Big Hair and Plastic Grass

“You can relive the color, the passion, the wild, raucous fun of baseball in the ’70s in Big Hair and Plastic Grass. Dan Epstein and baseball in the ’70s go together like Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon.” – Allen Barra, Wall Street Journal

“The ’70s were a colorful, druggy time in baseball, as well as everywhere else, but this history makes the decade particularly vivid…Epstein’s book waves its freak flag high.” – The Onion A.V. Club

“Dan Epstein examines how coolness landed on our national pastime along with fraudulent sod.” – The Daily Beast

“There is a trove of nuggets many of us either never knew — Charlie Finley giving his three-time world champion A’s “gem free” Series rings; the Mets pantomiming a game at Shea Stadium during the 1977 blackout; Luis Tiant paying $750 to have a toupee made by Monsanto, the inventor of AstroTurf — or forgot…savor the good parts, which are plentiful.” – The New York Times

“Epstein is a thorough researcher, a devoted fan of the game, and an entertaining writer.” – Publishers Weekly

“What the 1960s were to America, the 1970s were to baseball, and Dan Epstein has finally given us the swinging book the ’70s deserve.- Rob Neyer, ESPN.com

“Baseball fans and non-fans alike will revel in this loving look at a long-gone era.” – Kirkus Reviews

Blurb:

The Bronx Is Burning meets Chuck Klosterman in this wild pop-culture history of baseball’s most colorful and controversial decade.

The Major Leagues witnessed more dramatic stories and changes in the 70s than in any other era. The American popular culture and counterculture collided head-on with the national pastime, rocking the once-conservative sport to its very foundations. Outspoken players embraced free agency, openly advocated drug use, and even swapped wives. Controversial owners such as Charlie Finley, Bill Veeck, and Ted Turner introduced Astroturf, prime-time World Series, garish polyester uniforms, and outlandish promotions such as Disco Demolition Night. Hank Aaron and Lou Brock set new heights in power and speed, Reggie Jackson and Carlton Fisk emerged as October heroes, and All-Star characters like Mark “The Bird” Fidrych became pop icons.

For the millions of fans who grew up during this time, and especially those who cared just as much about Oscar Gamble’s afro as they did about his average, Big Hair and Plastic Grass serves up a delicious trip down memory lane.