Baseball

by Chris Holaday (Author)

The best-known story of integration in baseball is Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color line in 1947 after coming up through the minor leagues the previous year. His story, however, differs from those of the many players who integrated the game in the Jim Crow South at all professional levels. Chris Holaday offers readers the first book-length history of baseball's integration in the Carolinas, showing its slow and unsteady progress, narrating the experience of players in a range of distinct communities, detailing the influence of baseball executives at the local and major league levels, and revealing that the changing structure of the professional baseball system allowed the major leagues to control integration at the state level. Holaday illuminates many smaller stories along the way, including desegregation in Little League and American Legion baseball, the first Black players to play in the tiny foothills town of Granite Falls, North Carolina, and the pipeline of Afro-Cuban players from Havana to the Carolina leagues.

By showing how race and the national pastime intersected at the local level, Holaday offers readers new context to understand the long struggle of equality in the game.

by Bill Redban (Author)

Discover The Inspirational Story of Baseball Superstar Dustin Pedroia!

• Youth and Family Life
• High School and College Career
• Professional Career and Personal Life
• Legacy, Charitable Acts and much more!

by Cait N. Murphy (Author)

From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest--these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team--the first dynasty of the 20th century.

Crazy '08 recounts the 1908 season--the year when Peerless Leader Frank Chance's men went toe to toe to toe with John McGraw and Christy Mathewson's New York Giants and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates in the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League has its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's--and the Cubs'--year.

Crazy '08, however, is not just the exciting story of a great season. It is also about the forces that created modern baseball, and the America that produced it. In 1908, crooked pols run Chicago's First Ward, and gambling magnates control the Yankees. Fans regularly invade the field to do handstands or argue with the umps; others shoot guns from rickety grandstands prone to burning. There are anarchists on the loose and racial killings in the town that made Lincoln. On the flimsiest of pretexts, General Abner Doubleday becomes a symbol of Americanism, and baseball's own anthem, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," is a hit.

Picaresque and dramatic, 1908 is a season in which so many weird and wonderful things happen that it is somehow unsurprising that a hairpiece, a swarm of gnats, a sudden bout of lumbago, and a disaster down in the mines all play a role in its outcome. And sometimes the events are not so wonderful at all. There are several deaths by baseball, and the shadow of corruption creeps closer to the heart of baseball--the honesty of the game itself. Simply put, 1908 is the year that baseball grew up.

Oh, and it was the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

Destined to be as memorable as the season it documents, Crazy '08 sets a new standard for what a book about baseball can be.

Back Jacket

From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest--these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team--the first dynasty of the 20th century.

Crazy '08 recounts the 1908 season--the year when Peerless Leader Frank Chance's men went toe to toe to toe with John McGraw and Christy Mathewson's New York Giants and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates in the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League has its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's--and the Cubs'--year.

Crazy '08, however, is not just the exciting story of a great season. It is also about the forces that created modern baseball, and the America that produced it. In 1908, crooked pols run Chicago's First Ward, and gambling magnates control the Yankees. Fans regularly invade the field to do handstands or argue with the umps; others shoot guns from rickety grandstands prone to burning. There are anarchists on the loose and racial killings in the town that made Lincoln. On the flimsiest of pretexts, General Abner Doubleday becomes a symbol of Americanism, and baseball's own anthem, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," is a hit.

Picaresque and dramatic, 1908 is a season in which so many weird and wonderful things happen that it is somehow unsurprising that a hairpiece, a swarm of gnats, a sudden bout of lumbago, and a disaster down in the mines all play a role in its outcome. And sometimes the events are not so wonderful at all. There are several deaths by baseball, and the shadow of corruption creeps closer to the heart of baseball--the honesty of the game itself. Simply put, 1908 is the year that baseball grew up.

Oh, and it was the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

Destined to be as memorable as the season it documents, Crazy '08 sets a new standard for what a book about baseball can be.

by Abraham Iqbal Khan (Author)

How the interplay of media, race, and one player's defiance created free agency and changed baseball forever Curt Flood in the Media examines the public discourse surrounding Curt Flood (1938-1997), the star center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals throughout the sixties. In 1969, Flood was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, all Major League Baseball players were subject to the reserve clause, which essentially bound a player to work in perpetuity for his original team, unless traded for another player or sold for cash, in which case he worked under the same reserve conditions for the next team. Flood refused the trade on a matter of principle, arguing that Major League Baseball had violated both U.S. antitrust laws and the 13th Amendment's prohibition of involuntary servitude. In a defiant letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn asking for his contractual release, Flood infamously wrote, "after twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes." Most significantly, Flood appeared on national television with Howard Cosell and described himself as a "well-paid slave." Explosive controversy ensued. Khan examines the ways in which the media constructed the case and Flood's persona. By examining the mainstream press, the black press, and primary sources including Flood's autobiography, Khan exposes the complexities of what it means to be a prominent black American athlete--in 1969 and today. Abraham Iqbal Khan, Tampa, Florida, is an assistant professor who holds joint appointments in the department of communication and the department of Africana studies at the University of South Florida.

Front Jacket

How the interplay of media, race, and one player's defiance created free agency and changed baseball forever

Author Biography

Abraham Iqbal Khan is assistant professor in the Department of Communication and the Department of Africana Studies at the University of South Florida.

by David Krell (Author)

A unique and dynamic look at a pivotal year in American history and culture.

Author Biography

David Krell is a former TV news producer at MSNBC. He is the author of 1962: Baseball and America in the Time of JFK and Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory and Popular Culture. Krell also edited the anthologies The New York Yankees in Popular Culture and The New York Mets in Popular Culture. In addition, Krell has written for the Baseball Hall of Fame magazine Memories and Dreams and several Society for American Baseball Research publications. For more than 10 years, Krell's series, "Krell's Korner," has covered cases and historical events for the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

by Bob Alejo (Author), Jose Antonio (Author), William Campbell (Author)

Written to help athletes get in better shape to play the best baseball of their lives. Eating right, taking the right supplements, and engaging in a proper training regimin all contribute to overall baseball performance. Provides healthy eating tip, in general and also for game days, and advice on how athletes can safely gain or lose weight. Sports supplements to enhance baseball performance are discussed, as are restorative measures (whirlpools, massages, rehabilitation).

by Jim Albert (Author), Jay Bennett (Author)

This revised and updated softcover edition of the 2001 SABR-Award- winning original edition works with new baseball data. An index will be added.

by Paul Aron (Author)

Advance Praise for Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot?
""Aron has found the Rosetta stone to all of baseball's enduring mysteries, and he skips it along the pond with utter disregard for the ducks. His fortunate readers will have so much fun they may not even notice that they are becoming, page by page, real experts. Here is surefire water-cooler ammo.""
--JOHN THORN, editor of Total Baseball
""Paul Aron puts a distant replay on the most famous controversies in baseball history. This is more fun than if he'd been there with a camcorder.""
--ALLEN BARRA, author of Clearing the Bases and Brushbacks and Knockdowns
""Paul Aron has hit a home run for baseball fans. He dissects the evidence on baseball's 28 most charming mysteries. The result is a well-written, enjoyable, enlightening tour of the last hundred years of baseball history.""
--ANDREW ZIMBALIST, author of Baseball and Billions
""Paul Aron's book on elements of baseball is both wise and fun, illuminating and entertaining.""
--ROBERT ADAIR, author of The Physics of Baseball
""The essential last word for every fan who loves to debate baseball fact and fiction.""
--MICHAEL SHAPIRO, author of The Last Good Season

Back Jacket

Advance Praise for Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot?

""Aron has found the Rosetta stone to all of baseball's enduring mysteries, and he skips it along the pond with utter disregard for the ducks. His fortunate readers will have so much fun they may not even notice that they are becoming, page by page, real experts. Here is surefire water-cooler ammo.""
--JOHN THORN, editor of Total Baseball

""Paul Aron puts a distant replay on the most famous controversies in baseball history. This is more fun than if he'd been there with a camcorder.""
--ALLEN BARRA, author of Clearing the Bases and Brushbacks and Knockdowns

""Paul Aron has hit a home run for baseball fans. He dissects the evidence on baseball's 28 most charming mysteries. The result is a well-written, enjoyable, enlightening tour of the last hundred years of baseball history.""
--ANDREW ZIMBALIST, author of Baseball and Billions

""Paul Aron's book on elements of baseball is both wise and fun, illuminating and entertaining.""
--ROBERT ADAIR, author of The Physics of Baseball

""The essential last word for every fan who loves to debate baseball fact and fiction.""
--MICHAEL SHAPIRO, author of The Last Good Season

Author Biography

PAUL ARON is the author of Unsolved Mysteries of American History, Unsolved Mysteries of History, and More Unsolved Mysteries of American History, all from Wiley. He is also an award-winning reporter for the Virginia Gazette.

by Abraham Iqbal Khan (Author)

How the interplay of media, race, and one player's defiance created free agency and changed baseball forever Curt Flood in the Media examines the public discourse surrounding Curt Flood (1938-1997), the star center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals throughout the sixties. In 1969, Flood was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, all Major League Baseball players were subject to the reserve clause, which essentially bound a player to work in perpetuity for his original team, unless traded for another player or sold for cash, in which case he worked under the same reserve conditions for the next team. Flood refused the trade on a matter of principle, arguing that Major League Baseball had violated both U.S. antitrust laws and the 13th Amendment's prohibition of involuntary servitude. In a defiant letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn asking for his contractual release, Flood infamously wrote, "after twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes." Most significantly, Flood appeared on national television with Howard Cosell and described himself as a "well-paid slave." Explosive controversy ensued. Khan examines the ways in which the media constructed the case and Flood's persona. By examining the mainstream press, the black press, and primary sources including Flood's autobiography, Khan exposes the complexities of what it means to be a prominent black American athlete--in 1969 and today. Abraham Iqbal Khan, Tampa, Florida, is an assistant professor who holds joint appointments in the department of communication and the department of Africana studies at the University of South Florida.

Front Jacket

How the interplay of media, race, and one player's defiance created free agency and changed baseball forever

Author Biography

Abraham Iqbal Khan is assistant professor in the Department of Communication and the Department of Africana Studies at the University of South Florida.

by Lew Freedman (Author)

An early celebrity pitcher, Denton "Cy" Young (1867-1955) established supreme standards on the mound. A small-town Ohio farmer made good, he set Major League pitching records in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that will likely last forever.

The winner of 511 games--nearly one hundred more than the second-ranked hurler--Young pitched the first perfect game of the modern era, as well as three no-hitters. His talents helped establish the American League in 1901.

Among the Hall of Fame's first inductees, he remained a sought-after interviewee decades after retirement. A year after his death, the Cy Young Award was dedicated as baseball's most prestigious honor for pitchers.

Author Biography

Lew Freedman is a long-time, prize-winning journalist for such newspapers as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Anchorage Daily News, Seymour, Indiana's The Tribune and Wyoming's Cody Enterprise. Specializing in sports and the outdoors, he has written more than 100 books. He lives in Columbus, Indiana.

by Donald Hall (Author), Dock Ellis (With)

One of America's finest poets joins forces with one of baseball's most outrageous pitchers to paint a revealing portrait of our national game. Donald Hall's forceful, yet elegant, prose brings together all the elements of Dock Ellis's story into a seamless whole. The two of them, the pitcher and the poet, give us remarkable insight into the customs and culture of this closed clannish world. Dock's keen vision, filtered through Hall's extraordinary voice, shows us the hardships and problems of the thinking athlete in an unthinking world.

Author Biography

Donald Andrew Hall Jr. was an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and including 22 volumes of verse. Hall was a graduate of Phil

by Bill Meissner (Author)

A collection of 100 artistic photographs accompanied by prose meditations about the game of baseball. a collection of 100 unique photographs of small-town or amateur baseball fields accompanied by short prose. The themes range from the joys and struggles of growing up and growing old, to romance relationships (a section entitled "Love and Baseball"), to meditations about the game and the way it becomes a metaphor for our lives. One section ("In Another League") focuses on baseball in the Caribbean, featuring the players and rustic fields in Mexico and St. Thomas. One prose piece is a tribute to the late great Hank Aaron, and the racial discrimination he had to overcome. The ballfields themselves have their say, too, and there are whimsical pieces written from the point of view of the backstop, a line drive, the scoreboard, a light pole, and even the clouds that hover over a game.

by Bill Redban (Author)

Discover The Inspirational Story of Baseball Superstar Clayton Kershaw!

• Youth and Family Life
• High School and Minor League Career
• Professional Career and Personal Life
• Legacy, Charitable Acts and much more!

by James R. Walker (Author), Robert V. Jr. Bellamy (Author)

In Baseball Weekly's list of things that most affected baseball in the twentieth century, television ranked second--behind only the signing of Jackie Robinson. The new medium of television exposed baseball to a genuinely national audience; altered the financial picture for teams, owners, and players; and changed the way Americans followed the game. Center Field Shot explores these changes--all even more prominent in the first few years of the twenty-first century--and makes sense of their meaning for America's pastime. Center Field Shot traces a sometimes contentious but mutually beneficial relationship from the first televised game in 1939 to the new era of Internet broadcasts, satellite radio, and high-definition TV, considered from the perspective of businessmen collecting merchandising fees and advertising rights, franchise owners with ever more money to spend on talent, and broadcasters trying to present a game long considered "unfriendly" to television. Ultimately the association of baseball with television emerges as a reflection of--perhaps even a central feature of--American culture at large.

Author Biography

James R. Walker is professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communications at Saint Xavier University. Robert V. Bellamy Jr. is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Multimedia Arts at Duquesne University.

by J. Félix Luzón (Author), Félix Gabriel Luzón S. (Author)

Este interesante trabajo representa un esfuerzo por ofrecer una visión interna del aspecto ejecutivo de la industria del Baseball así como de las complejidades de su mundo laboral. En muchos aspectos, "Cómo se juega Baseball fuera del terreno" recoge las experiencias de quienes han dedicado su vida a esta industria y está llamado a convertirse en un valioso recurso para aquellos quienes comienzan a transitar el laberinto de este interesante competitivo, complejo y fascinante universo.

by Allen Barra (Author), Bob Costas (Foreword by)

Sports expert Allen Barra's Clearing the Bases takes you to the heart of baseball's ultimate question in this, the ultimate baseball debate book, one guaranteed to spark thousands of heated arguments and supply the fuel for thousands more.

Who was better, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays? Who was the best right-hander of the '60s, Bob Gibson or Juan Marichal? Who is the greatest starting pitcher of all time? At his peak, who was more valuable, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams? If Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, and Roger Clemens had pitched at the same time against the same hitters, who would have won the most games? If Jackie Robinson had been white, would he be deserving of the Hall of Fame? Is Pete Rose overrated? Has Tim Raines been underrated? Who is the best hitter of the game today-- Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, Jr.? Is today's pitching really that bad? Why can't modern pitchers go nine innings? Which are more valuable--good starters or good relievers? How important is the stolen base? What are the myths that still surround Babe Ruth? What was the most talented baseball team of the twentieth century? Which twentieth-century championship team has been most slighted by baseball historians? What has been the real impact of black and Latin talent on Major League Baseball? Is baseball more competitive now than it was one hundred years ago? Or fifty? Or twenty-five? Who was the greatest all-around player of the last century? Find the answers here.

Author Biography

Allen Barra writes a column for the Wall Street Journal and Salon.com. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and is also heard regularly on Major League Baseball Radio. He lives in South Orange, New Jersey. He is the author of Clearing the Bases: The Greatest Baseball Debates of the Last Century, among other books.

by Jim Vitti (Author)

It's not quite like today's spring training: one might find a rookie ballplayer (nicknamed Hack) uprooting trees with his bare hands or a future president of the United States getting into a barroom brawl with some grizzled sportswriters. The team was the Chicago Cubs, and the place was Santa Catalina Island-through the Roaring Twenties, Great Depression, and World War II. William Wrigley owned both island and ballclub; from 1921 to 1951, they came together. There were movie stars, like Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe. There were grand steamships, big bands, hopes and dreams, and World Series rings. It's Chicago Cubs: Baseball on Catalina Island, and it's a trip like no other.

by Norman L. Macht (Author), Connie Mack III (Foreword by)

Connie Mack (1862-1956) was the Grand Old Man of baseball and one of the game's first true celebrities. This book, spanning the first fifty-two years of Mack's life, through 1914, covers his experiences as player, manager, and club owner and will stand as the definitive biography of baseball's most legendary and beloved figure. Norman L. Macht chronicles Mack's little-known beginnings. He tells how Mack, a school dropout at fourteen, created strategies for winning baseball and principles for managing men long before there were notions of defining such subjects. And he details how Mack, a key figure in the launching of the American League in 1901, won six of the league's first fourteen pennants while serving as manager, treasurer, general manager, traveling secretary, and public relations and scouting director (all at the same time) for the Philadelphia Athletics. This book brings to life the unruly origins of baseball as a sport and a business. It also provides the first complete and accurate picture of a character who was larger than life and yet little known: the tricky, rule-bending catcher; the peppery field leader and fan favorite; the hot-tempered young manager. Illustrated with family photographs never before published, it affords unique insight into a colorful personality who helped shape baseball as we know it today.

Author Biography

Norman L. Macht is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the author of more than thirty books, including biographies of Rowdy Richard (with Dick Bartell) and Rex Barney's Thank Youuuu (with Rex Barney).

by David Maraniss (Author)

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of When Pride Still Mattered comes a book destined to become a modern classic--a full-scale biography of great baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, who lived, played, and died with enduring passion and grace. of photos.

Author Biography

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s--Rome 1960; Once in a Great City (winner of the RFK Book Prize); and They Marched into Sunlight (winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and Pulitzer Finalist in History).

by Jennifer Maruno (Author)

CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Spring 2016) -- Commended

Is pretending to be someone else the only way Michiko can fit in?

Michiko Minigawa's life is nothing but a bad game of baseball. The Canadian government swung the bat once, knocking her family away from a Vancouver home base to an old farmhouse in the Kootenay Mountains. But when they move into town, the government swings the bat again, announcing that all Japanese must now move east of the Rockies or else go to Japan.

Now in Ontario, Michiko once again has to adjust to a whole new kind of life. She is the only Japanese student in her school, and making friends is harder than it was before. When Michiko surprises an older student with her baseball skills and he encourages her to try out for the local team, she gives it a shot. But everyone thinks this new baseball star is a boy. Michiko has to make a decision: quit playing ball (and being harassed), or pitch like she's never pitched before.

Author Biography

Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She is also the author of Warbird, Cherry Blossom Winter, Kid Soldier, and Totem. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.

by Drew Coolidge (Author)

"I coached with Drew in the early '90s and his style and ideas continue to maximize all players' potential by simplifying and slowing down the speed of the game."
- John Mozeliak St. Louis Cardinals General Manager

by Norman L. Macht (Author), Connie Mack III (Foreword by)

Connie Mack (1862-1956) was the Grand Old Man of baseball and one of the game's first true celebrities. This book, spanning the first fifty-two years of Mack's life, through 1914, covers his experiences as player, manager, and club owner and will stand as the definitive biography of baseball's most legendary and beloved figure. Norman L. Macht chronicles Mack's little-known beginnings. He tells how Mack, a school dropout at fourteen, created strategies for winning baseball and principles for managing men long before there were notions of defining such subjects. And he details how Mack, a key figure in the launching of the American League in 1901, won six of the league's first fourteen pennants while serving as manager, treasurer, general manager, traveling secretary, and public relations and scouting director (all at the same time) for the Philadelphia Athletics. This book brings to life the unruly origins of baseball as a sport and a business. It also provides the first complete and accurate picture of a character who was larger than life and yet little known: the tricky, rule-bending catcher; the peppery field leader and fan favorite; the hot-tempered young manager. Illustrated with family photographs never before published, it affords unique insight into a colorful personality who helped shape baseball as we know it today.

Author Biography

Norman L. Macht is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the author of more than thirty books, including biographies of Rowdy Richard (with Dick Bartell) and Rex Barney's Thank Youuuu (with Rex Barney).

by Keith O'Brien (Author)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A captivating chronicle of the incredible story of one of America's most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures--baseball immortal Pete Rose--and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century - "Comprehensive, compulsively readable and wholly terrific."--The Wall Street Journal

Author Biography

KEITH O'BRIEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Paradise Falls, Fly Girls, and Outside Shot, a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting, and an award-winning journalist. O'Brien has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico, and his stories have also appeared on National Public Radio and This American Life. He lives in New Hampshire.

by Bill Meissner (Author)

A collection of 100 artistic photographs accompanied by prose meditations about the game of baseball. a collection of 100 unique photographs of small-town or amateur baseball fields accompanied by short prose. The themes range from the joys and struggles of growing up and growing old, to romance relationships (a section entitled "Love and Baseball"), to meditations about the game and the way it becomes a metaphor for our lives. One section ("In Another League") focuses on baseball in the Caribbean, featuring the players and rustic fields in Mexico and St. Thomas. One prose piece is a tribute to the late great Hank Aaron, and the racial discrimination he had to overcome. The ballfields themselves have their say, too, and there are whimsical pieces written from the point of view of the backstop, a line drive, the scoreboard, a light pole, and even the clouds that hover over a game.

by Tom Van Riper (Author)

Call it the forgotten rivalry. The Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers may not share geographical boundaries, and today they don't even play in the same division, but for a period of time in the 1970s Dodgers vs. Reds was the best rivalry in Major League Baseball. They boasted the biggest names of the game--Johnny Bench, Steve Garvey, Pete Rose, Don Sutton, and Ron Cey, to name a few--and appeared in the World Series seven out of nine years.

Author Biography

Tom Van Riper wrote about the business of sports for Forbes for ten years. His body of work includes two cover stories for Forbes magazine which featured Major League Baseball player Matt Kemp and NFL coach Bill Parcells. Prior to Forbes, Van Riper covered the business beat for New York's Daily News. He is the author of The Glory of '86: The Year Boston Ruled the Sports World.

by David Maraniss (Author)

Discover the remarkable life of Roberto Clemente--one of the most accomplished--and beloved--baseball heroes of his generation from Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss.

Author Biography

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s--Rome 1960; Once in a Great City (winner of the RFK Book Prize); and They Marched into Sunlight (winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and Pulitzer Finalist in History).

by Richard Bak (Author)

The period from 1920 through the early post-World War II years remains the greatest in the long history of the Detroit Tigers Baseball Club. Between 1920 and 1950 the club won four pennants and two World Series, placed second seven times, and regularly fielded exciting, competitive teams.

Richard Bak spent ten years recording the life stories of nearly two dozen Tigers players from Detroit's "golden age." There was no pattern to how life had treated them since their playing days--some had stayed in the game as broadcasters or scouts; others had slipped into quiet anonymity as milkmen or machine repairmen. Bak retains the flavor of each man's speech and the integrity of his character. Players' interviews are prefaced with a short history of the parallel paths the city and professional baseball took from the end of World War I through the early 1950s.

Author Biography

Richard Bak is the author of more than twenty-five books, including A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium (Wayne State University Press, 1998), and Turkey Stearnes and the Detroit Stars: The Negro Leagues in Detroit, 1919-1933 (Wayne State University Press, 1995).

by Nicholas J. Fichtner (Author)

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is one of the greatest landmarks in both baseball and in professional sports. However, throughout the history of baseball, there have been players who were highly accomplished, but they get overlooked for a variety of reasons. Whether their contemporaries dominated their era, or they did not receive enough notable accolades or some other vague rationale, there are those whose production, performance, and greatness isn't acknowledged, especially by those who vote on the Baseball Hall of Fame, the BBWAA.

by Sinha And Bi Anup Sinha and Bill Lajoie (Author), Anup Sinha and Bill Lajoie (Author)

by Dave Parker (Author), Dave Jordan (Author)

Dave Parker was one of the biggest and most badass baseball players of the late twentieth century. He was a seven-time All-Star, a two-time batting champion, a three-time Gold Glove winner, the 1978 National League MVP, and a World Series champion with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland A's. Here the great Dave Parker delivers his wild and long-awaited autobiography--an authoritative account of Black baseball during its heyday as seen through the eyes of none other than the Cobra.

Author Biography

Dave Parker (1951-2025) was a 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. He played nineteen seasons in the Major Leagues and was the first million-dollar-per-year player. He created the Dave Parker 39 Foundation, an organization focused on finding a cure for Parkinson's disease. Dave Jordan is a writer and filmmaker living in New Jersey. He has written for Sporting News, SB Nation, and the Hardball Times, and he is the coauthor (with John D'Acquisto) of Fastball John.

by Bill Thurston (Author)

The quickest way to become an experienced coach.

You thought you were going to sign your kid up for the local youth league. Now, here you are, a newly appointed coach. Part of the successful Baffled Parent's series, Coaching Youth Baseball has everything you need to manage, motivate, and encourage an eight to twelve -year-old ball team.

Written by a four-time New England Coach of the Year, it shows novice coaches exactly how to go about building skills, developing teamwork and sportsmanship, and creating an experience that both kids and coach enjoy.

Bill Thurston leaves no question unanswered. He addresses both broad organizational issues like how to get uniforms or arrange for practice time and more focused specifics like what to do at the first practice. The Baffled Parents Guide is the ultimate coaching guide for the uninformed.

Back Jacket

Coach Thurston is a teacher of proper baseball skills and fundamentals. Youth coaches and players will benefit from the individual skill instruction and drills."--Dan Duquette, General Manager, Boston Red Sox

"Always remind yourself that your goal is to provide a fun and rewarding experience for you and your team."--Bill Thurston

Coach. You thought you were just going to sign up your child for the youth league. But here you are, a newly appointed coach. You didn't ask for it, but it happened anyway. Now you need help.

Don't despair. This complete guidebook will not only get you through it but will help you become the coach you'd like to be--the coach who can give those kids the sports experience they deserve. You've already taken a big step: you said "yes" to this important commitment. Congratulations. You'll have a great time, and Bill Thurston is here to help.

• Survive your first practice and game
• Win over problem players and parents
• Know what to do in a game situation
• Reach all your players
• Work with girls and boys
• Match your drills and strategies to age and ability
• Make it fun and rewarding
• Be the coach you never had
• Generate enthusiasm
• Improve your players and your team

Coaching Youth Baseball also helps novice coaches determine:

• How to get uniforms and arrange for practice time
• What drills are best to teach basic skills like catching, throwing, and batting
• Some of the safety concerns specific to baseball
• The 5 tips to being a good coach
• And much more!

"This book is a great source of information for youth coaches and players."--John Cerutti, former major league pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays

Here's what coaches have said about The Baffled Parent's Guides:

"Essential reading."--Jim Sheldon, Executive Director, National Soccer Association of America, on Coaching Youth Soccer

"An excellent guide to teaching kids about the game."--Larry Bird, basketball legend, on Coaching Youth Basketball

"A tool I would recommend to all youth coaches."--Jill Kearney, recreation director, on Coaching Youth Basketball

Author Biography

Bill Thurston has coached Amherst College's baseball team for 35 years. He is also an American Olympic team pitching coach and has been named New England Coach of the Year four times.

by John Rosengren (Author)

A collection of iconic, unbelievable, and intimate stories from baseball history that celebrate the enduring impact of the national pastime.

Author Biography

John Rosengren is the author of ten books, including Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes, the definitive biography of the Hall of Fame Jewish baseball player; Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year that Changed Baseball Forever; and The Fight of their Lives: How Juan Marichal and John Roseboro Turned Baseball's Ugliest Brawl into a Story of Forgiveness and Redemption. A Pulitzer nominee for his journalism, Rosengren has written articles about baseball and many other subjects for more than 100 publications, including The Atavist, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, and The Washington Post Magazine. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

by Ted Meyer (Author)

Whether you are a baseball fan or not, reading Championing the Cause of Leadership will deepen your skillset as a leader and could dramatically improve the future of your team.

If your organization is not performing at its best, this book is for you. It puts you right into the shoes of the leaders of the great baseball dynasties and demonstrates how they overcame challenges common to those in our own teams and groups. Topics include managing and motivating highly talented but dysfunctional individuals, turning around careers that have stalled late in life, better understanding the practical benefits of diversity and inclusion, and inspiring individuals to find their best within the context of their teams.

Meyer combines his over thirty years representing some of the world's top companies with his deep knowledge of baseball history and looks at leadership from a brand-new perspective. Learn the value of encouraging leadership from all levels in your organization. Discover the critical importance of leaders coming to terms with their own internal demons before they can reach their full potential. Unlock the secrets of how to out-perform the competition in times of intense pressure and how to find opportunity in times of crisis.

The stories of the greatest teams of our greatest game are wildly entertaining and provide unique insight into our own success. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, reading Championing the Cause of Leadership will deepen your skillset as a leader and could dramatically improve the future of your team.

by Michael M. Okihiro (Author)

This is an informational book on the basic mechanics of baseball, how to throw, field and hit a baseball. The same basic mechanics apply to softball. They are easy to learn and by learning them, the game should become more enjoyable and exciting. The information is aimed primarily at youngsters who are learning the game, but should find application to ballplayers at every stage of development. As every serious student of baseball knows, there are dozens of instructional books on the game. So why another one? Well, there are a number of us who feel that George "Manju" Nitta's knowledge of the intricacies of the game goes far beyond the obvious and ordinary, and that many of the things that he has learned and has been willing to teach, his secrets, are not found in the many books that are available today. Furthermore, he says he's learned so much from the kids as well as the parents who bring them to him and some of these insights will be included in this book.

by Tanner Jones (Author)

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy baseball cards. When Tanner Jones came back to the hobby as an adult, he instantly fell in love with baseball cards all over again. In his signature comedic tone, Tanner retells his adventures in acquiring millions of cards, how he became a custom card creator, and the day he spent with his childhood hero, Jose Canseco, landing both of them on the cover of Beckett Baseball magazine. By popular demand, he shares the strategies used to assemble his world-famous collection, and how he quickly sold it for profit, while managing to keep several of his favorite pieces. Confessions of a Baseball Card Addict is an entertaining and insightful read for collectors of all ages. Continue reading about his adventures in cardboard at www.TanManBaseballFan.com.

by Paul D. White (Author)

For over 60 years, the color barrier excluded Black ballplayers from the major leagues, forcing them to form their own teams and leagues. After Jackie Robinson broke down that barrier, Black players faced another: the barrier to the Hall of Fame. At the time of the founding of the Hall of Fame, segregation was firmly entrenched in baseball, and it was defended by the same power brokers who kept the Hall successful with their support. The fight for the recognition that Black players had earned on the field lasted nearly as long as the color barrier itself. This book presents the full history of that fight: the exclusion of Black players for so many years, the many efforts to fix that, and the fights for Hall of Fame recognition of the Negro Leagues that are still ongoing.

Author Biography

Paul White is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, has written for SABR's BioProject and Games Project and is the editor of the Lost In Left Field newsletter. He lives in the suburbs of Kansas City.

by Ted Davis (Author)

by Darren Munns (Author)

"Cheers to Baseball is a down to Earth, fun loving, real life look into what athletics truly teaches and the many stories behind those lessons. Darren Munns captures the true essence of these lifetime lessons you learn through sports and through life."

Larissa Anderson, Head Softball Coach, University of Missouri

"In crafting a lengthy career which has molded countless young men, Coach Munns has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on how the vicissitudes of life are mirrored in baseball. This is a must-read for anyone looking to gain insight into effective qualities of leadership in any endeavor."

Doug Feldmann, Author and former Major League Scout

"Coach Munns is one of the greatest baseball minds I've ever encountered, and a larger than life character. Cheers to Baseball pulls back the curtain on a one-of-a-kind baseball life and career. Once you pick it up, you won't put it down."

Roy Hallenbeck, Coach for the Major League Baseball Identification Tour and former high school and college baseball coach

"I've known Coach Munns for 30 years. His coaching anecdotes, leadership advice, and entertaining stories are on full display in Cheers to Baseball. This is a true baseball masterpiece!"

John Szefc, Head Baseball Coach, Virginia Tech University

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"I have coached college baseball for nearly three decades, but in reality baseball has coached me." Darren Munns

Enjoy the insightful and wildly entertaining story of a college baseball coach that transformed four college baseball programs, who either didn't exist or were perennial losers, into improbable winners against all odds. Coach Munns details his keys to successful leadership including Contrarian philosophies, unique strategies for developing people skills, and the importance of having FUN.

Cheers to Baseball by Darren Munns is a baseball jewel, but this easy read is truly beneficial for coaches of other sports, entrepreneurs, supervisors, and all aspiring leaders. Prepare to have your thoughts provoked and laugh out loud while gaining valuable leadership lessons.

by Jack Shakely (Author)

by Lowry Global Media LLC (Author), Mark Schumacher (Author), Maria Schumacher (Editor)

Step Up to the Plate with Baseball Facts!

Immerse yourself in the rich history and exhilarating moments of America's favorite pastime with our Large Print Baseball Facts Word Search Puzzle Book. Perfect for baseball enthusiasts and puzzle lovers alike, this book offers an engaging journey through the legends, milestones, and memorable events that have shaped the game.

Discover the Legends

Each page unveils captivating facts about baseball-from the legendary players like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays to iconic moments such as the Miracle on Ice and historic World Series triumphs. Bolded keywords within the engaging narratives are cleverly hidden in word search puzzles on the opposite page, providing hours of entertainment and mental stimulation.

Feel the Excitement and Strength

Reconnect with the thrill of the game and the spirit of competition that makes baseball so beloved. As you uncover hidden words and delve into stories of heroic plays and outstanding achievements, experience a surge of positivity and mental clarity, enhancing your sense of empowerment and well-being. Sharpen your mind and boost your cognitive abilities while indulging in a hobby that brings joy and a sense of accomplishment.

Easy on the Eyes

With large print and a reader-friendly layout, you can comfortably immerse yourself in a seamless reading and puzzle-solving experience, ensuring you feel relaxed and at ease. The thoughtful design makes it accessible for everyone, enhancing your overall enjoyment and well-being.

Whether you're a lifelong fan of baseball or new to its captivating charm, this book promises a blend of excitement, knowledge, and happiness. It's more than just a puzzle book-it's a celebration of teamwork, skill, and the enduring legacy of one of the world's most beloved sports.

Get your copy today and swing your way to mental fitness and happiness!

Explore More of Our Exciting Titles

Continue your adventure with our other engaging word search puzzle books:

Elvis Presley Facts Word Search Puzzle BookDonny Osmond Facts Word Search Puzzle BookGunsmoke Facts Word Search Puzzle BookDolly Parton Facts Word Search Puzzle BookThe Beatles Facts Word Search Puzzle Book

Discover these titles and continue your journey toward entertainment, nostalgia, and a stronger, happier you!

by Erik Wagle (Author)

Choose a Side: A Beyond the Field Blueprint for Baseball Success is an essential guide for players, par-ents, and coaches who want to navigate the baseball journey with purpose and clarity. Instead of following the traditional paths littered with costly showcases and quick-fix programs, this book reveals a smarter, athlete-centered way to develop and succeed. Drawing from years of experience in high-performance training, Erik Wagle outlines a clear progression from early high school through recruitment and beyond, offering proven strategies to build strength, skill, and resilience. Along the way, readers will learn how to avoid common industry pitfalls and prioritize the physical and mental growth needed to thrive in the competitive world of baseball. With practical advice and insider insights, Choose a Side empowers families to make informed choices, helping young athletes achieve their full potential and take control of their journey to the highest levels of the game.

by Bob Gaines (Author)

Nearly a century after his final major league appearance, Christy Mathewson is still considered one of the greatest right-handed pitchers in the history of baseball. Mathewson ranks in the top ten among pitchers for wins, shutouts, and ERA, and in 1936 he was honored as one of the inaugural members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Playing in the early twentieth century, Mathewson was the nation's first All-American hero, a man of Christianity inspiring the values of millions while bringing dignity to a game that had previously been reserved for rougher characters.

Author Biography

Bob Gaines was an award-winning sportswriter and columnist for The Times-Advocate (North San Diego County) before he became the director of development communications at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He edited The Beauty of Bucknell (2001) and has been the key writer for hundreds of university publications.

by Traci Sorell (Author), Arigon Starr (Illustrator)

The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native pro baseball players to face off in a World Series. This picture book teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports.

Author Biography

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books, as well as poems for children. Her debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, was a Junior Library Guild selection. Her other books for young readers are At The Mountain's Base, which won an American Indian Youth Literature Award, We Are Still Here: Native American Truths, which received five starred reviews, and Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer. Traci is also an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located.

by Chris Lamb (Author)

Named a top 50 baseball book of all time by the Huffington Post
Named 2013 Best Book on Journalism and Mass Communication History by the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Named a top book for 2012 by Choice

Author Biography

Chris Lamb is chair of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at Indiana University-Indianapolis. He is the editor, author, or coauthor of eleven books, including Sports Journalism: A History of Glory, Fame, and Technology (Nebraska, 2020), From Jack Johnson to LeBron James: Sports, Media, and the Color Line (Nebraska, 2016), and Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson's First Spring Training (Nebraska, 2004).

by Mike Schmidt (Author), Glen Waggoner (Author)

Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Mike Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings.

But Schmidt's book goes beyond the Balco investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that's right with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters. Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a hall of famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.

Back Jacket

Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Mike Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings.

But Schmidt's book goes beyond the Balco investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that's right with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters. Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a hall of famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.

by Lou Hernández (Author)

A professional baseball prospect given little chance of making the big time, Octavio "Cookie" Rojas nevertheless flourished at the sport's top level during a 16-year major league career. Never breaking ties with the profession he loved, after leaving the field as a player Rojas continued well into his 70s in the varied roles of coach, scout, manager, and broadcaster.

Rojas broke into the big leagues in the early 1960s, a bygone era when there were only ten teams in each major league and the World Series was exclusively performed under the autumn sun. A native of Cuba, Rojas had to leave behind his country following the Cuban Revolution in order to pursue his ultimate baseball dreams. His side story of cultural assimilation, like those of his many ball-playing compatriots of the time, is a unique account of perseverance and dedication and a desire to succeed for himself and his family.

Author Biography

Lou Hernández is the author of multiple baseball histories and biographies, and two fantasy novels. He resides in South Florida.

by Dave Parker (Author), Dave Jordan (Author)

Finalist for the 2021 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year

Author Biography

Dave Parker (1951-2025), 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, was a former National League Most Valuable Player, two-time batting champion, and 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. He played nineteen seasons in the Major Leagues, was a seven-time All-Star, and won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger Awards. He was the 1979 All-Star MVP, played on two World Series champion teams, and was the first million-dollar-per-year player. Parker created the Dave Parker 39 Foundation, an organization focused on finding a cure for Parkinson's disease. Dave Jordan is a writer and filmmaker living in New Jersey. He founded Instream Sports, the first athlete-author writing platform. He has written for Sporting News, SB Nation, and the Hardball Times, and he is the coauthor (with John D'Acquisto) of Fastball John.

by Greg Larson (Author)

Greg Larson was a starry-eyed fan when he hurtled headfirst into professional baseball. As the new clubhouse attendant for the Aberdeen IronBirds, a Minor League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, Larson assumed he'd entered a familiar world. He thought wrong.

Author Biography

Greg Larson is an author, editor, and stand-up comedian. He spent two years as a clubhouse attendant for Cal Ripken Jr.'s Aberdeen IronBirds, the short-season single-A affiliate for the Baltimore Orioles.

by Tom Swift (Author)

The greatest American Indian baseball player of all time, Charles Albert Bender was, according to a contemporary, "the coolest pitcher in the game." Using a trademark delivery, an impressive assortment of pitches that may have included the game's first slider, and an apparently unflappable demeanor, he earned a reputation as baseball's great clutch pitcher during tight Deadball Era pennant races and in front of boisterous World Series crowds. More remarkably yet, "Chief" Bender's Hall of Fame career unfolded in the face of enormous prejudice. Winner of the 2009 Seymour Medal, this skillfully told and complete account of Bender's life is also a portrait of greatness of character in the face of incredible pressure. With a journalist's eye for detail and a novelist's feel for storytelling, Tom Swift takes readers on Bender's improbable journey--from his early years on the White Earth Reservation, to his development at the Carlisle Indian School, to his big break and eventual rise to the pinnacle of baseball. The story of a paradoxical American sports hero, one who achieved a once-unfathomable celebrity while suffering the harsh injustices of a racially intolerant world, Chief Bender's Burden is an eye-opening and inspiring narrative of a unique American life.

Author Biography

Tom Swift is an award-winning author and journalist, and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He and his wife, Carrie, live in Northfield, Minnesota. Visit his Web site at www.chiefbendersburden.com.

by Chris Lamb (Author)

The campaign to desegregate baseball was one of the most important civil rights stories of the 1930s and 1940s. But most of white America knew nothing about this story because mainstream newspapers said little about the color line and still less about the efforts to end it. Even today, as far as most Americans know, the integration of baseball revolved around Branch Rickey's signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers' organization in 1945. This book shows how Rickey's move, critical as it may have been, came after more than a decade of work by Black and left-leaning journalists to desegregate the game.
Drawing on hundreds of newspaper articles and interviews with journalists, Chris Lamb reveals how differently Black and white newspapers, and Black and white America, viewed racial equality. Between 1933 and 1945, Black newspapers and the communist Daily Worker published hundreds of articles and editorials calling for an end to baseball's color line, while white mainstream sportswriters perpetuated the color line by participating in what their Black counterparts called a "conspiracy of silence." The alternative presses' efforts to end baseball's color line, chronicled for the first time in Conspiracy of Silence, constitute one of the great untold stories of baseball--and the civil rights movement.

Author Biography

Chris Lamb is chair of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at Indiana University-Indianapolis. He is the editor, author, or coauthor of eleven books, including Sports Journalism: A History of Glory, Fame, and Technology (Nebraska, 2020), From Jack Johnson to LeBron James: Sports, Media, and the Color Line (Nebraska, 2016), and Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson's First Spring Training (Nebraska, 2004).