{"product_id":"metropolitans-new-york-baseball-class-struggle-and-the-peoples-team-by-a-m-gittlitz","title":"Metropolitans: New York Baseball, Class Struggle, and the People's Team by A.M. Gittlitz","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"ui fluid container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-6\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tad-over-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"title-detail-tab-line\" class=\"ui container tm-max-width\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tad-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tad-about-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eMetropolitan\u003c\/i\u003es is for Mets fans, New York partisans, and everyone interested in the Mobius strip dynamic of sports and politics, the history of the national game, or the beautiful contradiction of baseball itself: a middle-class game owned by billionaires, in which the players—like the spectators—look to traverse the diamond and ultimately safely escape its many dangers. Along the way, A.M. Gittlitz re-introduces us to an eccentric cast of Metsian characters: Joan Payson, the first woman to buy a Major League Baseball team; a young Tom Seaver with an interest in progressive politics; and the contentious but beloved Mike Piazza. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGittlitz leads us through baseball’s amateur beginnings to the Mets’ first heady World Series on the heels of the Civil Rights and anti-war movements that many Mets players participated in. He guides us to the bad boy years, the exploitative development of farm academies in developing nations, and their inglorious purchase by a new breed of capitalist—\u003ci\u003eeven after which they remained lovable losers\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMetropolitans\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebrilliantly shows us that sports have long been a site of political struggle, rousing class consciousness, and animating fights for racial equality. From purportedly calming riots in ’69 to producing some of the greatest chokes in sporting history, from integration to desperate labor struggle against franchise owners,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eMetropolitans\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emakes a deeply humane and convincing argument for the fascinating singularity of the New York Mets—and why they are not just the team of the counterculture, the freaks, and the losers, but the beloved team of anyone with a beating heart.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Pioneer Works","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41401926811706,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0141\/3690\/1690\/files\/81NuToN2O7L._AC_UF1000_1000_QL80.jpg?v=1778255105","url":"https:\/\/store.pioneerworks.org\/products\/metropolitans-new-york-baseball-class-struggle-and-the-peoples-team-by-a-m-gittlitz","provider":"Pioneer Works","version":"1.0","type":"link"}