How Life Imitates the World Series

How Life Imitates the World Series is the first book of baseball essays published by Thomas Boswell, coming out in 1982. It consists of a collection of baseball articles published previously elsewhere, arranged around a notional season's calendar. It was followed two years later by Why Time Begins on Opening Day.

The following articles are contained in the book:
Invitation

• "This Ain't a Football Game. We Do This Every Day", about the pacing of baseball
• "The Greatest Game Ever Played", about the 1978 one-game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox

March

• "A Country for Old Pitchers", about the Puerto Rican League
• "The Season of Sweet Boredom", about spring training
• "Koufax: Passing the Art Along", about Sandy Koufax
• "Islamorada, Miramichi, Bangor, and Winter Haven", about Ted Williams
• "Why Baltimore Wins More Games Than Anybody Else", about the Baltimore Orioles
• "The Big Bang Theory and Other Secrets of the Game", about strategy

April

• "How Baseball Helps the Harvest or What the Bay of Pigs Did to the Bigs", about baseball in Cuba
• "All of Us Bear the Marks of the Lash", about the 1971 Washington Senators
• "Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Baseball.", about playing baseball as a youth
• "Rookies in God's Country", about the Appalachian League

May

• "Growing Up with the Game", about Little League Baseball
• "Glove's Labor Lost", about baseball gloves
• "Welcome to the World of Total Average Where a Walk Is as Good as a Hit", about Total Average
• "That First Slash of Grass", about ballparks
• "The Best Manager There Is", about Earl Weaver
• "The Game By Us", about sandlot baseball

June

• "Magic Wands and Louisville", about bats
• "Those Who Watch Batting Practice and Those Who Don't", about batting practice
• "The Zen of Rod Carew", about Rod Carew
• "Georgie Ballgame", about George Brett
• "Sometimes I Think He's Too Good for the Game", about Frank Howard

July

• "Arms and the Men", about pitching
• "Salvation Through Salivation", about the spitball
• "Baseball's Dark Lord", about Steve Carlton

August

• "Hustling to Tie Cobb", about Pete Rose
• "Captain Bad Body", about Thurman Munson
• "The Barnum of the Bushes", about the Chattanooga Lookouts

September

• "How Life Imitates the World Series", about pennant races
• "How Can You Tell the Dancer From the Dance", about retirement

October

• "Mr. October", about Reggie Jackson
• "1980: It Wasn't Pretty But It Sure Was Fun", about the 1980 Postseason
• "Always Leave 'Em Laughing", about Bill Veeck

Further Reading

• Thomas Boswell: How Life Imitates the World Series, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1982. ISBN 0385175957