The wildly entertaining narrative of the outrageous 1981 Dodgers from
the award-winning author of Dynastic, Fantastic, Bombastic and The
Baseball Codes
In the Halberstam tradition of capturing a season through its
unforgettable figures, They Bled Blue is a sprawling, mad tale of
excess and exuberance, the likes of which could only have occurred in
that place, at that time.
That it culminated in an unlikely World Series win--during a campaign
split by the longest player strike in baseball history--is not even the
most interesting thing about this team. The Dodgers were led by the
garrulous Tommy Lasorda--part manager, part cheerleader--who
unyieldingly proclaimed devotion to the franchise through monologues
about bleeding Dodger blue and worshiping the "Big Dodger in the Sky,"
and whose office hosted a regular stream of Hollywood celebrities. Steve
Garvey, the All-American, All-Star first baseman, had anchored the most
durable infield in major league history, and, along with Davey Lopes,
Bill Russell, and Ron Cey, was glaringly aware that 1981 would represent
the end of their run together. The season's real story, however, was one
that nobody expected at the outset: a chubby lefthander nearly straight
out of Mexico, twenty years old with a wild delivery and a screwball as
his flippin' out pitch. The Dodgers had been trying for decades to find
a Hispanic star to activate the local Mexican population; Fernando
Valenzuela was the first to succeed, and it didn't take long for
Fernandomania to sweep far beyond the boundaries of Chavez Ravine.
They Bled Blue is the rollicking yarn of the Los Angeles Dodgers'
crazy 1981 season.
