You've heard me talk about it for months now. You've waited patiently for it to be available. You've passed up that extra scoop of ice cream everyday since February so that you can save enough money to afford it. And now, your patience has paid off. Now, you can finally buy your very own copy of The Wire-to-Wire Reds by John Erardi and Joel Luckhaupt (that's me!).
John and I have put together this retelling of the story of the 1990 World Champion Cincinnati Reds through player interviews, a rigorous search of newspaper archives, and moxie. What we learned was that this really was a fascinating team. From the hiring of Lou Piniella in November of 1989 to the 9-0 and 33-12 start to the four-game sweep of the highly favored Oakland A's in the World Series, we cover it all. Throw in some wonderful pictures from the Cincinnati Enquirer, AP News, and from the Reds' very own secret stash, and I think we've put together an entertaining story for you all. At least, I hope we did!
If you'd like to buy a copy (or six) of the book, there are several options for you. It should be available in bookstores in the Cincinnati area next week some time. You can also buy it at various online bookstores as well. However, if you want to get your copy signed by the authors, you can buy the book right now at WireToWireReds.com. We are selling autographed copies there, which can be personalized if you'd like, for $24.95, which is the cover price for the book. If you don't care to have it signed, you can buy it for $19.95 via that link as well. The one caveat for using our site is that we only accept PayPal at this time. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can still make a purchase via PayPal with a credit or debit card. If that doesn't make you comfortable, might I suggest you order the book from our publisher, Clerisy Press.
Of course, if you don't want to pay cash for the book, you can still donate blood to the Red Reporter Blood Drive and get yourself entered to win a free copy of the book. We've only had eight entrants so far, so your chances of winning are pretty high right now! Plus, even if you don't win, you'll be doing some good by donating blood. I'll be taking entrants through the end of May and will announce the winner on June 1st.
I hope that reading this book will be as fun for you as it was for John and me to write. This team deserves to be in the spotlight and out of the shadow of the Big Red Machine. Hopefully we have been able to do that with this book.
Don't take my word for though. Listen to these glowing reviews!
Nobody writes on the Cincinnati Reds better than John Erardi, and I’m happy to include myself in that statement. That 1990 team was fascinating in so many ways, and John and Joel bring it home. Read all about one of the most fun teams to ever shock the nation and win a World Series. —Joe Posnanski, Sports Illustrated Senior Writer and author of The Machine
The 1990 Reds flipped the baseball world upside down with their shocking wire-to-wire World Series run. This inside-the-clubhouse look at Piniella’s overachieving crew gives us fresh insight into one of the most enjoyable Reds’ years ever. —Chris Welsh, Reds TV analyst
You can't pass up this book now, can you?
And while you are buying one for yourself, don't forget to buy one for your dad as well. I've heard that it makes a great Father's Day gift!
In all seriousness, I appreciate the support that so many of you have given me while I worked on this book. It was a big risk for me to step out and do something serious like this, but it helped to receive encouragement from so many of you on this site. I wouldn't have been able to follow through on this without that support, so thank you all!
Now if the current Reds would just learn a few lessons from this book! Twenty years is too long to wait for another championship!