Lefty and Tim

William C. Kashatus is a historian, educator, and the author of more than twenty books, including Macho Row: The 1993 Phillies and Baseball’s Unwritten Code (Nebraska, 2017) and Jackie and Campy: The Untold Story of Their Rocky Relationship and the Breaking of Baseball’s Color Line (Nebraska, 2014). Larry Christenson is a former professional baseball player who pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1973 and 1983.

• List of IllustrationsForeword by Larry ChristensonAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Always a Catcher2. Odd Couple3. Learning Curve4. Moneyball5. Reunited6. Drinking Coffee with a Fork7. Sphinx of the Schuylkill8. McCarver’s Pitch9. Lefty10. Closer Than Sixty Feet, Six Inches11. Mastery and Mystery12. Cooperstown BoundAppendix A: Baseball’s Best BatteryAppendix B: Steve Carlton’s Career Pitching StatisticsAppendix C: Tim McCarver’s Career Batting StatisticsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Lefty and Tim offers baseball fans valuable insight into McCarver and Carlton as both humans and ballplayers. There’s no doubting that they were an odd couple but without their relationship, it’s unlikely that Carlton would have been inducted into Cooperstown."-Danielle Solzman, Dugout Dirt “Steve Carlton needed Tim McCarver to reach for the stars. In all my years covering baseball, I’ve never seen a pitcher-catcher relationship quite like theirs. McCarver did more than merely help Carlton rediscover his slider and recapture his greatness. He found a place inside Carlton’s circle of trust that reshaped both of their careers. Kashatus does a beautiful job of delving into what made their bond so special, on and off the field.”-Jayson Stark, baseball writer for the Athletic and the Philadelphia Inquirer, 1979–2000, and 2019 J. G. Taylor Spink Award winner “Bill Kashatus takes an inside look at a historic baseball brotherhood, revealing in riveting detail how Tim McCarver helped push a pitcher he claimed had an ‘irascible contempt for being human’ to superhuman heights no pitcher may ever reach again.”-Tyler Kepner, author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches “It was amazing to play behind Carlton and McCarver. Steve was a fast worker and Tim knew the hitters so well that the Phillies could count on winning every time they started a game. Lefty and Tim tells the story of that winning combination.”-Mike Schmidt, Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman, 1972–89 “Steve Carlton was a special project for me when he came to the Phillies in 1972. He could be strong-willed and stubborn, and we had many battles. But he also became the best pitcher I ever coached. Lefty and Tim reveals how Carlton became a Hall of Famer. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read.”-Ray Rippelmeyer, Phillies pitching coach, 1970–78