Best of
Baseball

2000

The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams


Derek Jeter - 2000
    With the help and support of both of his parents, Derek developed a practical program that would assist him in achieving all of his personal and professional aspirations-and now he shares his secrets to success so that you can get closer to living your dream, too.

Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise


Glenn Stout - 2000
    Their unlikely triumph became known instantly as one of the most thrilling, nerve-racking, and ultimately inspiring sports stories ever. And it also changed the course of history for a franchise that had long been known more for its failures than for its successes.In Red Sox Century, "the best of the Sox sages" (USA Today Baseball Weekly) chronicle the complete history of this enduring team with authority, insight, and high style. From the team's inception in 1901 and its early peak in 1918, when it won its fifth World Series, to the glory years, which saw the rise of such greats as Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Teddy Ballgame, and Yaz and the "impossible dream," to the near misses in 1975, 1986, and 2003, and finally to the glorious World Series victory in 2004 -- it's all here, drawn from countless interviews and extensive research and illustrated with more than 225 photographs, many never seen before.Now expanded and updated and featuring irresistible new keepsake pages where fans can record their own stories of the latest chapter in Red Sox lore -- replete with its fairy-tale ending -- Red Sox Century is a book no self-respecting fan should be without."All that anyone would care to know about this accursed yet lovable franchise." -- Sports Illustrated Glenn Stout has been the series editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception. Richard A. Johnson is the curator of the Sports Museum. Together they have written numerous critically acclaimed sports books, including Yankees Century: 100 Years of New York Yankees Baseball and The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball. Widely regarded as first-rate baseball historians, the authors have appeared on NPR, ESPN, HBO, the History Channel, and numerous regional television and radio stations. "The ultimate gift for Red Sox fans." -- Publishers Weekly"A definitive look at Fenway's finest . . . Artistic, well researched, and elegant." -- Boston Globe"A grand slam." -- Boston Herald

Baseball Prospectus 2001 (P)


Joseph Sheehan - 2000
    The PROSPECTUS gives the final word on what the players did, why they did it, and what they're going to do in the future.

Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds


Stew Thornley - 2000
    From Merkle's Boner which cost the New York Giants a pennant, to Bobby Thomson's homer, which won them one, Stew Thornley retells the events of the park and its legendary personalities.

Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball


Doug Feldmann - 2000
    Louis Cardinals personified Depression-era America. The players were underpaid, wore uniforms that were almost always torn and dirty, and had wandered into professional baseball from small towns in the Midwest where other jobs were scarce. Despite their lack of resources, however, and despite coming off two mediocre seasons, the Cardinals emerged triumphant in '34, winning the pennant by two games over the Giants and the World Series in seven games over the Tigers. The book chronicles that championship team which came to be known in baseball lore as the famous Gas House Gang. This work brings to life the legendary exploits of player manager Frankie Frisch and the Dean brothers--Dizzy and Paul--who combined for 49 wins that season. The era, the team, the season, and the Series are all fully covered.

Marketing Your Dreams: Business and Life Lessons from Bill Veeck, Baseball's Promotional Genius


Pat Williams - 2000
    Influenced and inspired by the classic sports book Veeck: As in Wreck, veteran author and motivational speaker Pat Williams has penned his 19th book, Marketing Your Dreams: Business and Life Lessons from Bill Veeck, Baseball's Marketing Genius. Williams, senior vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic, insists that Marketing Your Dreams isn't a Bill Veeck biography; instead, it's a book about success, a book about one of the most relentless and fascinating personalities in the history of organized sports. It's a book about extracting Veeck's traits and concentrating them into their purest form so that the reader can pull the same kind of inspiration from the master that Williams did.

The Art of Hitting


Tony Gwynn - 2000
    And I haven't played serious ball since high school! That's the thing about this book, it explains hitting with such fresh insight that you just can't help but want to go out there and take some cuts ... no matter what your age. This book is a must for any coach of youth baseball. Hell, it's probably a must for a number of major leaguers as well! Gwynn offers some mind-boggling advice, such as not thinking of hitting the ball, but hitting *through* it. Along with this easy to understand science, you get some of the most terrific baseball photos published anywhere -- clear images which capture both the power and beauty of hitters doing their thing.There's a nice introduction by the last of the .400 hitters, Ted Williams, who thinks that Tony is the guy who can do it in the modern era. The summary is entiled "Old School," and presents the p! ! hilosophy of Gwynn as a player committed to his team and his community. He is, simply, a testimony to all that's great about this great game. So whether you want to become a better hitter, or are just fascinated by this difficult athletic feat, or just interested in a player who is certain to become a hall of famer -- read this lively and enlightening book. Just make sure you have a bat handy.

Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia


David Pietrusza - 2000
    This mammoth volume covers 2,000 players from Hank Aaron to Richie Zisk, providing quick access to the stories behind the sport's most notable careers.Produced by the editors of Total Baseball, this book includes all the numbers but goes beyond them to reveal the highlights and lowlights of the game's key contributors. Each entry includes personal data such as birth and death dates and sites, major league debut dates, and physical specs. With the inclusion of extensive career statistics and thumbnail biographies for each of the 2,000 entries, Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia is a cornerstone for any baseball fan's collection.

Baseball Prospectus 2000 (P)


Clay Davenport - 2000
    With in-depth statistics and predictions on 1600 players-- National marketing campaign: radio and TV interviews in all 28 major league markets; internet promotion on baseballprospectus.com

The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns


Peter Golenbock - 2000
    Louis, Missouri. It's a love affair that began in 1874, when a band of local boosters raised $20,000 to start a professional ball club, and the honeymoon still isn't over. Now Peter Golenbock, the bestselling author and master of baseball oral history, has written another remarkable saga enriched by extensive and incomparable remembrances from the scores of players, managers, and executives who lived it.These pages capture the voices of Branch Rickey on George Sisler. Rogers Hornsby and his creation of the farm system. Hornsby on Grover Cleveland Alexander -- and Alexander on Hornsby. Dizzy Dean on -- who else? -- Dizzy Dean. And so many others including "The Man" himself, Stan Musial; Eldon Auker, Ellis Clary, Denny Galehouse, and Don Gutteridge on the 1940s Browns; Brooks Lawrence, the second man to cross the Cardinals' color line; Jim Bronsnan, the first man to break the players' "code of silence"; Tommy Herr, Darrell Porter, and Joe McGrane on Whitey Herzog's Cardinals; and Cardinal owner Bill DeWitt, Jr., on the team today.

Redleg Journal


Greg Rhodes - 2000
    They've revisited the old and uncovered much that is new. Baseball fans will love this book!" -John Allen, COO

Ballparks


Robert Von Goeben - 2000
    Baseball, more than any other sport, is dependent on the environment in which it's played. The weather can send fair balls foul or cancel a game; the condition of the grass is crucial; and the size of the stadium, especially the placement and height of its walls, help to determine which balls land comfortably in an outfielder's glove and which ones sail out into the parking lot, allowing the hitter and runners to stroll casually toward home plate.This beautiful volume tours some of the greatest major league ballparks ever erected, with statistics and trivia on each one. From Wrigley Field to Dodger Stadium, from The House that Ruth Built to the Big Green Monster at Fenway Park, this thoughtfully researched and colorfully illustrated volume examines the subtle and sweeping features that make every ballpark unique, as well as the overarching trends that have dictated stadium architecture over the past century. Ballparks: -- features more than one hundred full-color and archival photographs and illustrations-- includes classic, modern, and new retrostyled ballparks, as well as the great parks of the past-- provides, in a useful appendix, the specifications for each field in the major leagues

Chipper Jones: A Brave Legend in the Making


Hank Aaron - 2000
    But, perhaps, the new century will bear witness to one of the greatest players in Braves history -- Chipper Jones. Already the Braves third baseman has made in impact. In this book, those who now Jones best talk about his tremendous offensive talent, his incomparable defensive skills and other aspects of his game. You'll find chapters in the words of Bob Costas, Tom Glavine, Tony Gwynn, Hubby Cox and others. Think of it as a journal in words and pictures of making of a legend.

Roar Restored: Detroit Tigers '06


Detroit Free Press - 2000
    The impossibly, incredibly, indisputably true story of how the Detroit Tigers jumped to the top of the American League almost overnight.

The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball


David Nemec - 2000
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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book: Comprehensive Hitting, Fielding and Pitching Statistics


W.C. Madden - 2000
    Some of these women compiled some eye-popping statistics unequaled by their male counterparts: Sophie Kurys swiped 200 bases in one season; Joanne Winter hurled 63 consecutive scoreless innings; pitcher Jean Faut sported a .910 winning percentage one season. Few know that Joanne Weaver was the last professional baseball player to hit .400 in a season: .429 in 1954. This reference book contains the hitting, fielding and pitching records of all women who played in the AAGPBL during its 12-year history. The book also contains all of the team and individual playoff records of the league, compiled for the first time. Included herein are rosters of the all-star teams, as well as a listing of all pitching and batting champions. A brief history of the league is recounted. Complementing the statistics are photos of the league championship teams and key players.

Black Baseball in Chicago


Larry Lester - 2000
    The city of Chicago played no small part in the creation and content of this historic chapter. Black Baseball in Chicago chronicles the history of the teams and players that spent time in the "Windy City." In 1911, the Chicago American Giants were born. This team drew some of the best players from the league, including such legendary stars as Bruce Petway, Pete Hill, Grant "Home Run" Johnson, and future hall-of-famer John Henry "Pop" Lloyd. On any given Sunday afternoon, the Chicago American Giants games often outdrew those of the cross-town rivals, the White Sox and the Cubs.

The Giants Encyclopedia


Tom Schott - 2000
    Among the players who are profiled are Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, and Mel Ott. There are also detailed sketches about the Giants' greatest moments, their World Series championships, and their National League pennants.

100 Years of Major League Baseball: American and National Leagues, 1901-2000


David Nemec - 2000
    100 Years of Major League Baseball salutes the games heroes and captures its magical moments.Experience the fiery intensity of Ty Cobb and the mighty rips of the great Babe Ruth. Feel the heat of a Satchel Paige fastball, and relive the drama of Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World." The book captures the spine-chilling moments of recent years, including Kirk Gibson's fabled World Series homer and Cal Ripken's inspiring chase of Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games record. Of course, you'll join in the hoopla surrounding Mark McGwire's power explosion of 1998, as well as the Yankees' march to their 25th world title in 1999.Celebrate one of the biggest anniversaries in sports history with this exciting publication -100 Years of Major League Baseball.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Fantasy Baseball


Mike Zimmerman - 2000
    In fact, not everyone has played Little League or even pick-up games. But everyone can play fantasy baseball--and it seems as if almost everyone does, with the huge boost the game received via the Internet. Fantasy Baseball is the greatest thing to happen to baseball fans since the invention of the sport itself, according to Michael Zimmerman, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fantasy Baseball. You are the one with all the power--you are the owner, general manager, and manager in a league of your own. See how to draft real major league players to form your own team. Use real stats from each real season. Use your own money. And if you win, you own the right of all rights: bragging. And if you stink? You have only yourself to blame.