Lefty and Tim: How Steve Carlton and Tim McCarver Became Baseball's Best Battery

Lefty and Tim is the dual biography of Hall of Fame pitcher Steve “Lefty” Carlton and catcher Tim McCarver, detailing their relationship from 1965, when they played with the St. Louis Cardinals, through 1980, when they played for the Philadelphia Phillies. Along the way McCarver became Carlton’s personal catcher, and together they became the best battery in baseball in the mid-to-late 1970s.

At first glance Carlton and McCarver appear like an odd couple: McCarver was old school, Carlton new...