The Astros were the worst baseball team in half a century, but they were more than just bad. They were an embarrassment, a club that didn't even appear to be trying to win. The cover story, combined with the specificity of Reiter's claim, met instant and nearly universal derision. But three years later, the critics were proved improbably, astonishingly wrong. How had Reiter predicted it so accurately? And, more important, how had the Astros pulled off the impossible?Astroball is the inside story of how a gang of outsiders went beyond the stats to find a new way to win--and not just in baseball. When new Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and his top analyst, the former rocket scientist Sig Mejdal, arrived in Houston in 2011, they had already spent more than half a decade trying to understand how human instinct and expertise could be blended with hard numbers such as on-base percentage and strikeout rate to guide their decision-making. In Houston, they had free rein to remake the club. No longer would scouts, with all their subjective, hard-to-quantify opinions, be forced into opposition with the stats guys. Instead, Luhnow and Sig wanted to correct for the biases inherent in human observation, and then roll their scouts' critical thoughts into their process. The numbers had value--but so did the gut.The strategy paid off brilliantly, and surprisingly quickly. It pointed the Astros toward key draft picks like Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman; offered a path for developing George Springer, Jos� Altuve, and Dallas Keuchel; and showed them how veterans like Carlos Beltr�n and Justin Verlander represented the last piece in the puzzle of fielding a championship team.Sitting at the nexus of sports, business, and innovation--and written with years of access to the team's stars and executives--Astroball is the story of the next wave of thinking in baseball and beyond, at once a remarkable underdog story and a fascinating look at the cutting edge of evaluating and optimizing human potential.

    But as a husband and father, he was distant, absent, and a failure. He'd let baseball take over his life, and as a result his family suffered. That is, until one day his daughter called with harrowing news."Dad, I have a brain tumor, and I'm sorry." These words from his seventeen-year-old daughter, Amy, turned his world upside-down. Now, more than ever, he was determined to put his family first.The time they spent together in the months before her death will be treasured and remembered forever, but especially the inside joke that became a catchphrase for the Donnelly family as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates team that played in the National League Championship Series that year: "The chicken runs at midnight."This book shares the heartwarming story behind the odd catchphrase - and how it still lives on as a symbol for never giving up—and proves that God can work in the life of any person, even through their mistakes and failures.Weaving baseball history with personal memoir, this book is one that will make you thrill to victory, believe in hope, stand up to cheer for what is good in peoples' lives. It's a powerful story of redemption and faith that reminds us that God can work in our lives even when we think it's too late to change - and sometimes He sends us signs from heaven if we only have eyes to see.

    Though they attended a small high school with no baseball field, turned down a professional offer so they could attend college together, and faced more than one missed pitch and injuries, they kept dreaming, praying together on the field, and believing in God’s provision for their lives.David and Jason’s journey, from Little League to college to professional baseball and beyond, reminds us that even when we don’t know what God is up to, He’s putting together the pieces of our life’s puzzle and executing the plans He has for each of us.Miracle in Shreveport tells the story of a family’s love, the power of prayer, and a game that is truly all-American. It is also the story of brotherhood staying strong, despite the threat of comparison in a profession committed to competition. Most of all, it is the story of being faithful in small steps, honoring God in the process, and trusting His hand in our lives. In this book, the Benhams call us to remember that when we follow God’s dream for us, we find it is better than we could have ever dreamed for ourselves.

    It's a thinking game. It's also a shifting game. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike. So what's on the horizon for a game that is constantly evolving? Positioned at the crossroads of sabermetrics and cognitive science, The Shift alters the trajectory of both traditional and analytics-based baseball thought. With a background in clinical psychology as well as experience in major league front offices, Baseball Prospectus' Russell Carleton illuminates advanced statistics and challenges cultural assumptions, demonstrating along the way that data and logic need not be at odds with the human elements of baseball—in fact, they're inextricably intertwined. Covering topics ranging from infield shifts to paradigm shifts, Carleton writes with verve, honesty, and an engaging style, inviting all those who love the game to examine it deeply and maybe a little differently. Data becomes digestible; intangibles are rendered not only accessible, but quantifiable. Casual fans and statheads alike will not want to miss this compelling meditation on what makes baseball tick.

    The 2018 edition of The New York Times Bestselling Guide.PLAY BALL! The 23rd edition of this industry-leading baseball annual contains all of the important statistics, player predictions and insider-level commentary that readers have come to expect, along with significant improvements to several statistics that were created by, and are exclusive to, Baseball Prospectus, and an expanded focus on international players and teams.Baseball Prospectus 2018 provides fantasy players and insiders alike with prescient PECOTA projections, which The New York Times called "the �berforecast of every player's performance."With more than 50 Baseball Prospectus alumni currently working for major-league baseball teams, nearly every organization has sought the advice of current or former BP analysts, and readers of Baseball Prospectus 2018 will understand why!Visit www.baseballprospectus.com for year-round baseball coverage

    Aaron Judge (25 years old), Gary Sanchez (24), Luis Severino (23), and Greg Bird (24) could be even more talented than that 1990s’ “Core Four” group, according to manager Joe Girardi. And they’re not alone . . . The Yankees also have youthful players such as Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Didi Gregorius, Tyler Austin, Miguel Andujar, Chance Adams, Jordan Montgomery and Tyler Wade making their names known.Beginning with Judge and Sanchez competing at the 2017 Home Run Derby, when Judge―the 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger―planted the Yankees’ Youth flag on the All-Star Weekend grounds by mashing four miles of dingers to take the crown, veteran Yankees clubhouse reporter Bryan Hoch looks back to the final days of Jeter's historic career, and then fleshes out general manager Brian Cashman’s blueprint for building a new-look Yankees roster, the young players’ fascinating paths to the Majors, their playoff run, streaks and slumps, historic assaults on the record books, how they stack up against Hall of Famers and Yankee legends, and whether or not they can maintain their alluring charisma and amazing numbers in the years to come. It’s a baseball insider’s account of how the Baby Bombers were born and how they’ve electrified Yankees Nation.

    Chief among the hallmarks of the organization is an unparalleled pitching dominance; Dodger blue and white brings to mind brilliance on the mound and the Cy Young Awards that followed. In Brothers in Arms: Koufax, Kershaw, and the Dodgers' Extraordinary Pitching Tradition, acclaimed Dodgers writer Jon Weisman explores the organization's rich pitching history, from Koufax and Drysdale to Valenzuela and Hershiser, to the sublime Clayton Kershaw. Weisman delves deep into this lineage of excellence, interviewing both the legends that toed the rubber and the teammates, coaches, and personalities that witnessed their genius.

    Today, the Dominican Republic produces more Major League players than any country outside the United States. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream: to become a doctor. An uncle was funding his university education when an improbable turn of events intervened at the 1955 Pan American Games. There as a track and field athlete, Alou was pressed into service on the baseball field to replace a player sent home for disciplinary reasons. A scout noticed Alou and offered him two hundred pesos to sign a pro contract. Knowing his father owed the grocer exactly two hundred pesos, Alou signed. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for younger brothers Matty and Jesús and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moisés. A fourth Alou brother, Juan, might have joined the historic trio if not for the improbable direction his own life took. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed another fourteen—four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou became a special friend of Roberto Clemente, roomed with Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, and Joe Torre, and suffered the tragic death of his firstborn son. Alou’s pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family.

    Experienced sportswriters Chad Dotson and Chris Garber recount the living history of the Reds, counting down from No. 50 to No. 1. Big 50: Reds brilliantly brings to life the Reds remarkable story, from Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin to the roller coaster that was Pete Rose to the team’s 1990 World Series championship and Todd Frazier’s 2015 Home Run Derby win.

     With a tear-out checklist to mark ballparks you’ve visited and those on your bucket list, Ballparks takes you inside the intriguing histories of every park in the Major Leagues, with hundreds of photos, stories, and stats about:  Storied parks like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Dodger StadiumFan favorites AT&T Park, Camden Yards, PNC Park, Safeco Field, and so much moreForgotten treasures like Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, and all five parks of the Detroit TigersNew stadiums like the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park, the Minneapolis Twins’ Target Field, and New York’s Yankee Stadium and CitifieldMore than 40 other major league parks that tell the story of the national pastime through the lens of the fields the players call homeNo baseball fan’s collection is complete without this up-to-date tome.

    Rather than predicting batting average, for instance, this resource looks at the elements of skill that make up any given batter's ability to distinguish between balls and strikes, his propensity to make contact with the ball, and what happens when he makes contact—reverse engineering those skills back into batting average. The result is an unparalleled forecast of baseball abilities and trends for the upcoming season and beyond.

    From the dawn of the professional era, through the days of Babe Ruth, the westward expansion and the thrilling championships of today, baseball’s rich and remarkable history is here. Inspiring events such as Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier, Lou Gehrig’s Luckiest Man speech and one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott’s 1993 no-hitter live in a continuum with stirring photos of the game’s most beloved and largest personalities such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken Jr., Bryce Harper and many more. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s unmatched storytelling is in high form in a book that renders exquisite anecdotes, and explores baseball’s cultural heritage and uniquely American character, all in unforgettable style.

    Three novels and two novellas tell the stories of Eric Steiner, Theo Bachman, and their fellow baseball couples. All of the books are individual romance stories filled with baseball, humor, and steamy scenes. Everyone comes together in the final novella for the wedding of the century. Don’t miss a volume of bonus material including the rarely-seen detailed story of Eric and Theo’s engagement. Catching the Pitch - Eric and Theo first met in fifth grade. Their surprise reunion kicks off this second chance, first time gay sports romance that pays tribute to the trials and tribulations of minor league baseball players. The Imperfect Game - Baseball is one of the few sports with an accomplishment that deserves to be honored with the title perfect. Eric’s teammate Linc is searching for it, and along the way, he finds the perfect partner. This novel is a poignant story of romance and the power of family relationships. Home Run Holiday - What do major league baseball players do in the offseason? They play Cupid of course. Follow Eric, Theo, Linc, and his boyfriend Hudson as they plot to bring another couple together at a remote cabin in Minnesota’s Northwoods at Christmas. The Last Out - Kyle is a closeted veteran major league pitcher who meets a young numbers guy named Duncan who turns his final season upside down. Duncan has a plan to make Kyle’s last season one of the best of his career. Along the way romance blossoms. The Wedding Season - Two years after their relationship began, Eric and Theo are planning their wedding. Theo wants it to be the biggest baseball wedding ever, while Eric and his best friend Linc are focused on making it to baseball’s postseason. The two goals are not easy partners. This book is filled with humor and includes all of the couples from the series pitching in to make Eric and Theo’s wedding a grand celebration.

    

    All fans have great memories of their teams. We also remember those things that we wish we could forget: the errors, the mental mistakes . . . and the ugly uniforms.In an ode to those eyesores, Todd Radom has collected and chronicled some of the swing-and-misses we’ve seen on the baseball diamond. Remember when the Chicago White Sox thought wearing shorts in 1977 was a good idea? How about when the Baltimore Orioles wore their all-orange jerseys in 1971? Do you remember the 1999 “Turn Ahead the Clock” campaign? Or the most recent all-camo jerseys of the San Diego Padres?Yes, there is much to talk about when it comes to the odd uniform decisions teams have made over the years. But just like there’s love out there for French bulldogs or Christmas sweaters, ugly uniforms hold a warm place in the heart of all baseball fans, and Winning Ugly is just that: an ode to our favorites from today and yesterday that bring smiles and sighs to all baseball fans.Sure they didn’t affect wins and losses (unless you mention Chris Sale), but a fan’s love and ire goes well beyond the current standings. So whether your team appears in Winning Ugly or not, fans of the sport will enjoy reliving the moments most teams would like to forget.

    Kahn’s pieces, published between 1952 and today, present a vivid, turbulent, and intimate picture of more than half a century in American sport. His standout writings bring us close to entrepreneurs and hustlers (Walter O'Malley and Don King), athletes of Olympian gifts (Ted Williams, Stan Musial, “Le Demon Blond” Guy Lefleur), and sundry compelling issues of money, muscle, and myth. We witness Roger Maris’s ordeal by fame; Bob Gibson’s blazing competitive fire; and Red Smith, now white-haired and renowned, contemplating his beginnings and his future. Also included is a new and original chapter, “Clem,” about the author’s compelling lifelong friendship with former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Clem Labine.  Written across six decades, this volume shows Kahn’s ability to describe the athletes he profiled as they truly were in a manner neither compromised nor cruel but always authentic and up close.

    Tommy John's unique program: a diet, lifestyle, and movement plan (Rethink. Rebuild. Replenish. Recover) for injury- and performance-proofing young athletes in every sport Beginning as early as age 6 and continuing through the teenage years and on into their twenties, both male and female athletes are more at risk of serious injuries at younger ages than ever before. Dr. Tommy John, son of lefty pitcher Tommy John and also a sports performance and healing specialist, offers an invaluable diet, lifestyle, and movement plan (Rethink. Rebuild. Replenish. Recover) for injury- and performance-proofing young athletes in every sport. Dr. John explores the sudden rise of Tommy John surgeries being performed on young athletes today, as well as the many injuries--and the surgeries required to fix them--increasing at an alarming rate in baseball and all youth sports. Dr. John's book outlines the three top causes behind this "injury epidemic": The American lifestyle, the business of youth sports (from coaches to corporations), and the decisions we believe as parents are truly benefiting our children. Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance focuses on prevention, and also offers tips on how to tailor the advice for athletes coming back from an injury, with over 120 black and white photographs.

    Now, in his memoir, Harrelson opens up on a wide variety of topics, from his volatile childhood, to life in the major leagues, to stints as a professional golfer and MLB general manager, and of course his storied years in the broadcast booth. He minces no words when reflecting on brawls, blowups, and encounters with figures ranging from Mickey Mantle and Arnold Palmer to Frank Sinatra and Bobby Kennedy. Packed with the enthusiasm and candor audiences have come to expect, Hawk is a no-holds-barred look at a singular life and career.

    After being stabbed with a penknife in Mexico during spring training, the Indians' Super Joe Charboneau captured Cleveland's heart--and Rookie of the Year. Nolan Ryan became baseball's first Million Dollar Man, Reggie Jackson twice found himself looking down the wrong end of a gun, and George Brett posted the highest single-season batting average since 1941. The Phillies and Expos battled up to the season's final weekend while the Dodgers tilted against the Astros in a one-game playoff for the division title. In the American League, Brett led Kansas City past the mighty Yankees and into the Series, where slugger Mike Schmidt and the Phillies awaited. This book covers it all.

    He was also the perfect idol for postwar America, a wholesome hero from the heartland.In A Season in the Sun, acclaimed historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith recount the defining moment of Mantle's legendary career: 1956, when he overcame a host of injuries and critics to become the most celebrated athlete of his time. Taking us from the action on the diamond to Mantle's off-the-field exploits, Roberts and Smith depict Mantle not as an ideal role model or a bitter alcoholic, but a complex man whose faults were smoothed over by sportswriters eager to keep the truth about sports heroes at bay. An incisive portrait of an American icon, A Season in the Sun is an essential work for baseball fans and anyone interested in the 1950s.

    In doing so, Amore successfully finds the characters' own voices and thereby vividly reconstructs events of more than a century ago. He recounts the snowy night Honus Wagner was offered twenty crisp $1,000 bills to join the new franchise in New York; the story behind the holes punched in the outfield fence that facilitated the stealing of signs in 1909; and why the team thought it may have had the next big superstar in a college football end named George Halas. This is a tale about the business of baseball as it was done at the time and, in many ways, as it still must be done. There was no secret to building a winning organization. It took money and luck, but it also took a group of people working as a team, each allowed to do his job and each doing it superbly.

    Edwards Collection, bringing to life an era of American history that saw the game explode in popularity. Marrying gems from the collection's 2,100 baseball cards to images of American life from 1887 to 1914, the book also offers engaging insights into the players and the game, giving readers an intimate view of both baseball's development and American culture at the turn of the twentieth century. The book highlights cards depicting many of the game's first stars--including Ty Cobb, Cy Young, and Christy Mathewson--as well as less widely known figures, shown with extravagant ornamentation and boldly juxtaposed colors that render the cards works of art in their own right. Game Faces is a rich, engrossing history of the baseball card and the ways that it has illustrated and influenced American culture as a whole. It is a must-have for those who love baseball.

    The decade began with epic blasts from Bill Mazeroski and Ted Williams and ended with the Mets amazin' championship. In between came Maris and Mays and Koufax and Gibson and Aaron and Robinson and much, much more. 1960s baseball was momentous at every turn, from incredible pennant races, to great World Series, to home run records, to extraordinary pitching. Threaded throughout was a siege of freshness. New stars, new teams, new rules, and new ways of playing changed the game forever. No fewer than 54 Hall of Famers played in the 60s, more than any other decade, many of whom are among the greatest legends in the history of the game. They are all here, among statistics and stories about more than 400 players, ample photos, and portraits and funny anecdotes about classic 1960s figures like Smoky Burgess, Rocky Colavito, Moe Drabowsky, Mickey Lolich, Joe Pepitone, the Alou Brothers, Paul Blair, and many, many more In Maz to Yaz to Amazin', Thad Mumau captures the on-the-field tremors from Opening Day until Game 7, from Stan Musial to Dick Allen, from the Yankees' collapse to the Red Sox's Impossible Dream. His intimate and informed account is part romance for a simpler game, part historical report of a decade of unparalleled feats, part roll call of the fascinating and fabulous ballplayers who filled the dugouts through the decade. Chapters alternate between a recap of each season and a review of the decade's most significant events, including the biggest trades, expansion, changes in strategy, the impact of African American and Hispanic players, plus exclusive interviews with two of the greatest players of all time, Tom Seaver and Roberto Clemente! Whether you have Manny Mota's lifetime stats memorized or think Blue Moon Odom is a craft beer, Maz to Yaz to Amazin' is THE go-to source for everything 1960s baseball!

    Louis Cardinals is an amazing, full-color look at the 50 men and moments that make the Cardinals the Cardinals. St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Benjamin Hochman recounts the living history of the team, counting down from No. 50 to No. 1. Learn about and revisit the remarkable stories, featuring greats like Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Mark McGwire, Albert Pujols, and Yadier Molina.

    It is funny, heartwarming, and a great look at baseball from the guy selling refreshments. You will love this book!!” -Larry King "My Life in Yankee Stadium" is a collection of stories and anecdotes from a vendor who started working at Yankee Stadium in 1970. Beginning at the age of fifteen tossing peanuts at a New York Giants football game, Stewart J. Zully vended at more than 2500 events, including playoff and World Series games, no-hitters, a Muhammad Ali heavyweight fight, a visit from the Pope, and, of course, the legendary Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. Here is a personal look at a vendor’s life straight from the basement of the stadium to his other life in show business. Ironically, a commercial he appeared in won an Emmy and triggered a long-lost romance with a former stadium employee, whom he hadn’t seen in twenty-four years. She is now his wife. "My Life in Yankee Stadium" contains unusual encounters with James Gandolfini, Jack Nicholson, Mel Brooks, and many others, whether on a movie set or in the stands at the ballpark. The quirky vendors, the bizarre assortment of fans, and the character of New York City itself all come alive as Zully gives the unique perspective that only an insider has. Filled with exclusive photos, "My Life in Yankee Stadium" is a look at New York from the sixties to the present day, taking readers behind the scenes at the most famous stadium in all of sports.

    GAME SIX is a contemporary drama flavored with action, romance, baseball, and Nazis. When a neighbor’s house explodes, it injures a woman, Brit, and kills her mother. With the help of her autistic friend and a handsome detective, Brit discovers the identity of the murderer. When the killer pursues Brit, she is given the chance to avenge her mother. Is she strong enough to act?

    Far less attention has been given to the club owners, like Charles Ebbets. In 1898, after a 15 year apprenticeship, he became president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, taking over a chronic second division team in poor financial condition. Over the next 25 years, he organized four pennant-winning clubs and developed one of the most profitable franchises in the game--while building two state-of-the-art ballparks in Brooklyn. Ebbets was also an effective steward of the national pastime, working tirelessly on innovations that would help all teams, not just his own. Despite his success, his personal weaknesses ultimately undermined much of what he had so painstakingly built. This first full length biography provides an in-depth view of his life and career, filling a critical gap in the history of the Deadball Era and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

    Louis Cardinals were looking for a new identity. Brock’s departure represented the final link to the team’s glory years of the 1960s, and a parade of new players now came in from the minor leagues. With the Cardinals mired in last place by the following June, owner August A. Busch, Jr., hired Whitey Herzog as field manager, and shortly handed him the general manager’s position, too. Herzog was given free rein to rebuild the club in order to embrace the new running game trend in the majors. With an aggressive style of play and an unconventional approach to personnel moves, he catapulted the Cardinals back into prominence and defined a new age of baseball in St. Louis.

    To the baseball establishment, Ruth’s immense popularity represented opportunity, but his rebelliousness and potential to overturn the status quo presented a threat. After a decades-long campaign waged by baseball to contain and discredit him, the Babe, frustrated and struggling with injuries and illness, grew more acquiescent, but the image of Ruth that baseball perpetuated still informs how many people remember Babe Ruth to this day. This new perspective, approaching Ruth more seriously and placing his life in fuller context, is long overdue.

    Alone they were a shortstop, a second baseman, and a first baseman. But together they were an unstoppable force. Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance came together in rough-and-tumble early twentieth-century Chicago and soon formed the defensive core of the most formidable team in big league baseball, leading the Chicago Cubs to four National League pennants and two World Series championships from 1906 to 1910. At the same time, baseball was transforming from small-time diversion into a nationwide sensation. Americans from all walks of life became infected with “baseball fever,” a phenomenon of unprecedented enthusiasm and social impact. The national pastime was coming of age.Tinker to Evers to Chance examines this pivotal moment in American history, when baseball became the game we know today. Each man came from a different corner of the country and brought a distinctive local culture with him: Evers from the Irish-American hothouse of Troy, New York; Tinker from the urban parklands of Kansas City, Missouri; Chance from the verdant fields of California’s Central Valley. The stories of these early baseball stars shed unexpected light not only on the evolution of baseball and on the enthusiasm of its players and fans all across America, but also on the broader convulsions transforming the US into a confident new industrial society. With them emerged a truly national culture. This iconic trio helped baseball reinvent itself, but their legend has largely been relegated to myths and barroom trivia. David Rapp’s engaging history resets the story and brings these men to life again, enabling us to marvel anew at their feats on the diamond. It’s a rare look at one of baseball’s first dynasties in action.

    For the first time, this mountain of Sox history has been mined and curated by the paper's sports department into a single one-of-a-kind volume. Each era in Sox history includes its own timeline, profiles of key players and coaches, and feature stories that highlight it all, from the heavy hitters to the no-hitters to the one-hit wonders.To be a Sox fan means to know breathtaking highs and dramatic lows. The team's halcyon days--starting with the championship it won during the first official season of the newly formed American League in 1901--have always been punctuated with doldrums and stormy stretches, including a period of time in the '80s when it looked likely that the team would leave Chicago. But with the diehard support of their fans, the Good Guys have always made a comeback--including the team's landmark 2005 World Series win, the first by any Chicago major league team in 88 years. This book records it all.The award-winning journalists, photographers, and editors of the Chicago Tribune have produced a comprehensive collector's item that every Sox fan will love.

    Fully up-to-date, this book contains the official and sanctioned MLB rules and their interpretations per the Playing Rules Committee, the sole group that determines baseball’s regulations.

    In these first-person accounts, baseball fans will meet at an intimate level the players they cheered as heroes or jeered as adversaries, as well as coaches, managers, front-office executives, and umpires.The men who speak in this collection, which includes eight Hall of Famers (Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Ron Santo, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Tom Lasorda, Tony La Russa, and Joe Torre) go beyond facts and figures to provide an inside look at life in the big leagues.Their stories provide a time capsule that documents not only the evolution of Italian American participation in the national pastime but also the continuity of the game and the many changes that have taken place, on and off the field. At a time when statistical analysis plays an increasingly prominent role in the sport, the monologues in this book are a reminder that the history of baseball is passed on to future generations more eloquently, and with much greater passion, through the words of those who lived it than it is by numerical data.

    Experienced sportswriter Aaron Gleeman recounts the living history of the Twins, counting down from No. 50 to No. 1. The Big 50: Minnesota Twins brilliantly brings to life the Twins' remarkable story, from Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett to the roller coaster that was the 1991 World Series to the rise of Joe Mauer and up to new stars like Miguel Sano.

    Additional features for each all-time team include starting lineups, depth charts, comparisons with numerous past authors and fan surveys, and more.

    

    Featuring St. Louis Cardinals ace Bob Gibson in MVP form, Mr. Tiger himself, Al Kaline, coming through at the plate with heroic timing, and Mickey Lolich shouldering unimaginable weight—three complete games pitched in a single series—it was baseball at its best, and baseball when and where it was most needed. Told with the vibrant first-hand perspective of Lolich himself and the expertise of award-winning Detroit journalist Tom Gage, this is the remarkable saga of that '68 season which culminated in Tigers glory. Incorporating new reflections from players and personnel, Joy in Tigertown traces such achievements as Denny McClain's 31-win season as well as the remarkable slugging performances of Kaline, Norm Cash, Willie Horton, and Bill Freehan. Experience the journey of a madcap team, a city reeling from riots, and a country immersed in turbulence and transition.

    In the National League, the Chicago Cubs narrowly won the pennant thanks to the likes of Gabby Hartnett, Charlie Grimm, Billy Herman, Riggs Stephenson, Kiki Cuyler, Johnny Moore, Lon Warneke, and Guy Bush. In the American League, former Cub manager Joe McCarthy's New York Yankees ran away with the pennant, leaving Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics in the dust. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Ben Chapman, Frankie Crosetti, Joe Sewell, Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing, George Pipgras, and Johnny Allen led the way to one of the winningest teams in the early American League, overshadowed only by the 1927 Yankees. Chicago and New York then clashed in one of the most lop-sided and talked-about World Series in baseball history.

    Each piece is chosen based on audience response – a combination of social media “likes”, replies to a particular essay along with my personal favorites. Exclusive content is incorporated into the book – additional charts and graphs that were omitted from the original posts as well as three new compositions."General Manager Scorecard" and the "Worst Trades" chapters evaluates the front office acumen of top MLB executives since 1950. "Taking the Extra Base" examines the art of base running on an individual and team basis. Trivia for one of the most breathtaking plays in baseball is chronicled in "Fun Facts About Inside-the-Park Home Runs". "The Journey From Expansion to Competitive Team" chronicles the path to success for each franchise established since 1960. "Rotisserie vs. Reality" measures organizational performance by the standard Fantasy Baseball categories. The "Best Pitchers Who Never Threw a No-Hitter" are determined based on Sabermetric principles, "BABIP By Location" is a comprehensive look at individual and league statistics with regards to batted balls in play. The WBC is re-imagined back to the dawn of professional ball in "Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic". Rediscover your favorite hardball arcade and simulations in "Play Retro Baseball Video Games In Your Browser". "Minors vs. Majors" assesses every franchise's minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

    Numbers and commentary help fans recall all the great moments from the season that was 2017The 2017 baseball season will be one to remember, and no book offers a more complete capsule of the year than the Baseball America Almanac, which takes you all the way from winter ball to the World Series. The 2018 Almanac has all the major league and minor league news and statistics, a review of every organization's season, comprehensive college coverage, a full recap of the 2017 draft, high school and youth baseball highlights, and even foreign league coverage

    And then it got better.Fairly at Bat is a dramatic, funny, and altogether entertaining romp through a 50-year career as a player and broadcaster, including as a member of three World Series champion Dodgers teams in the 1950s and ‘60s.All the stars of those great teams are here, not just as players, but as people, teammates and friends. The old guard from Brooklyn and the new stars in Los Angeles: Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Carl Furillo, Frank Howard, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills and so many more. How the Dodgers who came west made Los Angeles their own, even winning a World Series in a football stadium until Dodger Stadium was built.Fairly takes you into the lives of baseball players of the 1960s and ‘70s, not only between the basepaths, but in off-hours before and after the games. His memoir includes not only the Dodgers, but players he faced such as Cardinals Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, or just met along the way, like Red Sox hitting star Ted Williams.The incidents are famous, of course, like the 1963 World Series sweep of the New York Yankees, how a bad scouting report almost cost the Dodgers the 1965 World Series and what it was like to be swept by Baltimore in the 1966 Series. The way baseball was in a rougher time, with brushback pitches and even the infamous Marichal-Roseboro brawl in 1965.Fairly pulls no punches, discussing his relationship with the Dodger management, including owner Walter O'Malley, general manager Buzzie Bavasi and manager Walter Alston. He includes an amazing story about Alston pulling a star pitcher after 10 pitches ... in batting practice!So much more: why Fairly chose USC for college over UCLA, even though he was offered a basketball scholarship by Bruins coach John Wooden, what Vero Beach was like in the heyday of Dodgertown and his post-Dodgers odyssey that included All-Star selections in Montreal and Toronto and stints in Oakland, St. Louis and a lucky final stop in Anaheim.He made a very successful transition from player to broadcaster, but just as when he came up with the Dodgers, he had to learn a new trade. Being behind a microphone had its own challenges, much different than those of a player.Fairly at Bat is a memoir shaped by his half-century in the game that originally started as a personal journal that has been transformed into 212 pages of fun that's easy to read and enjoy. Fairly worked with long-time Los Angeles Times sportswriter and author Steve Springer, a veteran of more than a dozen books, including best-selling biographies of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya and many others. It's illustrated with Fairly's personal photographs, including those from his youth, and many locker room prank shots that showed teammates and friends having a good time as well as playing a game they loved.Fairly at Bat: My 50 years in baseball, from the batter's box to the broadcast booth includes a foreword by Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, a timeline of Fairly's career from youth baseball in Long Beach, California, to the broadcast booth until his retirement in 2012, and a statistical summary of his 20 years as a major leaguer.