The Curse of Carl Mays

Book excerpt: Was it really Bambino's Curse, or something else all along? It's October 25, 1986-for Red Sox Nation, a date that will live in infamy. Game Six. Pat McCarvill is Boston's popular mayor, presiding over a boomtown riding the wave of the "Massachusetts Miracle." Despite his success, he's forever haunted by a youthful decision to abandon a once-promising professional baseball career. McCarvill was born on the anniversary of the tragedy to which he has always felt strangely connected: the death of Ray Chapman, killed by a pitch thrown by a one-time Red Sox star, Carl Mays. Hours before Game Six is to begin, that cosmic connection will unfold. McCarvill is injured while playing in a pre-game charity event, but the paramedics dispatched to his aid mysteriously travel back to 1920, rescuing Chapman instead. The historical timeline has been tampered with, and back in 1986 things have changed-for McCarvill, for the Red Sox, for all of Boston. Now, a legendary fable will be debunked, a life's regret will be redeemed, and a city's dream will be fulfilled . but at what cost?