Tom Van RiperCincinnati Red and Dodger Blue: Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Rivalry

Growing up as a Dodger fan in the 1970's in West Virginia, which was Reds Country back then, was tough as the Reds seemed to come out on top of the Dodgers every year. This book captures the names of long forgotten players like Hal King, Willie Crawford and others. How starting pitchers were handled so much differently than today. The props to The career numbers of Ron Cey are refreshing. To any fan of baseball of the 1970's this is a must read.

One of the greatest, if not thee greatest books I've yet to read. As a kid, growing up in LA, in the 70s, and a lover of Dodger baseball, this book is a home run.Incredible, nearly forgotten rivalry. Author, Tom Van Riper, absolutely knocks it out of the park!Buy this book!

I grew up in that era and remember it well. Mr Van Riper brought back some long forgotten memories and helped me understand what went on behind the curtain.I highly recommend this book.

The Reds and Dodgers did have an intense rivalry in the 70s, and I was looking forward to re-living some of it. This book was such a disappointment. Clue number one should have been the author’s bio which lists his writing experience as writing about “The business of sports” for Forbes magazine including a cover stories about Matt Kemp and Bill Parcells. The author also covered the business beat for New York’s Daily News. In other words, no real sports background.All information in this book can be obtained from reading a sports almanac or reading through old box scores of 1973. Do I really need to know the mundane details of a game about a series between the Dodgers and Padres in April of 73? Trying to read through this book you quickly realize the author threw in meaningless facts to complete this book. Is it really necessary to recount Secretariat winning horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Angels trading for Nolan Ryan, or about the Lakers losing to the Knicks for the NBA championship in a book about the Dodgers and Reds?Rather than including interviews with players and others who were a part of the rivalry, the author included quotes that were obtained from other sources. There are a few exceptions, like a quote from couple who was at a bar across the street from Great America Ballpark that reminisced about the rivalry. Wow!Take if from me. Save your money and find a better book.

This is a very well-written book. If you were watching during that period, or want to know what you missed - this is the book for you.