Strike Four! portrays Crankshaft's greatest triumph when, on a sultry summer night in 1940, the Tigers came to town for an exhibition game against the Mud Hens. Pitching for the Mud Hens, Ed faced the top of the Tigers lineup―Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, and Rudy York―and struck out all three. The next year, the Tigers called Ed up to the major leagues, but unfortunately, so did Uncle Sam. After his service, Crankshaft returned home, but not to play baseball. He married and had two daughters. His grandson Max was his last chance to reprise his baseball career, but it was not meant to be.
Strike Four! The Crankshaft Baseball Book allows Batiuk and Ayers to explore a man's life and humorously and touchingly to examine how only barely touching the brass ring shaped it―and left him a little cranky.
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