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What: “Talkin’ Baseball: An Oral History of Baseball in the 1970s,” by Phil Pepe. Ballantine Books.

Price: $25.95 hard cover.

If you want to go behind the scenes of your memories, “Talkin’ Baseball” might be the best couch trip you’ll ever take. At least in a baseball sense.

Although Phil Pepe did write in this book, mostly he choreographed it. Interviews with more than 60 players, personnel union heads and agents take the soft focus off of scenes from the ‘70s and, sometimes, remind you of nutty things you forgot.

Plenty of pictures help. From the Pete Rose-Bud Harrelson fight to the sight of Oscar Gamble’s hat perched on his afro, it was a time of eccentric players.

George Steinbrenner is often considered the most eccentric owner in baseball, but in the 1970s he took a back seat to the Athletics’ Charlie Finley ($300 bonus to players who grew mustaches, the first with colorful uniforms), the White Sox’s Bill Veeck (short pants uniforms) and the Braves’ Ted Turner (decided to borrow a uniform and manage his team).

And there were plenty of baseball firsts--first free agent (Andy Messersmith), first night World Series game (Oct. 13, 1971), first players’ strike and the first designated hitter (Ron Blomberg).

There are many characters, such as Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky. There are somber moments, such as the last games of Willie Mays and the final days of Roberto Clemente before the plane crash in which he died.

It was a time when people seemed to think that wearing a yellow button with a smiling face and the words “Have a nice day!” would work.

Well, maybe it did.