If you're a Pittsburgh Pirate fan like myself, PUFF, or just a flat out baseball/sports BUFF, there's a fantastic NEW book out on the Battling Bucs. "The Slide: Leyland, Bonds, & The Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates."In the deciding game of the 1992 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates suffered the most devastating loss in team history when former Pirate Sid Bream slid home with the WINNING run! Bream's infamous slide ended the LAST game played by Barry Bonds in a Pirates uniform & sent the franchise reeling into a record 20 season LOSING streak! In "The Slide,"  the father-son team of Richard & Stephen Peterson tell the story-behind-the-story of the myriad events, beginning with the aftermath of the 1979 World Series, which led to the fated 1992 championship game & beyond. I highly recommend "The Slide" which describes the city's near loss of the team in 1985, & the major influence of Syd Thrift & Jim Leyland in turning a dysfunctional team into a division champion. Check out "The Slide" from the University of Pittsburgh Press at: www.upress.pitt.edu. You'll love it. I agree with Craig Britcher of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, when he writes, "I found the Petersons' account refreshing & compelling. This volume follows well alongside the Pirates' efforts to celebrate a renewed hope."

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