The New York Yankees’ shortstop—a five-time World Series victor, team captain since 2003, and one of the greatest ballplayers of all time—is a beloved and inspiring role model who displays the indefinable qualities of a champion, on and off the field.Jeter Unfiltered is a powerful collection of never-before-published images taken over the course of Derek’s final season. Fans will have unprecedented access to “The Captain,” as the famously private baseball legend takes us behind the scenes—inside his home, the stadium, the gym, at his Turn 2 Foundation events, fortieth birthday party, and more—as he looks back with candor and gratitude on his baseball career. The result is an intimate portrait bursting with personality, professionalism, and pride.Jeter Unfiltered is Jeter as you have never seen him before: unguarded, unapologetic…unfiltered.

         2014 is the 20th anniversary of the strike that killed baseball in Montreal, and the 10th anniversary of the team's move to Washington, DC. But the memories aren't dead--not by a long shot. The Expos pinwheel cap is still sported by Montrealers, former fans, and by many more in the US and Canada as a fashion item. Expos loyalists are still spotted at Blue Jays games and wherever the Washington Nationals play (often cheering against them). Every year there are rumours that Montreal--as North America's largest market without a baseball team--could host Major League Baseball again.     There has never been a major English-language book on the entire franchise history. There also hasn't been a sportswriter as uniquely qualified to tell the whole story, and to make it appeal to baseball fans across Canada AND south of the border. Jonah Keri writes the chief baseball column for Grantland, and routinely makes appearances in Canadian media such as The Jeff Blair Show, Prime Time Sports and Off the Record. The author of the New York Times baseball bestseller The Extra 2% (Ballantine/ESPN Books), Keri is one of the new generation of high-profile sports writers equally facile with sabermetrics and traditional baseball reporting. He has interviewed everyone for this book (EVERYONE: including the ownership that allowed the team to be moved), and fans can expect to hear from just about every player and personality from the Expos' unforgettable 35 years in baseball. Up, Up, and Away is already one of the most anticipated sports books of next year.

    is a funny and moving memoir about Fathers, Fate and Field of Dreams. Dwier Brown played Kevin Costner's father for five minutes at the end of the movie Field of Dreams. Despite being an actor for 35 years and performing in hundreds of other films, plays and television shows, it was those five minutes that changed his life. Since the movie's release in 1989, Brown has been recognized by dozens of fans who have told him poignant stories about their fathers and how watching the film changed their lives. Their touching stories helped Brown put into perspective his own father's unexpected death just a month before he began filming Field of Dreams.

    Victory, after all, could come down to choosing between the supposed sleeper and the overrated prospects who won't be able to fool people in the Show like they have down on the farm.    Nearly every major-league team has sought the advice of current or former Prospectus writers, and readers of Baseball Prospectus 2014 will understand what all those fans have been raving about. "If you're a baseball fan and you don't know what BP is, you're working in a mine without one of those helmets with the lights on it."—Keith Olbermann "The first time I saw the PECOTA projections, I realized that someone out there understood." —Jeff Luhnow, General Manager, Houston Astros "For me, every year baseball begins with the big, brilliant, beautiful book you are holding in your hands right now."—Joe PosnanskiBaseball Prospectus 2013 correctly predicted:*Disappointing performances by Albert Pujols, Dan Haren, Michael Bourn, Justin Upton, and Tommy Hanson.*Breakouts by Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Seager, Matt Moore, Shelby Miller, and Jason Kipnis, as well as bounceback seasons from Jayson Werth and Shin-Soo Choo.*That Max Scherzer would be a Cy Young contender and Michael Wacha ace-in-waiting for the Cardinals.*That Wil Myers would be a middle-of-the-order bat for Tampa Bay and Josh Donaldson would finally win the Rich Harden trade for the A's.*That CC Sabathia's velocity drop could be a problem, but Felix Hernandez's would not be. *That Joaquin Benoit, Kenley Jansen, and Koji Uehara were better bullpen bets than pre-season closer picks Bruce Rondon, Brandon League, and Joel Hanrahan.

    Now he returns with a riotous look at the most pivotal season of the decade.America, 1976: colorful, complex, and combustible. It was a year of Bicentennial celebrations and presidential primaries, of Olympic glory and busing riots, of "killer bees" hysteria and Pong fever. For both the nation and the national pastime, the year was revolutionary, indeed. On the diamond, Thurman Munson led the New York Yankees to their first World Series in a dozen years, but it was Joe Morgan and Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" who cemented a dynasty with their second consecutive World Championship. Sluggers Mike Schmidt and Dave Kingman dominated the headlines, while rookie sensation Mark "The Bird" Fidrych started the All-Star Game opposite Randy "Junkman" Jones. The season was defined by the outrageous antics of team owners Bill Veeck, Ted Turner, George Steinbrenner, and Charlie Finley, as well as by several memorable bench-clearing brawls, and a batting title race that became just as contentious as the presidential race.From Dorothy Hamill's "wedge" haircut to Kojak's chrome dome, American pop culture was never more giddily effervescent than in this year of Jimmy Carter, CB radios, AMC Pacers, The Bad News Bears, Rocky, Taxi Driver, the Ramones, KISS, Happy Days, Hotel California, and Frampton Comes Alive!---it all came alive in '76!Meanwhile, as the nation erupted in a red-white-and-blue explosion saluting its two- hundredth year of independence, Major League Baseball players waged a war for their own liberties by demanding free agency. From the road to the White House to the shorts-wearing White Sox, Stars and Strikes tracks the tumultuous year after which the sport---and the nation---would never be the same.

    Henry Graham is a ten year-old boy whose father has just left home for good. When the two meet in 1971 at a downtown Pittsburgh bus stop, all they seem to have in common is their love of baseball. But that is enough to begin a life-long friendship that, eventually, enables both men to confront old enemies and heal old wounds. Philip Beard's third and most accomplished novel swings between two narratives the way John Kostka swings through life. The result is a multifaceted meditation on childhood heroes, the beauty of baseball and the power of love to heal a family in crisis. "SWING is at once heartbreaking, uplifting and emotionally resonant. In a word, it’s beautiful." –Pittsburgh Magazine "It wouldn't be fair or accurate to call SWING a sports book. It's too rare for that." –The Sporting News ​"SWING is richly rewarding...a tight, poignant coming of age novel...[that] will stay with you long after you put this book down." –Sports Illustrated “Every character—the absent father, the troubled sister, the mysterious wonder that is John Kostka—feels alive due to Beard‘s skillfully simple prose and dialogue. With SWING, Beard has hit it out of the park.” –Foreword Reviews ". . . just about perfect.” – The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    Dancer Stonemason is three days away from his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals. With his wife and son cheering him on, he pitches the greatest game of his life. And then he loses everything. Told against the backdrop of America’s postwar challenges from Little Rock to the Bay of Pigs to Viet Nam, AMERICAN PAST TIME is the story of what happens to a man and his family after the cheering stops.

    Dwier Brown played Kevin Costner’s father for five minutes at the end of the movie Field of Dreams. Despite being an actor for 35 years and performing in hundreds of other films, plays and television shows, it was those five minutes that changed his life. Since the movie’s release in 1989, Brown has been recognized by dozens of fans who have told him poignant stories about their fathers and how watching the film changed their lives. Their touching stories helped Brown put into perspective his own father’s unexpected death just a month before he began filming Field of Dreams.

    During his 27-year career, “The Ryan Express” was named an eight-time All-Star and amassed seven no-hitters and more than 5,700 strikeouts—more than any other pitcher in major-league history. This comprehensive biography of Nolan Ryan follows the baseball legend’s journey from the start of his professional career in 1965 to his retirement in 1993. Hall of Famers, journeymen, clubhouse workers, coaches, and trainers offer their own unique take on Ryan in this book filled with never-before-told anecdotes and personal recollections and peppered with eyewitness accounts of his greatest games. In the pages of this history, readers will discover what made Nolan Ryan one of the most revered and respected athletes and citizens of his time.

    Like the best writing about sport--Liebling, Angell--it qualifies as stirring literature. I'd read Kennedy no matter what he writes about." --Richard FordPete Rose played baseball with a singular and headfirst abandon that endeared him to fans and peers, even as it riled others--a figure at once magnetic, beloved and polarizing. Rose has more base hits than anyone in history, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. Twenty-five years ago he was banished from baseball for gambling, then ruled ineligible for Cooperstown; today, the question "Does Pete Rose belong in the Hall of Fame?" has evolved into perhaps the most provocative in sports, a layered, slippery and ever-relevant moral conundrum.How do we evaluate the Hit King now, at a time when steroid cheats appear on the Hall of Fame ballot even as Rose is denied? What do we make of this happily unrepentant gambler, this shameless but beguiling showman whose postbaseball journey has led him to a curious reality show and to the streets of Cooperstown to hawk his signature, his story, himself?Best-selling author Kostya Kennedy delivers an evocative answer in his fascinating re-examination of Pete Rose's life; from his cocky and charismatic early years through his storied playing career to his bitter war against baseball's hierarchy to the man we find today--still incorrigible, still adored by many. Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steroid world? Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today? Should we?

    The book highlights how, during a span of just 76 hours, the Red Sox won four do-or-die games against their archrivals, the New York Yankees, to qualify for the World Series and complete the greatest comeback in baseball history. Then the Red Sox steamrolled through the World Series, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, capturing their first championship since 1918. Don’t Let Us Win Tonight is brimming with revealing quotes from Boston’s front office personnel, coaches, medical staff, and players, including Kevin Millar talking about his infectious optimism and the team’s pregame ritual of drinking whiskey, Dave Roberts revealing how he prepared to steal the most famous base of his career, and Dr. William Morgan describing the radical surgery he performed on Curt Schilling’s right ankle. The ultimate keepsake for any Red Sox fan, this is the 2004 team in their own words.

    The Prospect Handbook profiles in-depth analysis and statistics of 900 players, provides a detailed amateur draft report card, a list of the top 100 prospects, and a ranking of the Major League Baseball player development programs. The Prospect Handbook is the must-have resource for information regarding the leading minor leaguers throughout baseball and is a valuable tool for fans, fantasy leaguers, and anyone who wants to know more about the player development process.

    . . a sparkling new ballpark . . . wild comeback victories . . . a record sellout streak . . . two trips to the World Series . . . and a city crazed with Indians fever.Revisit baseball's most fearsome lineup: Albert Belle's mighty swing and ferocious glare . . . Jim Thome's moon-shot home runs . . . Omar Vizquel's poetry-in-motion play at shortstop . . . Kenny Lofton's exhilarating baserunning and over-the-wall catches . . .These two Cleveland baseball veterans were there for it all. Now, they combine firsthand experience and in-depth player interviews to tell a rich, detailed story that Tribe fans will love.

    The Bucs' 20-year drift raises provocative questions about why we root for sports teams in the first place. Why would fans invest emotionally in a team with so little to offer? And why do fans who openly describe themselves as "masochistic" and "delusional" stick around?Charlie Wilmoth chronicles the losing streak and explains how the Bucs finally built a team strong enough to challenge it. Meanwhile, he profiles fans in their teens and twenties who have never seen the Pirates win, and older ones waiting for the team's first winning season in a generation. Stir-crazy after two decades at sea, fans of all ages seethe at the Pirates' ownership and at each other, all while holding out hope that next year might somehow be different. Their loyalty is either inspiring or insane. And after two decades of choppy water, their luck is finally about to change."The Pittsburgh Pirates' transformation from record-setting losers to perennial contenders might be this century's best baseball story, and Charlie Wilmoth is the best person to tell it." - Rob Neyer, FOX Sports"Pirates fans are like no others. After years of sharing his unique insights at Bucs Dugout, Charlie Wilmoth deftly captures the wildly varied emotions of Pirates fans in this excellent book." - Rob King, ROOT Sports"With a sense of humor and point of view that could develop only through firsthand experience, Charlie Wilmoth chronicles a team and fan base hitting rock bottom, then rising to the top in a redemptive 2013 season. Dry Land examines what motivates fans to remain loyal after decades of losing, and follows them as their skepticism washes away during the Pirates' playoff run." - Tim Dierkes, MLB Trade Rumors

    Every facet of the game from tagging up to stealing bases to intentional walks goes back to the duel between pitcher and batter. This book, like no other work available or any single website, explains baseball from scratch, while also educating the reader as to its important place in American history and culture. Part One, Preliminaries, explains those aspects of the game that must be understood before approaching the game itself, which is the subject of Part Two, The Game. Part Three, Statistics, discusses how numbers influence the decisions and strategies that propel each game forward. Part Four, Major League Baseball Overview, puts the sport in context by introducing the reader to Major League baseball in a unique way: by walking him or her through one calendar year in the majors, from the Hall of Fame voting in January through the Winter Meetings in December."

    Zack’s arrival on the big stage is the culmination of his father’s dream as much as his own, and Zack has the scars to prove it. But before he can even throw a pitch in the Series, his father dies in a tragic car accident. The first question—whether or not to pitch—isn’t even a question. He has to pitch. The world demands it of him. And so does he. What follows is a story about trying to hold it together when you shouldn’t have to and about the memories our parents leave with us when they’re gone. Praise for the book:“Baseball fiction is hard. Well, all fiction is hard, but baseball fiction is particularly so because the game is so hard to capture. What makes Jason Linden’s When the Sparrow Sings so compelling is that it is easy to forget that it is fiction. The baseball feels authentic and close and—like the real thing—so fleeting.”- Joe Posnanski, national columnist for NBC Sports

    When a sudden declaration from an on-again, off-again boyfriend inspires her to take a risk, only to meet with crushing heartbreak instead, Laurie finds herself searching for refuge.A chance encounter with Eric Morris and Peter Ellis, two friends spending their summer visiting every ballpark in America, offers Laurie an unexpected way to salve her wounds. Despite growing up in Boston surrounded by Red Sox fans, she wasn’t a fan of the game–until Eric and Peter’s enthusiasm turn that around and she falls in love…with baseball.Life throws Laurie a curveball when she gets laid off from her career-path ad agency job, and then again when her former suitor tries to reclaim her attention. Joining up with Eric and Peter for the remainder of their cross-country baseball odyssey lets her dodge her ex’s efforts as well as look for a new job.Along the way, Laurie and friends encounter Citizens Bank Park and the Philly Phanatic; Fenway Park, the front row of the Green Monster and Wally the Green Monster; the Pirate Parrot and PNC Park; Southpaw and US Cellular Field; the grandstand and bleachers at Wrigley Field; Jacobs Field and that creepy Cleveland Indians mascot; Busch Stadium and Fredbird; Sluggerrr and Kaufmann Stadium; Shea Stadium and the 2006 post-season.But as the season and the journey draws to a close, Laurie realizes that there’s a new set of decisions she’ll need to make: where she’ll live, who she’s in love with, and what team she’s going to claim allegiance to!If you love baseball and best friends, rock and roll and road trips, heartbreak and happy endings, A Whole New Ballgame is for you.

    After all, it had been eighty-six years since Boston last won a World Series, a fact anybody even remotely associated with the team as a player, executive, or fan was reminded of on a daily basis. For members of the 2004 Red Sox roster, winning that October was one of the greatest experiences in their lives. For fans, the '04 team will always be remembered as the one that finally silenced the "1918" chants.Hundreds of articles and numerous books were written in the immediate aftermath of the thrilling '04 season, but ten years have passed and Miracle at Fenway has a fresh perspective, including the type of analysis and insight that comes with a decade of reflection. As a Red Sox fan since birth, and from having written about and worked alongside the team for his entire professional life, Saul Wisnia has cultivated relationships with people at every level of the Sox organization. From the players to the fans to the upper echelons of team management, he has their accounts of 2004 as they saw it and as they remember it today, now that the memories have had time to take root and blossom.In the winning tradition of baseball oral histories, Wisnia tells the story of 2004 as experienced by the people who lived it, in an engaging style filled with insight and excitement.

    Yet much of the O’Malley story leading up to the Dodgers’ move is unknown or created from myth, and there is substantially more to the man. When he entered the public eye, the self-constructed family background and early life he presented was gilded. Later his personal story was distorted by some New York sportswriters, who hated him for moving the Dodgers.    In Mover and Shaker Andy McCue presents for the first time an objective, complete, and nuanced account of O’Malley’s life. He also departs from the overly sentimentalized accounts of O’Malley as either villain or angel and reveals him first and foremost as a rational, hardheaded businessman, who was a major force in baseball for three decades and whose management and marketing practices radically changed the shape of the game.

    Hastily constructed after epic political maneuvering around Chicago’s and organized baseball’s hierarchies, the new Weeghman Park (named after its builder, fast-food magnate Charley Weeghman) was home to the Federal League’s Chicago Whales. The park would soon be known as Wrigley Field, one of the most emblematic and controversial baseball stadiums in America. In Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines, Stuart Shea provides a detailed and fascinating chronicle of this living historic landmark. The colorful history revealed in Wrigley Field shows how the stadium has evolved through the years to meet the shifting priorities of its owners and changing demands of its fans. While Wrigley Field today seems irreplaceable, we learn that from game one it has been the subject of endless debates over its future, its design, and its place in the neighborhood it calls home. To some, it is a hallowed piece of baseball history; to others, an icon of mismanagement and ineptitude. Shea deftly navigates the highs and lows, breaking through myths and rumors. And with another transformation imminent, he brings readers up to date on negotiations, giving much-needed historical context to the maneuvering.Wrigley Field is packed with facts, stories, and surprises that will captivate even the most fair-weather fan. From dollar signs (the Ricketts family paid $900 million for the team and stadium in 2009), to exploding hot dog carts (the Cubs lost that game 6–5), to the name of Billy Sianis’s curse-inducing goat (Sonovia), Shea uncovers the heart of the stadium’s history. As the park celebrates its centennial, Wrigley Field continues to prove that its colorful and dramatic history is more interesting than any of its mythology.

    Then in 2004, a group of self-proclaimed "Idiots" banished the curse in rare style, first defeating the Anaheim Angels 3-0 to win the division, then overcoming a 3-0 deficit to beat the infamous New York Yankees, and finally sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0. This book tells the story behind that amazing season through interviews with the men who changed Red Sox history forever.

    Written by a baseball historian and recognized authority on “the Friendly Confines,” this is the first book to detail each year of the storied park’s existence. The book covers not only the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Federal League baseball team in detail, it touches on the Chicago Bears football team, basketball, hockey, high school sports, track and field, and political rallies. It references activities and changes throughout the park and in its neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. In addition to pertinent Cubs statistics, the author’s year-by-year coverage includes:• A “game of the year”• A description of unusual and interesting happenings in the ballpark• A quote from the year that best captures its essenceSupplementing the year-by-year approach are nine chapters that divide Wrigley Field’s storied history into nine “innings,” along with informative appendixes that will delight every Cubs fan, from the casual to the obsessed. The book’s easy-to-use format and wealth of information make it a resource that readers will turn to again and again.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    You, too, can do what Zack does, whether you’re at Opening Day batting practice or Game 7 of the World Series. From a baseball expert and skilled raconteur, “The Art of Snag” tells you what to wear, how to talk, where to go, and what exactly you need to do to become the (Skillful? Just plain prepared? Either way, legal) proud owner of a Major League baseball. An eBook short.

    Louis in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles have been one of the most storied teams in baseball and home to legends like Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. From the “Oriole Way” — which earned them eight Division Championships, six American League pennants, and three World Series Championships — to “Orioles Magic” at Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles: 60 Years is a comprehensive exploration of the team’s enduring legacy. Longtime sports journalist Jim Henneman takes us through the team’s colorful history as well as into the dugout and behind the plate to deliver unprecedented access, while legendary Orioles personalities and players offer anecdotes and firsthand memories. Complementing this comprehensive history are many rare and never-before-seen images from the Orioles’ archive, as well as replica ephemera, including vintage tickets, scorecards, posters, and more. Commemorating six decades of the franchise, Baltimore Orioles: 60 Years is a uniquely authoritative and engrossing visual history that is certain to appeal to baseball fans of all generations.

    That room would have to be large enough for a baseball game, sunny enough for grass to grow, and with air cool and clear enough for thousands of smokers to puff away in air-conditioned comfort. Led by a brilliant and colorful politician, this collection of architects, engineers, oilmen, scientists, and ballplayers created the Astrodome. What they built forever transformed the way baseball and other sports were played and viewed-for better and for worse. More importantly, theirs was a uniquely American achievement that reflected the place and extraordinary times in which it was constructed. This is the story of the creation and early days of the first domed stadium, highlighting the people who participated and the unprecedented solutions they developed for problems that had not previously existed. It places the building in its historic context among worldwide architectural and engineering accomplishments, as well as its cultural setting in mid-century America. It is the result of more than a year's research using both primary-source archival material and interviews with the participants.

    Raw. Honest. Funny. Brilliant. "My Father Never Took Me To A Baseball Game" is packed with poignant life lessons and real, raw wisdom. Stephen pulls no punches, delighting readers with humorous stories and brilliant observations from his own life. Self-help meets self-humor in the pages of this amazing book, making it a true must read for all.

    1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His photographs have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney and São Paulo Biennials. Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth started his own publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and is a member of Magnum Photos.Hank Willis Thomas is a photo conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history and popular culture. He received a BFA in Photography and Africana studies from New York University and his MFA/MA in Photography and Visual Criticism from the California College of Arts. Thomas has exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the International Center of Photography, Galerie Michel Rein in Paris, Studio Museum in Harlem, Galerie Henrik Springmann in Berlin, and the Baltimore Museum of Art, among others. Thomas’ work is in numerous public collections including The Museum of Modern Art New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The High Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.Hiroshi Watanabe Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan in 1951, Hiroshi Watanabe graduated from the Department of Photography of Nihon University in 1975. Watanabe moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a production coordinator for Japanese television commercials and later co-founded a Japanese coordination services company. Watanabe obtained an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Business School in 1993. Two years later, however, his earlier interest in photography revived, and Watanabe started to travel worldwide, extensively photographing what he found intriguing at each moment and place. As of 2000, Watanabe has worked full-time at photography.

    You don't know the Royals history and successes until you know him. His name is Art Stewart and he helped bring Bo Jackson to the Royals on a hunch. He once signed a player after sneaking into the home and listening in on a rival's offer.He has the kind of charm that's overmatched highway patrolmen -- Art has paid two speeding tickets in his life, and guesses that baseball stories have gotten him out of a dozen more.Once, his rental car running on fumes in Florida's Alligator Alley, Art told a few baseball stories and a man siphoned gas for him.He fell in love with baseball when he snuck into his attic and found his late father's baseball gloves, and his seven decades on the wild ride of major league baseball make him a living, breathing, storytelling personification of America's pastime.Art was born on Babe Ruth's 32nd birthday, and has been inside baseball through Ted Williams' triple crown, Willie Mays' catch, Hank Aaron's home runs, George Brett's chase of .400, all the way through the high-definition, instant-replay times of today.Art helped build the Yankees' dynasty of the 1950s and 1960s, before becoming an integral part of making the Royals the most successful expansion franchise in baseball history.His aggressive ways are part of why baseball's owners voted overwhelmingly to institute a draft in 1963. Art signed one 20-game winner who shook the sport with an explosive book, and another 20-game winner who shook the sport by swapping wives with a teammate.From George Brett to Frank White, Bret Saberhagen to Bo Jackson, Carlos Beltran to Eric Hosmer, the Royals' history is Art's history. Art just tells it better than anyone else

    Matt has written a thorough and accessible book on the biggest stars, greatest games, and most amazing feats in baseball history. Richly illustrated, the text includes bios of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, and many others; descriptions of classic ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley and great franchises like Brooklyn and the Yankees; a section on the Negro Leagues and other professional leagues; and the expert lowdown on stolen bases, perfect games, triple crowns, and even the baseball uniforms!Amazing Aaron to Zero Zippers is the go-to resource for anyone looking to learn everything important about the history of America’s greatest game, and learn it in a fast, fun way. Filled with incredible, classic photos from the official Baseball Hall of Fame Archives, it is a primer for baseball beginners, a resource for developing fans, and a treat for long-time devotees who will love having so much essential baseball knowledge in one convenient place.

    This rhyming tale will turn every frown upside-down. Guaranteed. 5-STAR REVIEW: "This is a fun little book, just perfect for reading to any young baseball fans before bedtime." FROM THE eBOOK: The bat started shaking... Like a blender gone mad. "I'll grant you one wish... If your wish is a wish that wishes no bad." This rhyming eBook is for all ages and will quickly become one of your favorites. Enjoy!

    It was built in just 50 days, with a rectangular shape in the style of New York’s Polo Grounds, designed to fit the odd dimensions of the lot—which formerly housed a seminary school—that Whales owner “Lucky” Charlie Weeghman had purchased with a 99-year lease at a little over $300,000. In all, it took $250,000 and plenty of scrambling to build the park.That seminal event is at the heart of Before Wrigley: The Inside Story of the First Years of the Cubs’ Home Field. The book will explore the early years of Wrigley Field, when it bore a different name and housed a different team. Sean Deveney has mined documents and resources from baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, as well as the Chicago History Museum, to supplement the reports in newspapers and magazines of the day, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the origins and birth pangs of the park.At the center of the Before Wrigley drama is a cast of typically colorful Chicago characters, particularly Weeghman, the young and flamboyant restaurant man who started out in the city as an $8-a-week waiter, eventually became a millionaire baseball magnate, and then lost everything. There’s tightwad owner Charles Murphy, who oversaw the Cubs’ early 20th-century dynasty (yes, there was a Cubs dynasty), only to run off his famed infield of Tinkers, Evers, and Chance, and be run out of the game himself. There are crooked baseball officials like Ban Johnson and Garry Herrmann, crooked politicians like mayor “Big Bill” Thompson, rogue ballplayers out to make a quick buck or two, and, of course, the generally fair and hardworking citizens of Chicago.Using careful and detailed research, incorporated into the bizarre and gripping narrative of the city, the game, and the team in the mid-1910s, Before Wrigley gives Cubs fans a rollicking account of their beloved ballpark’s little-explored early days.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    Juan Marichal, a Dominican anxious about his family’s safety during the civil war back home, and John Roseboro, a black man living in South Central L.A. shaken by the Watts riots a week earlier, attacked one another in a moment immortalized by an iconic photo:  Marichal’s bat poised to strike Roseboro’s head.     The violent moment–uncharacteristic of either man–linked the two forever and haunted both. Much like John Feinstein’s The Punch, The Fight of Their Lives examines the incident in its context and aftermath, only in this story the two men eventually reconcile and become friends, making theirs an unforgettable tale of forgiveness and redemption.     The book also explores American culture and the racial prejudices against blacks and Latinos both men faced and surmounted. As two of the premiere ballplayers of their generation, they realized they had more to unite them than keep them apart.

    With listings ranked in importance from one to 100, the book includes everything from Bill Mazeroski's World Series-winning homerun in 1960 and PNC Park, arguably baseball's finest stadium, to legendary broadcaster Bob Prince. This guide touches upon all of the team's nine National League pennants and five World Series titles, as well as legendary players such as Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Barry Bonds, and Andrew McCutchen. Packed with personalities, places, events, and facts, "100 Things Pirates Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" is the perfect tool for Bucs fans to take their team spirit to a whole new level.

    Nikola-Lisa explores a fascinating corner of baseball history in The Men Who Made the Yankees, which traces the rise of the New York Yankees from the origin of the American League to the Yankees’ first world championship title in 1923. Less a history of players, The Men Who Made the Yankees focuses on a handful of powerful club owners and the political and financial pressures that dramatically shaped the arrival of an American League team in New York City. A baseball enthusiast from a young age, Mr. Nikola-Lisa is also the author of Dear Frank: Babe Ruth, the Red Sox, and the Great War, a work of historical fiction set in Boston during the waning days of the first world war.

    He won a record sixteen straight Gold Gloves at third base, led one of the best teams of the era, and is often cited as the greatest fielder in baseball history. Credited with almost single-handedly winning the 1970 World Series, this MVP was immortalized in a Normal Rockwell painting. A wholesome player and role model, Brooks honored the game of baseball not only with his play but with his class and character off the field.Author of The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych, Doug Wilson returns to baseball's Golden Age to detail the birth of a new franchise through the man who came to symbolize it as one of baseball's most beloved players. Through numerous interviews with people from every part of the legendary player's life, Wilson reveals never-before-reported information to illuminate Brooks's remarkable skill and warm personality.Brooks takes readers back to an era when players fought for low-paying yearly contracts, spanning the turbulent 60s and 70s and into the dawning of the free agent era. He was elected to the MLB All-Century Team and as president of the MLB Players Alumni, Brooks continues to influence today's baseball players.In the current climate of astronomic salaries, steroids, off-field troubles, and heroes who let down their fans, Brooks reminds baseball fans of the honor and glory at the heart of America's favorite pastime.

    In late July, Kansas City sat in third place in the AL Central, eight games out of first place with a losing record. But manager Ned Yost’s team answered the call, posting a 41–27 mark after the All-Star break to capture a spot in the AL Wild Card game. Trailing the A’s 7–3 after seven innings, the Royals’ thrilling, 12-inning comeback win started a record postseason run. The win over the A’s marked the start of a record eight-game winning streak as the Royals swept the Angels and Orioles to set up the unforgettable Fall Classic showdown with the Giants. Packed with unique analysis from veteran Kansas City writer Matt Fulks and vivid color photography, Out of the Blue takes fans through the Royals’ amazing journey, from key off-season acquisitions to the Royals’ thrilling Wild Card win all the way to the thrilling push to Game 7 of the World Series. This commemorative edition also includes feature stories on Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and other fan favorites.

    Do they have what it takes to make the team?

    Annual recaps recall each season's dominant performances, All-Star game lineups and results, pennant races, and post-season highlights. Selections are made for the decade's greatest players at every position, in addition to ranking the top 10 managers, fielders, clutch performers, memorable moments, most valuable players, individual seasons, rivalries, power/speed threats, and even tape measure homers. Franchises are reviewed and ranked from 1 through 26, with sidebars noting statistical leaders in 15 categories. Along the way, essays reflect on World Series controversies, free agency, 4-man pitching rotations, milestones, the designated hitter (and runner!), and profile colorful characters like Le Grand Orange, Toy Cannon, and Road Runner. Finally a detailed appendix compiles award winners plus year-by-year leaders and total decade leaders in 11 offensive and 6 pitching categories. Relive all the memories from a great period in baseball history!

    But the two men were divided by a rivalry going far beyond the personality differences and petty jealousies of competitive teammates. Behind the bitterness were deep and differing beliefs about the fight for civil rights. Robinson, the more aggressive and intense of the two, thought Jim Crow should be attacked head-on; Campanella, more passive and easygoing, believed that ability, not militancy, was the key to racial equality. Drawing on interviews with former players such as Monte Irvin, Hank Aaron, Carl Erskine, and Don Zimmer, Jackie and Campy offers a closer look at these two players and their place in a historical movement torn between active defiance and passive resistance. William C. Kashatus deepens our understanding of these two baseball icons and civil rights pioneers and provides a clearer picture of their time and our own.Purchase the audio edition.

    Ranked by the Sports News as the 9th-best team in baseball history, the ’48 Indians were a colorful group of guys, lead by the always colorful Bill Veeck; the future Hall of Famer who was running his first team. But the Indians weren’t just well-run in the front office; their team on the field was comprised of seven future Hall of Famers.Player-manager Lou Boudreau would not only lead his team to the playoffs, but would become the first shortstop to ever win the American League’s Most Valuable Player award. He also relied on pitchers Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, and Negro leagues legend Satchel Paige (then forty-one years old), as well as second baseman Joe Gordon and right fielder Larry Doby, who followed Jackie Robinson by only a few weeks in breaking the color barrier in baseball.The Indians finished the ’48 season at 97–58, and were tied with Joe McCarthy’s Boston Red Sox, which led to the first-ever one game playoff in American League history. The Indians were victorious and would then defeat the Boston Braves in six games to win the World Series.The Monsters of Municipal Stadium is a fantastic look at one of the greatest teams to ever play the game, and how everyone involved in this extraordinary season—from the players to management—made 1948 a memorable year for baseball and the city of Cleveland.

     In their first major league seasons, Joe scored a rookie-record 132 runs, and Ted drove home a rookie-record 145 runs. More than seventy years later, their records still stand. Joe should have batted .400 in 1939; Ted did hit .406 in 1941. Batting .412 in early September, the Clipper suffered a serious eye infection, and his average plummeted to 381, which was still 21 points higher than Jimmie Foxx, the runner-up hitter in the batting race. The year 1941 was a mystical one in baseball history. DiMag hit safely in a record 56 consecutive games. During Joe's sensational run, Ted out hit him, .412 to .406. Unbelievably, at the All-Star Game, Joe's streak stood at 48 consecutive games, and Ted was batting .404. You can believe that they got the attention of the other Stars that year. Ted won Triple Crowns but not MVP awards in both 1942 and 1947. (There are two stories there.) Joe beat out Ted in the 1947 voting, 202 to 201. The Kid hit the game-winning walk-off home run in the 1941 All-Star Game. In the 1946 Mid-summer Classic, he got four hits, including two home runs, one of them the first ever four-base blast off Rip Sewell's celebrated "eephus ball" pitch. Early in 1947, co-owner Dan Topping of the Yankees and owner Tom Yawkey of the Red Sox agreed on an even-up trade of Joe for Ted. If it had been made, it would have altered baseball history considerably. Joe and Ted were known for their gallant comebacks. In his last three years (1949-1951), the Clipper returned from either injury or illness to lead the Yankees to three consecutive world titles. In his last three games of the 1951 World Series, his final one, he batted .545 with one home run and five RBI. In his last major league at bat, he doubled off the right center field wall at Yankee Stadium. He broke into the majors by playing on four consecutive world championship clubs. In 1946, back from World War II, Ted hit the first pitch that he had seen in four years for a 460-foot home run. Incredibly, he hit a home run in his last at-bat before he left for the Korean Conflict and in his first full game back from Korea... Ted came five hits shy of batting .400 for the fourth time in 1957. (Yes, fourth time!) He hit .388 to win the batting title at the record age of 39. Overall, he won six batting crowns. Realistically, he could have won 12 titles. The Kid, in his last major league at-bat, hit a farewell home run--at Fenway Park! During his career he hit 92 game-winning home runs! Joe, in his last major league game, a World Series clincher, got intentionally walked twice! Joe and Ted were even linked by the numbers that they wore on their backs. In his rookie season, Joe wore Number 9 (Ted's number), and in spring training of his rookie year, Ted wore Number 5 (Joe's number). Today some people call them Number 5 and Number 9!

    As a preacher's daughter growing up in New Jersey, Johnson was inspired to love two things, God and the New York Mets. Equally fluent in the language of the game and the poetry of Shakespeare, Johnson's gorgeous stories bring to life each decade and transition of her existence: trading baseball cards with her best childhood friend, dating while attending an all-girls school, taking a newborn baby to the ballpark, saying goodbye to her son as he joins the military. While time and seasons dance to a rhythm of change, one scene remains the same-men in cleats on a diamond, the reassuring crack of the bat, and a field aglow in stadium lights.

    The comprehensive statistical review of baseball from the majors through to youth baseball.The one guide every true baseball fan will want—a comprehensive statistical review from the majors all the way through to youth baseball. Baseball America 2014 Almanac offers a complete recap of the 2013 baseball season from the World Series to the major, minor, college, high school, independent, and amateur leagues. The Almanac has organization, team, and player statistics and season reviews covering all of professional, amateur, and youth baseball. It is also the only volume to feature in-depth coverage of the annual draft of players at all levels.

    These baseball legends rule the record books. But who will fans still be talking about years from now? Find out which of your favorite baseball players are legends in the making. Produced in partnership with Sports Illustrated KIDS.

    Since taking over the closer’s role for the New York Yankees in 1997, until his retirement in 2013, Rivera saved 30 or more games in every season but one. In addition, he has an astonishing MLB record 42 postseason saves, with 11 of them coming in the World Series. After 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, his preeminence among relief pitchers is assumed and his induction into Cooperstown assured.And he accomplished it all, mostly, with one devastating pitch: his signature cut fastball. As third baseman Corey Koskie put it: “You knew what pitch [Rivera’s] going to throw, a cutter. . . . You start to swing at the pitch and the next thing you know, the ball explodes your bat. I tried multiple things hoping to figure out a way get the barrel [of the bat] on one of his pitches. . . . Nothing worked.”Far from a conventional biography, Facing Mariano Rivera offers perspectives and testimonials from opponents and teammates alike, including Rivera’s minor-league roommate and the final batter he faced in the major leagues. Some opponents had uncommon success against “The Sandman,” and they share their secrets for hitting him. Most, however, echo the sentiments of five-time All-Star Mike Sweeney: “When you’re at Yankee Stadium and Mariano Rivera is coming in the game, it feels like a horror movie . . . when you hear the music and you’re scared to death, because you know what’s going to happen.”Truly dominant pitchers come along only rarely. This book tells the reader what it’s like to battle one of the all-time best, in the words of the players who did just that.

    From Ethan Allen to Don Zimmer, they’re all here, including Charlie “Bushel Basket” Gould, who played on the first team in 1869 to Junior Griffey, soon to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Alongside big-name stars like Dave Parker and Buddy Bell, fans will find those like Eddie Hunter, who played only one inning in 1933, never got to bat, and never fielded a ball. Every player receives a one- or two-page profile, many of which are based on original interviews with the players or surviving family members. Going beyond statistics, each profile brings the player to life through stories that have never before been told in print. An indispensible look at Cincinnati baseball history, The Local Boys makes an ideal gift for any Reds fan.

    Our family was at the baseball park seven days a week. In order to spice up the game and keep everyone interested I decided to become Commissioner of baseball and change a few rules. OK, I never became Commissioner, but I did write about how the game should be played. See if you think these changes make baseball more fun.This is a Rhyming Children's Picture book with silly suggestions about the rules of baseball.

    

    She had never written about baseball before, and had only recently become a baseball fan. What began as a personal project rapidly became an obsession as she learned about and fell in love with baseball. Her blog metsgrrl.com would become a well-regarded destination not just for Mets fans, but also for baseball fans of any team. Come along with Rose as she attends every home game of the 2006 post season and every game of the last week of Shea Stadium, as she sits through games in April cold and September rain, as she follows the Mets across town to Yankee Stadium and out to the West Coast for a week of games. Say goodbye to Jose Reyes, salute Carlos Beltran, and sit on the edge of your seat as Johan Santana throws the first Mets no-hitter. One Girl, One Team, One City: the best of metsgrrl.com is a passionate celebration of both baseball and the ups and downs of dedicated baseball fandom. As a bonus, the anthology also includes an excerpt of Rose's latest novel, A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME. A recent review stated, "It’s a novel about love, loss, and the fact that no matter what happened last year, pitchers and catchers report in February every year. There’s always next year."

    The most commonly told stories of baseball are no mystery. They can easily be found in any of the thousands of books on this team or that player. In 100 Years of Baseball, we get to look even further into the past at the stories that didn’t make the headlines. Learn more about the way each piece of the game fits together to become something we eagerly wait for each season. This book was made for the fans, those who can spout off even the most obscure facts of baseball history. There is always another story to learn, to pass along to our friends and children. More than a century ago, we were given the gift of baseball. It is time that its full story made it into the hearts of true fans.

    The Giants captured their third World Series crown in five seasons in 2014—this last one having taken perhaps the most unlikely path. San Francisco finished second in the NL West but advanced to the Wild Card game against Pittsburgh. The Giants stomped the Pirates 8-0, then outlasted the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals to set up a Fall Classic showdown with the Kansas City Royals. Packed with insider analysis and outstanding color photography from the Bay Area’s largest newspaper publisher, Triple Crowned takes fans through the Giants’ improbable journey, from Tim Lincecum’s June no-hitter to the Wild Card game in Pittsburgh to the final out against the Royals. This commemorative edition also includes profiles of Madison Bumgarner, Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and other fan favorites.

    Tony Gwynn had a Hall of Fame career then went on to coach San Diego State University and was the most popular citizen to call San Diego home. The book is packed with wonderful stories from Tony Gwynn's friends, teammates, and colleagues celebrating an amazing life. This book is brought to you by the same team that put together "Ron Santo: Perfect 10"

    The first out each year and still the best analysis of all the players, teams, managers, and parks in the Major Leagues, with lifetime stats through the 2014 season for every player on a major-league team that year.

    America is in a funk. And Pittsburgh was no exception.Double-digit inflation, a near disaster at nearby Three Mile Island, and the decline of downtown businesses all placed over the city of Pittsburgh a cloud that grew darker than the smoke that rose from the Homestead Works 25 years earlier.Into this atmosphere of doom and gloom came a cause to celebrate. The 1979 Pirates, under the baton of manager Chuck Tanner, included a cast of characters known as “Scrap Iron,” “Cobra,” “Teke,” “The Candy Man,” and, of course, “Pops.”The team became a cardiologist’s nightmare as the Bucs compiled a 98-64 regular season record, winning 25 of those games in their last at-bats.Down three games to one, the Bucs rose from the ashes to defeat Baltimore and become World Series champions. Thousands of Pittsburgh faithful marched along Smithfield Street and Fifth Avenue. They cheered, danced, and sang over and over again the team’s theme song—“We Are Fam-a-Lee.” That upbeat song remains linked with the ’79 Bucs to this day.Relive those glory days in Tales from the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Celebrate the turnaround of shortstop Tim Foli as a player and as a man. Laugh with Chuck Tanner when he heard Pirate fans, including his own wife, actually boo him for what they thought was a poor decision. You might even shed a tear when you read about the untimely passing of the legendary Willie Stargell.These and the other tales about the 1979 Pirates will bring back a heap of fond memories about one of baseball’s most colorful teams.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    The verse delves into the sociological and psychological side of the game, showing both its light and dark facets. This book is a must for any poetry lover and baseball fan.

    Paul Saints, this book focuses on the 18 seasons during which one or the other of the Twin City rivals captured the American Association championship. Each chapter includes an introduction explaining the general status of the pennant-winning team--including biographical information on key players--followed by detailed game accounts and a season summary with critical statistics. Written in the present tense, the game accounts are the meat of the book, immersing the reader in the action of baseball as it was played decades ago. Woven into the game accounts are items of interest--player inquiries, team standings in the pennant race--which help the reader develop a range of viewpoints.