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“This is a weird, wonderful, and essential book about both America and its pastime. It’s about a place as vast as New York City and as intimate as the human heart. Fred Exley meets Richard Ben Cramer—a funny, wild, heartfelt, and keenly observed portrait of yearning itself.”—Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Cost of These Dreams

“Mr. Gordon’s ability to explain the Sisyphean plight of all Mets fans is truly remarkable. Bravo!”—Ron Darling, New York Times bestselling author of Game 7, 1986

The Mets lose when they should win. They win when they should lose. And when it comes to being the worst, no team in sports has ever done it better than the Mets. 

In So Many Ways to Lose, author and lifelong Mets fan Devin Gordon sifts through the detritus of Queens for a baseball history like no other. Remember the time the Mets lost an All-Star after Yoenis Céspedes got charged by a wild boar? Or the time they blew a six-run ninth-inning lead at the peak of a pennant race? Or the time they fired their manager before he ever managed a game? Sure you do. It was only two years ago, and it was all in the same season. The Mets have an unrivaled gift for getting it backward, doing the impossible, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and then snatching defeat right back again. 

And yet, just ask any Mets fan: Amazing and/or miraculous postseason runs are as much a part of our team's identity as losing 120 games in 1962. The DNA of seasons like 1969, the original Miracle Mets, and the 1973 “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, who went from last place to Game 7 of the World Series in two months, and the powerhouse 1986 Mets, has encoded in us this hapless instinct that a reversal of fortune is always possible. It’s happened before. It’s kind of our thing. And now we've got Steve Cohen's hedge-fund billions to play with! What could go wrong?

In this hilarious history of the Mets and love letter to the art of disaster, Devin Gordon presents baseball the way it really is, not in the wistful sepia tones we've come to expect from other sportswriters. Along the way, he explains the difference between being bad and being gifted at losing, and why this distinction holds the key to understanding the true amazin’ magic of the New York Mets.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (March 16, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062940023
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062940025
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 9 inches
Reviewer: ed solomon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: incredibly well written, breezy, super fun to read
Review: I am not a Mets fan, but it didn't matter. I picked up the book because I know the author from his work in The Atlantic. I started to read through a few pages.. and I couldn't stop. It's super entertaining. The point is: you don't have to be a Mets fan to love this book. Or even a baseball fan. In fact - it could even make you become a baseball fan. And that wouldn't be such a bad thing. (And okay, now I feel like I'm kind of becoming a Mets fan.) It's great reading. He's an incredible writer. SO fun. And funny. And at times sad. But I guess that sums up the Mets. Except this book isn't even remotely a loser. Even when compared to a book about them, the *actual* Mets lose. Really a good book.

Reviewer: mark atlanta ga
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: BUY THIS BOOK! Amazing... for any baseball fan
Review: I read a lot of sports book and this is easily one of the most well-written.Love the premise as a Mets fan (hopeful for this season in 2022...).There is a lot of new NY Mets info that doesn’t show up elsewhere. However it really is a baseball, sports and book about America.Several pages dissecting the Willie Mays catch and comparing it to the Endy Chavez catch is fascinating.As is the history of Seaver, Cleon Jones’ family in rural Alabama, the origins of the Mets, and so much more. I like the unvarnished view of David Wright too who I feel is highly overrated as a Mets hero (I live in another city – he is one of the few Mets I never saw stop by the stands to see fans pre-game in well over 30 games).So well done! You will not be disappointed! Waiting for his next sports book.

Reviewer: Jeffrey Lunden
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Essential book for Mets fans
Review: Devin Gordon perfectly captures the devotion, fatalism and joy of being a Mets fan. He doesn't pull punches and he writes with great humor. If you live and die with the Mets, from year to year, you'll enjoy this book immensely.

Reviewer: KENNETH GEILS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: O.M.G.- - L.G.M. THEIR STORY
Review: BEING A NEW YORKER, BUT A YANKEE FAN MARRIED TO A MET FAN. I FOUND OUT THEIR STORY; IT WAS WELL TOLD (WRITTEN), AND CERTAINLY ANY BASEBALLO FAN CAN IDENTIFY WITH IT. ENJOY IT

Reviewer: DEIRDRE JO
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A must-read for Mets fans!
Review: There are probably hundreds of books written about our beloved Mets. All of them recount the wild ride they have taken us on over the years, from every possible point of view. Mr Gordon's was especially enjoyable, not just because he's an accomplished writer, but he is a real-deal, win-or-lose Mets fan. This book is for those of us who love this team, not because we want to see them win, but because we want to see HOW they win. They have an inexplicable capacity to lose in catastrophic ways when they should win, and an equally chaotic and what-the-heck-just-happened ability to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat. As the author so accurately points out, we expect no less and ask no more. I laughed out loud as I read this gem, and was reminded over and over why I have been a fan for so long. The play-by-play of some of their most memorable games was an absolute delight, and led to many YouTube visits to watch snippets of games I had long forgotten. I suppose someone who isn't a Mets fan could appreciate this book simply for entertainment value, but this is a must read for anyone who has laughed, cried, sat in stunned silence or jumped for joy with our Amazin' Mets.

Reviewer: Rosann Goldblatt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Bought it. Loved it. Am anxiously watching my Mets fan taking his time enjoying it!
Review: Where do I begin? Mr. Met is on the cover. The title, so apt. The Mets have been a big part of my life since I met my husband in the early eighties. A history of the team, the unlikely, crazy, heartbreaking, exhausting, jubilant history of the Mets needed to be well documented, well organized, well written, honestly and still sympathetically explored. Devin Gordon has accomplished all of this and more. Keeping in mind that I have spent the last 30 years or so as an interested bystander to the rise and frequent falls of the NYM and my beloved fans (husband, son, mother-in-law, sister, nephew), I laughed, gasped, sighed, shed a tear or two, shook my head, and shared excerpts out loud with my family. Did they really do this, did this really happen, were you there....???? Each and every time "So Many Ways to Lose" was affirmed. Will it be updated before publication? I hear that there is so much more going on! Can't wait to buy this book!!

Reviewer: David S. Singer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Exceptional
Review: Great book. Perfect tone...he gets it, gets us, is us. The Mets are the Mets...not a joke, not a dynasty, not a young team, nor an old one. What separates the Mets are how high are the highs, and how low the lows (and there are way more lows). Couple that with an intelligent, highly dedicated, and overly emotional fan base and you have something special (or nauseating depending on your perspective).This book brings stories to life. Gordon writes about Cleon, and Nolan, and deGrom, Alonso and more with a wry eye, a hint of reverence (or scorn), and a fan’s displeasure or glee, all grounded in the truth.It’s a damn good read. Highest recommendation.

Reviewer: John D. Brady
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Great Read!
Review: Great history of the Mets

Reviewer: Drew York
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It’s about the Mets. And losing. And it’s hilarious! Check it out!