineteen-eighty marked a pivot for Major League Baseball as it entered a decade that was marred by a work stoppage, a drug scandal, and a nasty collusion case. Fortunately, for baseball fans, the 1980s opened with an exciting season that preceded the looming drama of the next few years.

Author J. Daniel takes readers through a complex journey that was the 1980 baseball season in his new book, "Phinally!: The Phillies, the Royals and the 1980 Baseball Season That Almost Wasn't" (McFarland: 220pp., 2018).

Phinally! / McFarland

Once glance at the cover would lead those studying its intricacies that "Phinally!" is solely about the Philadelphia Phillies winning their first World Series title in franchise history; however, that could not be farther from the truth. Daniel went deep in the archives with his work, capturing every significant detail that the 1980 season offered.

While Daniel dives into the big stories of J.R. Richard's health woes, George Brett's season-long flirtation with .400, and Reggie Jackson getting up close and personal with a gun barrel, each event is interspersed with the less heralded happenings that serve to create a "This Week in Baseball" atmosphere.

His strength is certainly the tremendous depth in which he chronicles the season, as "Phinally!" reads more like an anthology than an oral history. He relies on a variety of newspaper and magazine accounts to narrate the season rather than rose-colored interviews with players almost 40 years later that leave out the gritty details they may have selectively forgotten.

While this nuanced approach fits Daniel's style, some will find it exhausting at times to keep up with the constant jumping around the league from page to page, as he goes through each month's dealings. Despite some of the challenges to keep up with the multitude of anecdotes that Daniel tracks, he holds the suspense of the Phillies World Series victory until the end, leaving the final page with the late Tug McGraw victorious on the mound with his hands raised in the air for the fans to once again celebrate.