When I started this book I was not impressed. I thought the author was in love with words, but somewhere along the way it all started to come clear. Mr. Barry wasn't in love with words, he was in love with this book and this story. Reading this was like listening to a game on the radio, pure enjoyment.

Bottom Of The 33rd: Hope, Redemption and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry is so incredibly well-written. It's a nonfiction read, and yes, there is in fact a real life baseball game that once went 33 innings! This is a trek back through that game in 1981 between the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings, but y'all it's so much more. The author dives into the stories of the players (which includes two guys you may have heard of - Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr), as well as the fans that were in attendance. Minor league baseball is a fascinating place, and this is such a thorough and beautiful examination. I've read a lot of sports books through the years, and this is one of the best. This has been on my list for some time, and I'm so glad I finally found it at Powell's, so I could have the experience of reading this in my life.

This rambling history covers more about the players, staff and spectators of the longest game in baseball history than about the game itself. Each of the stories is interesting, though some needed a smidge more. For me, this was a three star book that never slowed rounding second and slid into third just under the tag - safe. Because I'm a Sox fan and have been to a game at McCoy, add half a star and sacrifice the runner home.

Love a good baseball booK!

Good story, but very overwritten.

This book gets better as it goes along. Barry describes the circumstances surrounding the longest game in baseball history - a 33-inning affair between Rochester and Pawtucket (Triple-A level) in 1981. The story is about more than the game - it's about the players and coaches, the town of Rochester, McCoy stadium, where they have come from, and where they are headed.

It is a well written book with dense language and excellent narrative. Sometimes it seems a bit overdone for something as simple as a single minor league game, but Barry lends gravitas to a game that can still be incredibly poetic and reminds you that baseball is more than just a game. Barry describes friendships and families, success and failure, and the burning desire to make it to the major leagues. Hall of Famers Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs played in this game, but Barry doesn't give them any more focus than career minor leaguers like Dave Koza and Joe Morgan (in fact, he probably gives them less).

More Stephen King than Halberstam in introducing new characters. King's style is a few paragraphs about a new character, a brief action and then moving on to another character. Barry uses a similar style. This allows him to come back to the characters later and build on the reader's knowledge about them.

Barry's description of the building of McCoy stadium, is awesome. As is the history of baseball in Pawtucket. These things will keep you going as the book builds to its halting conclusion (game suspended after 32 innings!), its actual conclusion (ends in the 33rd after a 2-month delay and a lot of fanfare) and its emotional denouement (following up with the characters after the fact).

Much like the game itself, this book gets better as it goes along, and when it ends, you wish it could somehow keep going.