Baseball

by Scott Osder (Author), W. J. Sheweloff (Editor)

This book shares what Coach learned over the years. He wants to help you become an authority in gameplay and mental strategies in youth, high school, and college baseball. This book will teach you methods and techniques to take your game to the next level and details, mental preparedness, and emotional strategies that are just as crucial for success.

Scott Osder, an accomplished baseball coach with a career spanning multiple decades, has distinguished himself as a leader in both high school and some collegiate baseball. Known for his ability to transform struggling programs into champions, Osder's commitment to his players and his expertise in the sport has earned him the title of CIF Champion Coach and experience at the NCAA Division 1 and 2 levels. Now, as he prepares to write a book about his journey in the world of baseball, Osder aims to share the lessons, victories, and challenges that shaped him as a coach.

by Scott Cain (Author), Ivan Rodriguez (Foreword by)

Shortly after Cleburne landed the largest railroad shops west of the Mississippi, it set its sights on securing a professional baseball team. Against the odds, Cleburne became a Texas League town in 1906. After the first championship, the Railroaders loaded a train and left Cleburne. The town s professional teams would amass two championships, three pennants and several legendary major league players, including Tris Speaker, before disappearing. Despite lacking a professional club, the town continued to field teams at all levels, until the Railroaders made their triumphant return in 2017. Scott Cain shares a century of Cleburne baseball, including the cowboys who gunned down fly balls to intimidate umps, the pro team that played the Chicago White Sox and the city councilman who was a scorekeeper for the Negro Leagues in the 1950s."

by Carl E. Prince (Author)

During the 1952 World Series, a Yankee fan trying to watch the game in a Brooklyn bar was told, "Why don't you go back where you belong, Yankee lover?" "I got a right to cheer my team," the intruder responded, "this is a free country." "This ain't no free country, chum," countered the Dodger fan, "this is Brooklyn." Brooklynites loved their "Bums"--Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and all the murderous parade of regulars who, after years of struggle, finally won the World Series in 1955. One could not live in Brooklyn and not catch its spirit of devotion to its baseball club.
In Brooklyn's Dodgers, Carl E. Prince captures the intensity and depth of the team's relationship to the community and its people in the 1950s. Ethnic and racial tensions were part and parcel of a working class borough; the Dodgers' presence smoothed the rough edges of the ghetto conflict always present in the life of Brooklyn. The Dodger-inspired baseball program at the fabled Parade Grounds provided a path for boys that occasionally led to the prestigious "Dodger Rookie Team," and sometimes, via minor league contracts, to Ebbets Field itself. There were the boys who lined Bedford Avenue on game days hoping to retrieve home run balls and the men in the many bars who were not only devoted fans but collectively the keepers of the Dodger past--as were Brooklyn women, and in numbers. Indeed, women were tied to the Dodgers no less than their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons; they were only less visible. A few, like Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Marianne Moore and working class stiff Hilda Chester were regulars at Ebbets Field and far from invisible. Prince also explores the underside of the Dodgers--the "baseball Annies," and the paternity suits that went with the territory. The Dodgers' male culture was played out as well in the team's politics, in the owners' manipulation of Dodger male egos, opponents' race-baiting, and the macho bravado of the team (how Jackie Robinson, for instance, would prod Giants' catcher Sal Yvars to impotent rage by signaling him when he was going to steal second base, then taunting him from second after the steal).
The day in 1957 when Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced that the team would be leaving for Los Angeles was one of the worst moments in baseball history, and a sad day in Brooklyn's history as well. The Dodger team was, to a degree unmatched in other major league cities, deeply enmeshed in the life and psyche of Brooklyn and its people. In this superb volume, Carl Prince illuminates this "Brooklyn" in the golden years after the Second World War.

Author Biography

Carl E. Prince is Professor of History at New York University, and a past chair of the department. A specialist in early American history, he has written several books and many essays on early American political culture. With this book he picks up professionally a subject in which he has had a life-long interest.

by Mark Angelo (Author), Patricia DeWitt (Illustrator), Robin DeWitt (Illustrator)

"A young boy's love letter to baseball along with a slice of classic Hollywood history"

Set in 1958, a young boy and his friends want to be baseball players just like their Dodger idols. There's just one problem: they don't have a field to play in.

Luckily, the kids know a secret. There's a mansion around the corner with a yard big enough for an entire ball field and the hedge surrounding it has a gap just big enough to crawl through. Apparently, the owner is a big-time Hollywood mogul. He won't mind a few ball games, right?

This sensational true story of a young boy's encounter with a Hollywood legend is rich with youthful determination and summer fun, highlighting how every kid needs space to play.


"Mark has written a true and heartfelt story about what an act of kindness can bring to a child's life. CAN WE PLAY BASEBALL MR. DeMILLE is a book for all the family My copy is now proudly in the DeMille library." - Cecilia De Mille Presley, Producer, writer, activist for film preservation, author of the National book award for CECIL B DE MILLE; THE ART OF THE HOLLYWOOD EPIC, and Granddaughter of Mr. C.B. DeMille

by Jon Kerr (Author)

Calvin: Baseball's Last Dinosaur is the story of Calvin Griffith, who was rescued from poverty and adopted by his uncle (Hall of Famer Clark Griffith) and went on to become owner of the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins. Calvin's life included friendships with many greats of the game and figures in American history from the 1920s through the 1980s. The Griffith family operation would see many highs and lows, finally succumbing to the corporate-driven economic realities of modern sports. But Calvin, in his typically unvarnished fashion and with Jon Kerr's help, wouldn't go without giving his version of how baseball and the world changed.

by Geoff Griffin (Author)

Bobby Kelly is a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy who loves playing stickball in the street with his friends and cheering for the Dodgers. Bobby's dream of being part of the Dodgers comes true in 1947 when he lands the job of bat boy for the team. There's just one thing Bobby's not sure about. The Dodgers are planning to do something that has never been done before. An African-American named Jackie Robinson will be playing for Brooklyn. Bobby isn't sure how to feel about it, especially since members of his family and kids in his neighborhood don't like the idea. In order to truly become part of the Dodgers, Bobby will have to learn to accept Robinson as a member of the team and learn from his example. This fictional story looks at an important point in baseball history from a young person's perspective and highlights the time period, including using popular slang from the East Coast in the 1940s.

Author Biography

Geoff Griffin has worked as a lawyer, special education teacher, journalist and editor. He has over 20 years of experience writing for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has had a number of essays published in anthologies and is co-host of the award-winning Travel Brigade Radio Show and Podcast. This is his first work of fiction.

by Andrew O'Toole (Author)

Branch Rickey was one of the most important and charismatic figures in all of baseball, the archetype for all general managers who would follow. His contributions to the game were both numerous and highly significant; they include the desegregation of the majors, airline travel to road games, and the innovation of the minor league "farm" system.

This work focuses on Rickey's tenure as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1950 through 1955. In addition to contemporary accounts, Rickey's personal correspondence and interoffice memorandums are used to document his struggle to revamp the fate of a small-market team.

Author Biography

Andrew O'Toole has written cover stories for Pittsburgh History Magazine and Elysian Fields Quarterly. His article "Clemente's First Spring" won the 1998 Macmillan-SABR Baseball Research Award. He lives in Lebanon, Ohio.

by Al Clark (Author), Dan Schlossberg (Author), Marty Appel (Foreword by)

If an umpire could steal the show in a Major League game, Al Clark might well have been the one to do it. Tough but fair, in his thirty years as a professional umpire he took on some of baseball's great umpire baiters, such as Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, and Dick Williams, while ejecting any number of the game's elite--once tearing a hamstring in the process. He was the first Jewish umpire in American League history, and probably the first to eject his own father from the officials' dressing room. But whatever Clark was doing--officiating at Nolan Ryan's three hundredth win, Cal Ripken's record breaker, or the "earthquake" World Series of 1989, or braving a labor dispute, an anti-Semitic tirade by a Cy Young Award winner, or a legal imbroglio--it makes for a good story.
Called Out but Safe is Clark's outspoken and often hilarious account of his life in baseball from umpire school through the highlights to the inglorious end of his stellar career. Not just a source of baseball history and lore, Clark's book also affords a rare look at what life is like for someone who works for the Major Leagues' other team.

Author Biography

Al Clark was a professional umpire for thirty years, working more than three thousand games, including two All-Star Games, seven playoff series, and two World Series. Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg is the author or coauthor of more than thirty baseball books, including Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story and Making Airwaves: 60 Years at Milo's Microphone.

by David A. Adler (Author), Susanna Natti (Illustrator)

No mystery is too great for super-sleuth Cam Jansen and her amazing photographic memory!

Author Biography

David A. Adler (www.davidaadler.com and www.camjansen.com) is the author of more than 175 children's books. Before becoming a children's book author, he taught math and science, and completed master's degrees in marketing and economics. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

by Xan Barksdale (Author)

CATCHING-101: The Complete Guide for Baseball Catchers is the most comprehensive book ever written for baseball catchers. It contains tips, drills, and proper mechanics that will help every catcher or coach better understand the most difficult position on the field. This book contains information on EVERY aspect of catching that Coach Barksdale has learned through his years of experience from coaching nationally ranked NCAA teams, and playing at almost every level from Little League to professional baseball. A few of the topics covered in CATCHING-101 are: - Receiving - Blocking - Catching Pop Flies - Throwing - Fielding Bunts - Plays at Home Plate - Drills - Pitchouts - Pass Balls/Wild Pitches - Giving Signals - And More! If you have been searching for a source with lots of high quality information about catching, this is the book for you! CATCHING-101 was written by Coach Xan Barksdale who is currently an NCAA Division I baseball coach and an ex-professional baseball player. Coach Barksdale played in the Atlanta Braves organization and has been a featured speaker at the prestigious ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) national convention.

by Jim McConnell (Author)

For three decades, Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (1907-1962) was one of the most well-known pitchers in baseball. Frequently quoted by sportswriters, he appeared in all the popular sports publications as well as on Wheaties boxes and bubblegum cards, and was the undisputed star of the 1940 World Series.

Despite his success, he was sold or traded 14 times during his 20-year career. He pitched for nine of 16 Major League teams--including five stints with the Washington Senators--and made sports headlines nearly every year for holding out, being suspended or traded. In an era when players seldom changed teams more than once and rarely defied authority, Newsom seemed always at odds with the powers that be.

Drawing on interviews with family, friends and former teammates, this first full-length biography of Newsom takes an entertaining look at the life and career of one of sports' most memorable characters. Despite his nickname and nonstop antics, Bobo was much more than a clown, and gave more to the game than he ever got from it.

Author Biography

Sports journalist Jim McConnell has written Then and Now, a weekly sports history column for the Pasadena Star-News and its affiliates, for the past 20 years. He has won numerous writing awards, including those bestowed by The Associated Press, The California Newspaper Publisher's Association and the Greater Los Angeles Press Club. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Research Award. He lives in Covina, California.

by Roy Kerr (Author)

Buck Ewing (1859-1906) was regarded by contemporaries as the greatest catcher and all-around player of his era. A lifetime .300-hitter, he played every position on the diamond and led the league in fielding at two different positions. The first National League hitter to reach double digits in home runs, Ewing once stole six bases in a game, pioneered the snap forearm throw to catch runners napping, averaged 35 steals a season, and is the only catcher to lead his team in stolen bases (53 in 1888).

Off the field, Ewing's personality proved as multifaceted as his playing skills. Considered both affable and modest, he still received criticism from fellow players for negotiating contracts directly with the National League and was wrongly accused of faking injuries. This revealing biography provides a detailed exploration of Ewing's life and career, shedding new light on one of baseball's most talented and versatile players.

Front Jacket

Buck Ewing (1859-1906) was regarded by contemporaries as the greatest catcher and all-around player of his era. A lifetime .300-hitter, he played every position on the diamond and led the league in fielding at two different positions. The first National League hitter to reach double digits in home runs, Ewing once stole six bases in a game, pioneered the snap forearm throw to catch runners napping, averaged 35 steals a season, and is the only catcher to lead his team in stolen bases (53 in 1888).

Off the field, Ewing's personality proved as multifaceted as his playing skills. Considered both affable and modest, he still received criticism from fellow players for negotiating contracts directly with the National League and was wrongly accused of faking injuries. This revealing biography provides a detailed exploration of Ewing's life and career, shedding new light on one of baseball's most talented and versatile players.

Author Biography

Roy Kerr, a retired professor of Spanish and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), lives in Lakeland, Florida.

by Michael J. McCann (Author), Jim Maggiore (Author)

During its 100 years of hosting minor league baseball, Binghamton has been an affiliation of either the Yankees or the Mets for 57 years and the names of the players who have passed through Binghamton and are members of its shrine read like a Who's Who of baseball in New York City, including such notables as Edgardo Alfonzo, Clete Boyer, Whitey Ford, Lefty Gomez, Bobby Jones, "Wee Willie" Keeler, Thurman Munson, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Ralph Terry, and Tom Tresh. Some of the other shrine members profiled in the book who achieved national fame in the game include "Wild Bill" Hallahan, Ken Harrelson, Tommy Holmes, umpire and broadcaster Ron Luciano, and Bill Virdon. Over 748 players who have played in Binghamton have gone on to play in the big leagues, with the majority of those playing in the Big Apple!

This book profiles the members of Binghamton's Baseball Shrine and also discusses the history of baseball in Binghamton, from the Crickets, to the Bingos, to the Triplets and the current day Double-A team, the Binghamton Mets. The book is full of amusing stories, including the day Ralph Terry strutted like a peacock in Cooperstown, the day Johnny Blanchard hung up the phone when talking with George Weiss, and the day the fiancé of Lefty Gomez flushed his engagement ring down a toilet!

Testimonials include:

Ralph Terry, star pitcher for the Yankees in the 1960's: "I was 18-years-old when I arrived in Binghamton or my first year in pro ball, with a duffel bag in one hand and a game of Scrabble(R) in the other. This is where it all began and I remember it fondly."

Steve Kraly, pitcher for the 1953 World Champion New York Yankees: "I am proud to have called the greater Binghamton area my full-time home since 1956, after I completed my second tour of duty with the Triplets. You'll travel along the historic crossroads of both Binghamton and baseball as you read this book and I trust that a smile will be your companion."

Author Biography

Jim Maggiore has been a resident of the Greater Binghamton Area since graduating from Binghamton University in 1978. His writings on baseball have previously appeared in "Baseball Weekly," "The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin," and various editions of the "Binghamton Mets Baseball Program." Other baseball books written by Jim include (1) "Six More Wins: A Team, A Town, A Rebound and a Championship," which describes the 2014 Eastern League Championship Binghamton Mets team and uses the team as metaphor for the rising fortunes of the New York Mets and the city of Binghamton; and (2) "Spring Training with the Washington Nationals," which includes over 200 color photographs of the Nationals in action during spring training. Jim has been a diehard N.Y. Mets fan since his dad took him to see the Mets beat the Milwaukee Braves, 1-0, on a Charlie Smith single up the middle in September of 1965.

Michael J. McCann lives in Johnson City with his wife Susan and two sons, Ian and Shaun. He is a Johnson City firefighter during the day and baseball historian the rest of the time. This is his fourth book; previously he has co-authored "Hockey in Broome County," "Baseball in Broome County," and "The History of the Johnson City Fire Department." One of his earliest recollections of a game is the 1974 Hall of Fame game when his father took him on a bus trip to see the Atlanta Braves take on the Chicago White Sox. He remembers that Hank Aaron played left field for the Braves and Richie Allen wrote words in the infield dirt at first base.

by M. a. Stevens (Author)

Calculus Baseball is your personal road map to baseball success!

... and yes, there are secrets to successfully developing youth and high school baseball players.

What are these secrets?

Would I save money and valuable development time if I knew these secrets?

Did you know that only 2% of all high school baseball players move on to play baseball at the next level? Why then, does the average U.S. family invest over $30,000 or more over a ten-year process to develop a baseball player for just a 2% chance to see a return on their investment?

Many youth baseball players enter their high school baseball systems one, to two or more years behind other players based on knowledge of the game.

I witnessed this as a high school baseball coach ...

... and also knew that these same players were so far behind other players, that they would most likely never play varsity level high school baseball.

I was fortunate enough to play the game into my early twenties, and coach baseball for another thirty years as not only a high school coach, but an elite club coach, and youth coach.

I wrote Calculus Baseball to help parents navigate their player's development years, improve their chances for success, and save them thousands of dollars in the process. I tell this story through the eyes of a data scientist, because that's how I make a living while writing about baseball.

Calculus Baseball will have a profound effect on you as the reader ...

... you will discover the hidden secrets to developing successful baseball players.

You will enjoy this book, not only because of your newfound knowledge that will save you thousands of dollars, but because the book is funny, entertaining and full of real-life stories.

Get it now.

by Institute for Career Research (Author)

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HIT A NINETY-FIVE-mile-an-hour fastball or throw a wicked curve to have a successful career in professional baseball. In fact, you might not even have to hit or pitch at all. What better job could there be than to spend your life in America's pastime? You get up every morning and go to work at the ballpark. Baseball is big money today. Whether you wear a baseball uniform to work or a jacket and tie, you are still going to have to produce results to make it in this game. Many people think professional baseball starts and ends with the major leagues, but it doesn't. There are many minor league baseball clubs across the nation and plenty of jobs for baseball enthusiasts who want to trade in their fan status for a paycheck. Besides all the action you see on the field, you will find there is constant activity going on behind the scenes to make the fans experience at the ballpark so memorable they want to keep coming back for more, and bring the next generation of fans along with them. People rarely realize what it takes to be a general manager on any level of baseball, or the director of marketing, or a scout for a major league ball club. It takes more than a love of the game to succeed as a baseball professional - it requires a real obsession. When you work in professional baseball, you have to look at all aspects of the game, and you have to make tough decisions because everything you do involves one goal - to make the organization better. You never answer to just one boss; you have to please thousands of people. At every home game, the fans will let you know what they think of the job you are doing. If you are having a tough day, there is usually no place to hide. No matter how badly things are going, and how much you hope things turn around, you have to face the crowd. Whether you are on the field or in the front office, fans will find a way to let you know how they feel, especially during a losing streak. Yet, it's all worth it, because when you finally do hold up that championship trophy, you realize that there is no other job that can make you feel that good.

by Kevin Long (Author), Glen Waggoner (Author)

The Hitting Coach for the New York Yankees, Kevin Long trains power-hitters in the fine art of hitting a baseball well--a talent the legendary Ted Williams once called, "the most difficult skill in sport." In Cage Rat, the man who helps sharpen the mechanics of such superstars as Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Alex Rodriguez shares the expertise he honed over his more than two decades in the game as both player and coach. With an introduction by Alex Rodriguez and an Afterword by Robinson Cano, Cage Rat is an indispensable guide to hitting, filled with practical advice, fascinating behind-the-scenes action, and an enduring, inspiring love for the Great American Pastime.

Back Jacket

From Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long--the man who coaches all-stars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano--comes the inspiring story of one man's road to the big leagues, full of practical advice, behind-the-scenes baseball action, and an enduring, inspiring love for America's national pastime.

In Cage Rat, Long--with help from his spirited wife, Marcey--takes readers on an unforgettable journey from his early days in the minor leagues, to his major-league dreams of playing with the Kansas City Royals, to his dramatic decision to turn to coaching, to the fateful call from the Yankees. Along with its compelling narrative, Cage Rat is also an indispensable guide to hitting. From bat angle to grip, from plate coverage to athletic stance and hitting drills, Long takes us into the Yankees' batting cage, showing us how major-league players hone their hitting skills.

Chock-full of inspirational stories, practical advice, behind-the-scenes action, and instructional photographs, Cage Rat is a must-read for young athletes, aspiring players, Yankees fans, and anyone who loves baseball.

by Carl E. Prince (Author)

During the 1952 World Series, a Yankee fan trying to watch the game in a Brooklyn bar was told, "Why don't you go back where you belong, Yankee lover?" "I got a right to cheer my team," the intruder responded, "this is a free country." "This ain't no free country, chum," countered the Dodger fan, "this is Brooklyn." Brooklynites loved their "Bums"--Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and all the murderous parade of regulars who, after years of struggle, finally won the World Series in 1955. One could not live in Brooklyn and not catch its spirit of devotion to its baseball club.
In Brooklyn's Dodgers, Carl E. Prince captures the intensity and depth of the team's relationship to the community and its people in the 1950s. Ethnic and racial tensions were part and parcel of a working class borough; the Dodgers' presence smoothed the rough edges of the ghetto conflict always present in the life of Brooklyn. The Dodger-inspired baseball program at the fabled Parade Grounds provided a path for boys that occasionally led to the prestigious "Dodger Rookie Team," and sometimes, via minor league contracts, to Ebbets Field itself. There were the boys who lined Bedford Avenue on game days hoping to retrieve home run balls and the men in the many bars who were not only devoted fans but collectively the keepers of the Dodger past--as were Brooklyn women, and in numbers. Indeed, women were tied to the Dodgers no less than their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons; they were only less visible. A few, like Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Marianne Moore and working class stiff Hilda Chester were regulars at Ebbets Field and far from invisible. Prince also explores the underside of the Dodgers--the "baseball Annies," and the paternity suits that went with the territory. The Dodgers' male culture was played out as well in the team's politics, in the owners' manipulation of Dodger male egos, opponents' race-baiting, and the macho bravado of the team (how Jackie Robinson, for instance, would prod Giants' catcher Sal Yvars to impotent rage by signaling him when he was going to steal second base, then taunting him from second after the steal).
The day in 1957 when Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced that the team would be leaving for Los Angeles was one of the worst moments in baseball history, and a sad day in Brooklyn's history as well. The Dodger team was, to a degree unmatched in other major league cities, deeply enmeshed in the life and psyche of Brooklyn and its people. In this superb volume, Carl Prince illuminates this "Brooklyn" in the golden years after the Second World War.

Back Jacket

In Brooklyn's Dodgers, Carl E. Prince captures the intensity and depth of the team's relationship to the community and its people in the 1950s. Ethnic and racial tensions were part and parcel of a working class borough; the Dodgers' presence smoothed the rough edges of the ghetto conflict ever present in Brooklyn life. The Dodger-inspired baseball program at the fabled Parade Grounds provided a path for boys that occasionally led to the prestigious "Dodger Rookie Team", and sometimes, via minor league contracts, to Ebbets Field itself. There were the boys who lined Bedford Avenue on game days hoping to retrieve home run balls and the men in the many bars who were not only devoted fans but collectively the keepers of the Dodger past - as were Brooklyn women, and in numbers. Indeed, women were tied to the Dodgers no less than their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons; they were only less visible. A few, like Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Marianne Moore and working class stiff Hilda Chester were regulars at Ebbets Field and far from invisible. Prince also explores the underside of the Dodgers - the "baseball Annies", and the paternity suits that went with the territory. The Dodgers' male culture was played out as well in the team's politics, in the owners' manipulation of Dodger male egos, opponents' race-baiting, and the macho bravado of the team. The day in 1957 when Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced that the team would be leaving for Los Angeles was one of the worst moments in baseball history, and a sad day in Brooklyn's history as well. The Dodger team was, to a degree unmatched in other major league cities, deeply enmeshed in the life and psyche ofBrooklyn and its people. In this superb volume, Carl Prince illuminates this "Brooklyn" in the golden years after the Second World War.

Author Biography

Carl E. Prince is Professor of History at New York University, and a past chair of the department. A specialist in early American history, he has written several books and many essays on early American political culture. With this book he picks up professionally a subject in which he has had a life-long interest.

by Xan Barksdale (Author)

CATCHING-101: The Complete Guide for Baseball Catchers is the most comprehensive book ever written for baseball catchers. It contains tips, drills, and proper mechanics that will help every catcher or coach better understand the most difficult position on the field. This book contains information on EVERY aspect of catching that Coach Barksdale has learned through his years of experience from coaching nationally ranked NCAA teams, and playing at almost every level from Little League to professional baseball. A few of the topics covered in CATCHING-101 are: - Receiving - Blocking - Catching Pop Flies - Throwing - Fielding Bunts - Plays at Home Plate - Drills - Pitchouts - Pass Balls/Wild Pitches - Giving Signals - And More! If you have been searching for a source with lots of high quality information about catching, this is the book for you! CATCHING-101 was written by Coach Xan Barksdale who is currently an NCAA Division I baseball coach and an ex-professional baseball player. Coach Barksdale played in the Atlanta Braves organization and has been a featured speaker at the prestigious ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) national convention.

by Mark Angelo (Author), Patricia DeWitt (Illustrator), Robin DeWitt (Illustrator)

"A young boy's love letter to baseball along with a slice of classic Hollywood history"

Set in 1958, a young boy and his friends want to be baseball players just like their Dodger idols. There's just one problem: they don't have a field to play in.

Luckily, the kids know a secret. There's a mansion around the corner with a yard big enough for an entire ball field and the hedge surrounding it has a gap just big enough to crawl through. Apparently, the owner is a big-time Hollywood mogul. He won't mind a few ball games, right?

This sensational true story of a young boy's encounter with a Hollywood legend is rich with youthful determination and summer fun, highlighting how every kid needs space to play.


"Mark has written a true and heartfelt story about what an act of kindness can bring to a child's life. CAN WE PLAY BASEBALL MR. DeMILLE is a book for all the family My copy is now proudly in the DeMille library." - Cecilia De Mille Presley, Producer, writer, activist for film preservation, author of the National book award for CECIL B DE MILLE; THE ART OF THE HOLLYWOOD EPIC, and Granddaughter of Mr. C.B. DeMille

by John Schuerholz (Author), Larry Guest (With)

Lost two Cy Young winners in two years, signed a forty-seven-year-old to be his starting first baseman, played seventeen rookies in 2005, and still took his team to the playoffs: baseball is John Schuerholz's world, and everyone else is just playing in it.

Author Biography

John Schuerholz lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

by Chris Zantow (Author)

 When the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta after the 1965 season, many impassioned fans grew indifferent to baseball. Others--namely car dealer Bud Selig--decided to fight for the beloved sport. Selig formed an ownership group with the goal of winning a new franchise. They faced formidable opposition--American League President Joe Cronin, lawyer turned baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and other AL team owners would not entertain the notion of another team for the city.

This first ever history of baseball's return to Milwaukee covers the owners, teams and ballparks behind the rise and fall of their Braves, the five-year struggle to acquire a new team, the relocation of a major league club a week prior to the 1970 season and how the Brewers created an identity and built a fan base and a contending team.

Author Biography

The late Chris Zantow was a writer of training materials and resources for adult learners at American Girl. A member of the Wisconsin Writers Association, he lived in Madison, Wisconsin.

by Crystal Hubbard (Author), Randy Duburke (Illustrator)

Storyline Online Selection - SAG-AFTRA Foundation / Storyline Online

The spirited story of Marcenia Lyle, the African American girl who grew up to become "Toni Stone," the first woman to play for an all-male professional baseball team.

If there was anything in the world better than playing baseball, Marcenia Lyle didn't know what it was. As a young girl in the 1930s, she chased down fly balls and stole bases, and dreamed of one day playing professional ball.

With spirit, spunk, and a great passion for the sport, Marcenia struggled to overcome the objections of family, friends, and coaches, who felt a girl had no place in the field. When she finally won a position in a baseball summer camp sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals, Marcenia was on her way to catching her dream.

Full of warmth and youthful energy, Catching the Moon is the story of the girl who grew up to become the first woman to play for an all-male professional baseball team. Readers everywhere will be inspired by her courage to dream and determination to succeed.

Author Biography

Crystal Hubbard is a full-time writer and former sports journalist. Her Lee & Low titles The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby, Catching the Moon: The Story of A Young Girl's Baseball Dreams, and Game, Set, Match: Champion Arthur Ashe have been recognized with several honors, including being named to Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year and the ALA's Amelia Bloomer Project. Hubbard lives in Missouri with her family. You can find her on Twitter at @XstalBooks.

Randy DuBurke is a full-time artist, whose work has appeared in books for young readers, DC and Marvel comics, The New York Times, and MAD magazine. A native of Brooklyn, New York, DuBurke now lives in Switzerland with his wife and their two sons. His website is randyduburke.com.

by Michael J. Bielawa (Author)

Bridgeport, Connecticut, owns a rich and diverse baseball history. People from varied backgrounds stepped up to the plate in Bridgeport's early years-sons of Irish immigrants, laborers and merchants, Asian and Latino players, and some of the first African Americans to play professional ball. Local baseball truly blossomed with "Orator" Jim O'Rourke, who returned from the big leagues and organized the Connecticut State Baseball League in 1895. Numerous Bridgeport teams evolved, including the Victors, Mechanics, Bolts, Americans, and Bears. Bridgeport Baseball traces the game from the post-Civil War era to today. Baseball beneath the roaring smokestacks of industrial Bridgeport included visits by barnstorming Major League and Negro League teams, future Hall of Famers, and a train wreck that almost killed the St. Louis Cardinals. The smokestacks are silent now, yet the legacy of Bridgeport baseball continues to evolve with the city's first professional club in nearly half a century-the Bridgeport Bluefish. The team, owners, staff, fans, and stadium have all contributed to restoring the living history that is Bridgeport Baseball.

by David Cataneo (Author)

Go to the Head of the Class with a Baseball Legend Baseball legend Casey Stengel is considered by many to be the greatest manager in baseball history. He was certainly one of the most successful. He managed the fabled New York Yankees from 1949 to 1960 and compiled ten American League pennants and seven world championships during that time. He was also without question one of the game's all-time characters, best known for conversing in a mangled form of English that came to be known as Stengelese."" Beyond the comedy and the world championships, however, his baseball life spanned the ages, from the dead-ball era to Astro Turf. He began his big league career by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1912 and ended it by managing the hapless New York Mets in 1965. Between the first and last stop, Stengel was a World Series hero; a failed manager with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves; a washed-up, aging manager in the minors; and the wacky interloper who took over the stuffy, staid Yankees in 1949 and reformed them into a dynasty. In Casey Stengel: Baseball's ""Old Perfessor, "" dozens of former players, friends, and associates recall the Stengel myth and the Stengel reality. They explore his managing style with great teams and with horrible teams; his pioneering, controversial techniques; his humor, his edginess, and his weaknesses; why some players hated him while others loved him; why some think he was a genius and others think he was merely the right man in the right place at the right time. What emerges is a fascinating ride through baseball history and a thoughtful look at the life of a man who was counted out, mocked, and underestimated--and yet he never gave up, finally findingsuccess in his later years.""

by David Luchuk (Author)

The 2001-2002 offseason was a tumultuous one for Major League Baseball. The commissioner's move to contract two teams, voted on and approved by league owners in a 28-2 vote, left fans in several cities fearing for the future of their teams. The Montreal Expos, with a recent history of poor play and even poorer attendance, seemed an obvious choice. Canada's only other big league franchise, the Toronto Blue Jays, had voted in favor of the commissioner's proposal but seemed as likely a candidate as either of the teams targeted by owners.

This book examines the 2002 season of the Expos and the Blue Jays, setting events against the backdrop of a long-nurtured urban rivalry between Montreal and Toronto. Chapters cover the summer of 2002 month-by-month, supplementing on- and off-field events with a wealth of historical background and showing how competition placed the Expos and Blue Jays as well as their two host cities on permanently divergent paths.

Author Biography

David Luchuk lives in Montreal.

by Jon C. Stott (Author)

During 75 seasons of baseball (1946-2020), 71 teams in 21 minor leagues represented 35 Canadian cities, playing either under the aegis of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (called Minor League Baseball since 1999) or independently. Sixteen teams operated for less than a year, including the eight teams of the Canadian Baseball League of 2003. Another 14 lasted three seasons or less. Seven have played continuously for 20 years or more, among them the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent Northern League and American Association, with 27 consecutive seasons since 1994. Chronicling their year-by-year fortunes, this history includes accounts of individual award winners, former Negro League players and future Hall-of-Famers, and traces of the rise and fall of independent league teams and the exodus of Canadian teams to the U.S.

Author Biography

Jon C. Stott, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, has previously published works on independent baseball and the beer industry. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

by James G. Thomas (Author)

During the Great Depression, Buster Davis defied poverty and segregation to become a rising baseball star in the Negro League. Now his sons and their white friend dare to dream of the Major Leagues in this inspiring sports story.

Buster Davis threw off the shackles of poverty and escaped the tobacco fields of North Carolina during the Great Depression by making his name in the Negro League. Along the way he faced significant setbacks and challenges that tested his soul, but he remained the same God-fearing, humble man. Now, his two sons, Charlie and Marshall, pursue their own dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. Befriending a young white boy named Chipper Thompson, Buster's sons set out on the journey of a lifetime. Together, they encounter trials and pain as they forge an incredible bond of friendship.

Sports fans and historical fiction enthusiasts will enjoy the inspiring and captivating story in Buster's Boys. Readers who adore a tale of triumph and friendship across racial lines will root for Charlie, Marshall, and Chipper as they pursue their wild dreams and learn how baseball mirrors the struggles of life. Buster's Boys is an uplifting journey that will appeal to baseball lovers from all walks of life and all backgrounds.

by Kelly Mager (Author)

If you love The Magic Treehouse and A to Z Mysteries, check out The Founder's Club!

Join the kids living in Springdale as they learn about entrepreneurship. Each book follows a kid who comes up with an idea, builds the business, and makes it profitable. As the series progresses, watch them start collaborating to achieve their goals!

Read along as a birthday gift inspires an idea, a bus conversation leads to something more, and a notebook holds the key to getting started.

Included are the first three titles: The Ninja Course (#1), Broadcasting Baseball (#2), The Business Fair (#3)

by Jim Jr. Campanis (Author)

The baseball life of Jim Campanis Jr. has been anything but ordinary. His father, Jim Sr., was a long-time pro catcher who spent several years on the Pirates where a 6-year-old Jim Jr. shagged flies next to major leaguers. His grandfather Al was one of the most powerful men in baseball as GM of the Dodgers, but his career ended suddenly and shamefully after a disastrous appearance on Nightline.

Jim loves a good baseball story, and he has plenty of them to tell. The pieces vary from instructional to confessional; from raucous humor to painful insecurities. We share in the thrill of being the hero and the anguish of falling short; from being a promising 3rd round pick, to suffering a devastating injury suffered the very day he was told he'd be getting a September call up.

What comes through more than anything in Jim's stories is the thrill of being a young ballplayer and the commaraderie of the clubhouse. The endless laughs--the childhood misadventures, rookie hazings, locker room practical jokes. They are the kind of wild adventures we expect from guys in their early twenties who are on top of the world living the dream of professional baseball, even if that dream is a far cry from the glamor many fans envision.

Jim's stories read like he was sitting next to you at a bar; they're personal, insightful, and never boring. Swiping Dusty Baker's hair pick so he could give it to Hank Aaron in exchange for an autographed ball. Unwittingly selling a signed Willie Stargell jersey to fund his prom night; being taped to a stool and given Ben Gay Balls by his high school teammates.

We learn about the intense rivalries between elite California college baseball programs, from which lifelong friendships form. Getting beat in a race by Ken Griffey Jr....who was running backwards! And the grueling life of minor leaguers, who have only their dreams of making The Show to help them endure the low salaries, seedy hotels, and endless bus rides they endure summer after summer.

We feel the joy when Jim's tournament MVP performance helps propel him to a spot on the US Olympic tream, and the anguish from watching his grandfather Al's life and reputation be destroyed almost overnight when his comments about African Americans turn him into a poster boy for everything that was wrong with race relations in big league baseball. The irony was particularly bitter for grandson Jim, who knew Al to have been friend, mentor, and roommate to none other than Jackie Robinson in 1946, the year before he broke the color line. Al's life changed forever after that night, and Jim's was never the same either.

In addition to the wealth of behind-the-scenes pieces, there is a lot of great writing about the game between the lines. Jim was not blessed with awesome talent, but his background and thoughtful nature made him a great student of the game There are numerous pieces about how to play the game, especially the finer points of catching - receiving pitches, calling the game, handling pitchers. Fascinating clubhouse rituals and traditions are described, from the game of "Flip," to how to live off of paltry meal money, to the fine that had to be paid for the gamut of Kangaroo Court infractions.

Born Into Baseball is not your typical baseball memoir, because Jim Campanis Jr. is anything but a typical baseball player, and the baseball life he has led has been perhaps least typical of all, from the day he was born.

by Bill Redban (Author)

Discover The Inspirational Story of Baseball Superstar Buster Posey!

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

by Kathryn Kincaid (Author)

Two childhood best friends, one last chance at love, everything to lose.

Nathan Sharpe's path in life was clear from the moment he first picked up a baseball. He never thought anything would rival his love of the game... until he fell for Brenna Quinn-the girl next door, his high school teammate, his best friend. They were the couple everyone expected to last. Then a scandalous affair hit too close to home and upended their world. After high school, Brenna and Nathan each left their hometown, never expecting to see it-or each other-again.

Six years later, Nathan's father leaves them an inheritance-his house, his business, and four cats-but only if they accept it together. Neither of them can afford to walk away from the opportunity to flip these properties. Brenna needs the money to support a custody fight for her sister. And Nathan, fearing his baseball career might be cut short by a shoulder injury, needs a safety net.

But working and living together proves their history may not be in the past at all. It isn't long before Nathan and Brenna remember why they fell in love all those years ago. Resisting the blazing attraction between them is almost as impossible as overcoming their painful past. But maybe it will be okay... they're only stuck together for the time being.

Fans of Mariana Zapata and C.W. Farnsworth will enjoy this dual-POV steamy small-town romance featuring second chance, friends to lovers, and forced proximity tropes, with Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) representation.

by Al Clark (Author), Dan Schlossberg (Author), Marty Appel (Foreword by)

If an umpire could steal the show in a Major League game, Al Clark might well have been the one to do it. Tough but fair, in his thirty years as a professional umpire he took on some of baseball's great umpire baiters, such as Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, and Dick Williams, while ejecting any number of the game's elite--once tearing a hamstring in the process. He was the first Jewish umpire in American League history, and probably the first to eject his own father from the officials' dressing room. But whatever Clark was doing--officiating at Nolan Ryan's three hundredth win, Cal Ripken's record breaker, or the "earthquake" World Series of 1989, or braving a labor dispute, an anti-Semitic tirade by a Cy Young Award winner, or a legal imbroglio--it makes for a good story.
Called Out but Safe is Clark's outspoken and often hilarious account of his life in baseball from umpire school through the highlights to the inglorious end of his stellar career. Not just a source of baseball history and lore, Clark's book also affords a rare look at what life is like for someone who works for the Major Leagues' other team.

Author Biography

Al Clark was a professional umpire for thirty years, working more than three thousand games, including two All-Star Games, seven playoff series, and two World Series. Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg is the author or coauthor of more than thirty baseball books, including Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story and Making Airwaves: 60 Years at Milo's Microphone.

by David Cataneo (Author)

Dozens of former players, friends, and associates recall the Stengel myth and the Stengel reality. They explore his managing style with great teams and with horrible teams, his pioneering techniques, his humor, his edginess, and his weaknesses. What emerges is a fascinating ride through baseball history. Photos.

by James G. Thomas (Author)

During the Great Depression, Buster Davis defied poverty and segregation to become a rising baseball star in the Negro League. Now his sons and their white friend dare to dream of the Major Leagues in this inspiring sports story.

Buster Davis threw off the shackles of poverty and escaped the tobacco fields of North Carolina during the Great Depression by making his name in the Negro League. Along the way he faced significant setbacks and challenges that tested his soul, but he remained the same God-fearing, humble man. Now, his two sons, Charlie and Marshall, pursue their own dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. Befriending a young white boy named Chipper Thompson, Buster's sons set out on the journey of a lifetime. Together, they encounter trials and pain as they forge an incredible bond of friendship.

Sports fans and historical fiction enthusiasts will enjoy the inspiring and captivating story in Buster's Boys. Readers who adore a tale of triumph and friendship across racial lines will root for Charlie, Marshall, and Chipper as they pursue their wild dreams and learn how baseball mirrors the struggles of life. Buster's Boys is an uplifting journey that will appeal to baseball lovers from all walks of life and all backgrounds.

by Phyllis J. Perry (Author)

When Bullies Act Out, It's Time for Buddies and Baseball

Author Biography

Phyllis J. Perry grew up in a small town in northern California. She attended the University of California in Berkeley and worked as an elementary school teacher in California, New Jersey, and Colorado. She found that most schools have some form of bullying which is the underlying problem that her characters face in her book, Buddies, Bullies, and Baseball. She has written and published 90 books of fiction and nonfiction, most of which are available from publishers, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. A few of these titles are: Stand Up and Whistle, Amberjack Publishing Bold Women in Colorado History, Mountain Press A Kids' Look at Colorado, Fulcrum Publishing It Happened in Rocky Mountain National Park, Globe-Pequot The First Rainbow, Vesuvius Publications Colorado Vanguards, The History Press

by Ranya Tabari Idliby (Author)

For many Americans, the words 'American' and 'Muslim' simply do not marry well; for many the combination is an anathema, a contradiction in values, loyalties, and identities. This is the story of one American Muslim family--the story of how, through their lives, their schools, their friends, and their neighbors, they end up living the challenges, myths, fears, hopes, and dreams of all Americans. They are challenged by both Muslims who speak for them and by Americans who reject them. In this moving memoir, Idliby discusses not only coming to terms with what it means to be Muslim today, but how to raise and teach her children about their heritage and religious legacy. She explores life as a Muslim in a world where hostility towards Muslims runs rampant, where there is an entire industry financed and supported by think tanks, authors, film makers, and individual vigilantes whose sole purpose is to vilify and spread fear about all things Muslim. Her story is quintessentially American, a story of the struggles of assimilation and acceptance in a climate of confusion and prejudice--a story for anyone who has experienced being an "outsider" inside your own home country.

Author Biography

Ranya Tabari Idliby is a writer who lives in New York City. She co-authored "The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew: Three Women Search for Understanding ," an intimate dialog on faith and identity in America. She has spoken in churches, temples, and mosques, as well as at interfaith organizations, the United Nations, and the State Department. She was interviewed by Diane Sawyer for a special program on moderate Muslim voices, in addition to many other media engagements, including CNN, Oprah radio's "Dr. Oz ," "The Diane Rehm Show, USA Today ," and the "Today Show."

by Marty Appel (Author)

A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year

Author Biography

MARTY APPEL was the youngest public relations director in baseball history when George Steinbrenner elevated him to the New York Yankees post in 1973. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including the New York Times bestselling Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain and Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss. He resides in New York City.

by Mitchell Nathanson (Author)

Named a Best Baseball Book of 2020 by Sports Collectors Digest
New York Times 2020 Summer Reading List

Author Biography

Mitchell Nathanson is a professor of law in the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at the Villanova University School of Law. He is the author of God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen, A People's History of Baseball, and The Fall of the 1977 Phillies: How a Baseball Team's Collapse Sank a City's Spirit.

by Michael Shapiro (Author)

In Bottom of the Ninth, Michael Shapiro brings to life a watershed moment in baseball history, when the sport was under siege in the late 1950s

"A fascinating look at an almost forgotten era . . . One of the best baseball books of recent seasons." -Cleveland Plain Dealer

Author Biography

Michael Shapiro is the author of Bottom of the Ninth and The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together. A professor at the Columbia School of Journalism, he is the author of several additional books, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

by Publications International Ltd (Author), Brain Games (Author)

Celebrate the greatest baseball players, managers, and teams of all time with this puzzle book!

• Includes 84 word search puzzles to engage and entertain adult fans of the game.
• Topics include the World Series, award-winning players, unforgettable baseball moments, legendary managers, and
  baseball greats from history.
• Puzzles are presented in an easy-to-read format spread across two pages.
• Answer key is found at the back of the book.
• Spiral bound, 192 pages.

Build brainpower while having fun with Brain Games Baseball GOATs Word Search!

by Lee Lowenfish (Author), Lee Lowenfish (Introduction by)

He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881-1965) finished with baseball, he had revolutionized the sport--not just once but three times. In this definitive biography of Rickey--the man sportswriters dubbed "The Brain," "The Mahatma," and, on occasion, "El Cheapo"--Lee Lowenfish tells the full and colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America's game. As the mastermind behind the Saint Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942, Rickey created the farm system, which allowed small-market clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first "America's team." By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Lowenfish evokes the peculiarly American complex of God, family, and baseball that informed Rickey's actions and his accomplishments. His book offers an intriguing, richly detailed portrait of a man whose life is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sport, and society.

Author Biography

Lee Lowenfish, a historian, journalist, broadcaster, and jazz commentator, is the author of The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball's Labor Wars.

by Katya Cengel (Author)

Forget the steroid-addled, overpaid, and unmotivated players: America's pastime is still alive and well, and is still the heartfelt sport it's always been--in the Minor Leagues. And nowhere is this truer than in Kentucky, whose rich baseball history continues to play out in the four teams profiled in this book. Following these teams through the 2010 season--the triumphs, struggles, and big league hopes and dreams--the book tells the larger story of baseball in America's smaller venues, where the game in its purest form is still valued and warmly embraced.

The story begins before the season with national-anthem singing tryouts in Lexington, then tags along with players, staffs, and fans at home, in the office, and on the field, offering a rare glimpse of the unglamorous reality of Minor League ball. From the front-office staff in Bowling Green planning kooky promotions, to a trainer grocery shopping for a team on forty dollars a day, to a new wife coming to terms with her husband's transitory lifestyle, to a father struggling to make it back to the Majors and a Cuban defector blowing everyone away with a 100-mph-plus fastball these are the people who live to make baseball happen, in all its nitty-gritty glory.

Author Biography

Katya Cengel is a freelance writer based in Richmond, California. A staff reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal for eight years, she reported from the former Soviet Union, Europe, and Africa and has published in Esquire and the Wall Street Journal.

by Daniel D. Hartzler (Author)

These pages preserve a unique aspect of Carroll County, Maryland, history and serve as a reminder of why baseball has remained America's national pastime. Readers will find a sense of community here, along with a sense of time and place. "As the years fly by, you'll ride with the town teams to games, bounce in the rumble seats of model T's, and click along the rails of the Western Maryland Railroad. You'll visit the little villages where baseball was a catalyst, the weekly escape for the local farmers and citizenry. And, you'll meet the players, live the history, experience game-play from Harney and Sam's Creek to Tannery and Taylorsville." The towns/teams covered in these detailed accounts include: Berrett, Blue Ridge College, Company H (Maryland National Guard), Congoleum, Dennings, Detour, Dorsey's Crossroad, Eldersburg, Frizzellburg, Gamber, Hampstead, Harney, Leppo Bluesox, Linwood, Manchester, Middleburg, Mount Airy, New Windsor, Patapsco, Reese, Sam's Creek, Sandymount, Silver Run, Snydersburg, Springfield, Sykesville, Taneytown, Tannery, Taylorsville, Union Bridge, Union Bridge Blacksox, Uniontown, Unionville, Wakefield, Western Maryland College, Westminster, and Woodbine. Umpires and the Carroll County Old Timers Baseball Association are also covered. First-person recollections that allow readers to hear the voices of the players, an abundance of vintage photographs, excerpts from newspaper articles, and an every name index enhance the text.

by Dan Barry (Author)

"Bottom of the 33rd is chaw-chewing, sunflower-spitting, pine tar proof that too much baseball is never enough." --Jane Leavy, author of The Last Boy and Sandy Koufax

From Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Dan Barry comes the beautifully recounted story of the longest game in baseball history--a tale celebrating not only the robust intensity of baseball, but the aspirational ideal epitomized by the hard-fighting players of the minor leagues.

On April 18, 1981, a ball game sprang eternal. For eight hours, the night seemed to suspend a town and two teams between their collective pasts and futures, between their collective sorrows and joys--the shivering fans; their wives at home; the umpires; the batboys approaching manhood; the ejected manager, peering through a hole in the backstop; the sportswriters and broadcasters; and the players themselves--two destined for the Hall of Fame (Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs), the few to play only briefly or forgettably in the big leagues, and the many stuck in minor-league purgatory, duty bound and loyal forever to the game.

With Bottom of the 33rd, Barry delivers a lyrical meditation on small-town lives, minor-league dreams, and the elements of time and community that conspired one fateful night to produce a baseball game seemingly without end. An unforgettable portrait of ambition and endurance, Bottom of the 33rd is the rare sports book that changes the way we perceive America's pastime--and America's past.

Front Jacket

On April 18, 1981, a ball game sprang eternal. For eight hours, the night seemed to suspend a town and two teams between their collective pasts and futures, between their collective sorrows and joys--the shivering fans; their wives at home; the umpires; the batboys approaching manhood; the ejected manager, peering through a hole in the backstop; the sportswriters and broadcasters; and the players themselves--two destined for the Hall of Fame (Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs), the few to play only briefly or forgettably in the big leagues, and the many stuck in minor-league purgatory, duty bound and loyal forever to the game.

With Bottom of the 33rd, celebrated New York Times journalist Dan Barry delivers a lyrical meditation on small-town lives, minor-league dreams, and the elements of time and community that conspired one fateful night to produce a baseball game seemingly without end. An unforgettable portrait of ambition and endurance, Bottom of the 33rd is the rare sports book that changes the way we perceive America's pastime--and America's past.

Back Jacket

On April 18, 1981, a ball game sprang eternal. For eight hours, the night seemed to suspend a town and two teams between their collective pasts and futures, between their collective sorrows and joys--the shivering fans; their wives at home; the umpires; the batboys approaching manhood; the ejected manager, peering through a hole in the backstop; the sportswriters and broadcasters; and the players themselves--two destined for the Hall of Fame (Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs), the few to play only briefly or forgettably in the big leagues, and the many stuck in minor-league purgatory, duty bound and loyal forever to the game.

With Bottom of the 33rd, celebrated New York Times journalist Dan Barry delivers a lyrical meditation on small-town lives, minor-league dreams, and the elements of time and community that conspired one fateful night to produce a baseball game seemingly without end. An unforgettable portrait of ambition and endurance, Bottom of the 33rd is the rare sports book that changes the way we perceive America's pastime--and America's past.

by Rae Andre (Author)

by Clifton Blue Parker (Author)

The Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd--also known as "Big Poison" and "Little Poison"--played together for fourteen seasons in the same Pittsburgh outfield in the 1920s and 1930s. More than half a century after retiring, they still rank as the best-hitting brothers in major league history with a combined 5,611 hits--517 more than the three Alou brothers, 758 more than the three DiMaggio brothers, and 1,400 more than the five Delahanty brothers. And both Waners are in the Hall of Fame, the only playing brothers so honored.

This work tells the story of the Waner brothers from their early lives in Oklahoma through their playing days, which included a World Series against the legendary 1927 New York Yankees. It is also the story of two American eras: the Roaring Twenties and the Depression years. Both put up impressive numbers individually: Paul amassed 3,152 hits, and his .333 lifetime average ranks among the highest ever in the game. Lloyd, a lifetime .316 hitter, collected 2,459 hits, and had it not been for health problems, he might have cleared the 3,000 hit milestone as well. Together, they were baseball heroes.

Author Biography

Clifton Blue Parker is a magazine editor at the University of California, Davis, and a former newspaper journalist and Congressional press secretary. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), he lives in Davis, California.

by Larry G. Bowman (Author)

In baseball history, no decade is more critical than the 1880s--a time of urban growth when sports stories began to fill the pages of newspapers and supporting the home teams became a hallmark of civic duty. Larry Bowman narrates the trials and triumphs of baseball's early championships, illuminating the complex circumstances that led to baseball's meteoric rise in popularity.

The first World's Championship Series arose in an ad hoc manner when the Providence Grays faced the New York Metropolitans in 1884. Seeking to maximize profits, team owners promoted postseason baseball to ensure that one team could bill itself as the world's best. Bowman traces the history of seven championship series, recounting the frenzied negotiations and media hoopla that often preceded events. He also analyzes the emergence of mascots, the evolution of the game's rules, and the impact of America's explosive urban growth on baseball's popularity.

Before the World Series brings to life colorful figures--from baseball magnates such as Albert Spalding, Christian Von der Ahe, and Frederick Stearns to legendary Hall of Famers like the fearsome Cap Anson, Charles Comiskey, and baseball's first union organizer, John Montgomery Ward. The story of Moses Walker, a black major leaguer 63 years before Jackie Robinson, sheds light on African Americans' early involvement in baseball.

Spirited and engaging, this illustrated account of baseball's first championships offers a fresh perspective on the development of America's national pastime.

Author Biography

Larry G. Bowman was Professor of History at University of North Texas and author of Captive Americans: Prisoners during the American Revolution and several articles on baseball's early history. He passed away in 2002 as this book was in production.

by Michael E. Lomax (Author)

Here is the first in-depth account of the birth of black baseball and its dramatic passage from grass-roots venture to commercial enterprise. In the late nineteenth century resourceful black businessmen founded ball teams that became the Negro Leagues. Racial bias aside, they faced vast odds, from the need to court white sponsors to negotiating ball parks. With no blacks in cities, they barnstormed small towns to attract fans, employing all manner of gimmickry to rouse attention.

Author Biography

Michael E. Lomax is associate professor of sport history in the Department of Health and Human Physiology at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1902-1931: The Negro National and Eastern Colored Leagues.

by Bill Nowlin (Author)

Longtime diehard Red Sox fans did just that-DIE HARD-almost too many times to count over the decades until they finally won the World Series in 2004 after an incredible postseason run.

Red Sox scholar Bill Nowlin, a fan for nearly 50 years when Boston finally triumphed, endured many of those heartbreaks, and once the shock of the win wore off, Bill found that the essence of his relationship with his team had changed forever.

Twenty years have now passed since The Curse was broken, 20 years that have brought the Sox three more titles! A new generation of fan now populates Red Sox Nation, one annually filled with high expectations instead of a fatalistic dread of how their team is going to crash and burn.

Bitten by the Red Sox Baseball Bug is the history of a team and of a fan. Baseball lifer Bill Nowlin interweaves Boston's highs and lows over the decades with his own extraordinary personal history-from childhood, the founding and development of the wildly successful Rounder Records, to his passionate commitment to the Society of American Baseball Research.

Bitten's breezy team history, which covers from origins to the present, serves as a primer on one of baseball's most storied and beloved franchises. Bill's unparalleled knowledge of the Red Sox enriches the narrative immensely, and his deep devotion to the team enhances the history in ways that are unique to Bill's experience while universal to every fan who loves their team.

by Roberta J. Newman (Author), Joel Nathan Rosen (Author), Monte Irvin (Contribution by)

AN EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES AND THE ECONOMIC DISRUPTIONS OF DESEGREGATING A SPORT Roberta J. Newman and Joel Nathan Rosen have written an authoritative social history of the Negro Leagues. This book examines how the relationship between black baseball and black businesses functioned, particularly in urban areas with significant African American populations--Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, and more. Inextricably bound together by circumstance, these sports and business alliances faced destruction and upheaval. Once Jackie Robinson and a select handful of black baseball's elite gained acceptance in Major League Baseball and financial stability in the mainstream economy, shock waves traveled throughout the black business world. Though the economic impact on Negro League baseball is perhaps obvious due to its demise, the impact on other black-owned businesses and on segregated neighborhoods is often undervalued if not outright ignored in current accounts. There have been many books written on great individual players who played in the Negro Leagues and/or integrated the Major Leagues. But Newman and Rosen move beyond hagiography to analyze what happens when a community has its economic footing undermined while simultaneously being called upon to celebrate a larger social progress. In this regard, Black Baseball, Black Business moves beyond the diamond to explore baseball's desegregation narrative in a critical and wide-ranging fashion. ROBERTA J. NEWMAN, Brooklyn, New York, is master professor in the Department of Liberal Studies at New York University. Her work has appeared in the journals Cooperstown Symposium: 2009-2010 and NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. JOEL NATHAN ROSEN, Allentown, Pennsylvania, is associate professor of sociology at Moravian College in Bethlehem. He is coeditor of A Locker Room of Her Own: Celebrity, Sexuality, and Female Athletes; Fame to Infamy: Race, Sport, and the Fall from Grace; and Reconstructing Fame: Sport, Race, and Evolving Reputations, all published by University Press of Mississippi.

Author Biography

Roberta J. Newman is master professor in the Department of Liberal Studies at New York University. Her work has appeared in the journals Cooperstown Symposium: 2009-2010 and NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. Joel Nathan Rosen is associate professor of sociology at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is author of The Erosion of the American Sporting Ethos: Shifting Attitudes Toward Competition and From New Lanark to Mound Bayou: Owenism in the Mississippi Delta. He is founding coeditor of a five-volume collection that explores the forging and maintenance of the reputations of celebrity athletes: Fame to Infamy: Race, Sport, and the Fall from Grace; A Locker Room of Her Own: Celebrity, Sexuality, and Female Athletes; Reconstructing Fame: Sport, Race, and Evolving Reputations; More than Cricket and Football: International Sport and the Challenge of Celebrity; and The Circus Is in Town: Sport, Celebrity, and Spectacle, all published by University Press of Mississippi.