Book picks similar to
I Love the Red Sox/I Hate the Yankees by Jon Chattman
baseball
nonfiction
sports
Temporary Insanity
Jay Johnstone - 1985
Johnstone, an outfielder and pinch hitter for the Dodgers, Cubs, Padres, Yankees, Phillies, A's, and White Sox shares humorous stories about his teammates and career.
Life to the Fullest: A Story About Finding Your Purpose and Following Your Heart (Sports for the Soul Book 4)
Darrin Donnelly - 2017
But how, exactly, do you find your purpose? And, once you find it, how can you be sure that it’s “safe” to follow that path in life? This book answers those two life-changing questions. Written as an inspirational fable in the style of previous Sports for the Soul books, Life to the Fullest reveals a powerful five-step process for finding your purpose while also dealing with the questions we all have about whether it’s “safe” to follow the dreams in our hearts. In a story that pays homage to the holiday classics, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, John Callahan is a man who has spent his life listening to his heart and following his passion as a high school football coach just like his legendary father. But his dream life is suddenly being crushed. Just days before the state championship game, John receives news that his beloved school is declaring bankruptcy and will be shutting down at the end of the year. Everything John has worked his whole life for—his team, his community, his pension—is being taken away from him. John now finds himself angry at his long-deceased father for advising him to follow his heart and he’s angry at himself for not taking “better” opportunities when they came along. When all hope seems lost, John receives a miraculous visit from his father on the eve of his team’s final game. John is given the opportunity to revisit past moments in his life and to see how things would’ve turned out differently if he had chosen more “practical” opportunities. This is a story about fathers and sons. It’s a story about faith, family, and community. Most of all, it’s a story about having the courage to follow your heart and live your true purpose. As this story plays out, you will find the answers to two of life’s most important questions: How do I find my life’s purpose and is it safe to follow that purpose once I find it?
Triathlon: The Beginners Guide: Finish your first triathlon; training tips and racing secrets to make you a faster triathlete
Terry Stevennson - 2015
Are you thinking about getting into triathlon or attempting your first race? Maybe you’re curious about this whole “Triathlon” thing and want to know if its right for you?If you've ever thought about doing a triathlon,
you’re in the right place
. Triathlon: the Beginners Guide Will Be Your Trusted Guide Triathlon can be confusing. Let me help you get started.
Don’t be intimidated by skinny 20-somethings squeezed into lycra.
Don’t rush into dangerous amounts of joint-pounding training; risking your health.
Don’t be fooled into buying tons of expensive and unnecessary equipment.
The Beginners Guide will act as your road-map to Triathlon success It covers every aspect of your triathlon, including:
which Triathlon distance is right for you
how to swim and get over the fear of swimming in open-water, away from the safety and familiarity of your local pool.
becoming a fast (and safe) cyclist, without spending thousands of dollars on a professional-grade bike
how to run after you’ve just finished an intense bike ride
what to look for in a triathlon training plan, and how to tell if you should tear yours up on the spot
what you need to eat and drink; before, during and after your race
how to put it all together in the intense “transition area” and
how to survive race day nerves and the complex logistics of a triathlon race site.
I’ll Also Reveal these Nuggets of Triathlon Gold; Earned from Over 25 Years of Triathlon
the same “Six Periods of Training” I use with my $1000 per month one-on-one students
the simple truth about structuring your Triathlon training . . . no math formula or science PhD required
why “standard” advice about open-water swimming will leave you gasping for air while others swim over the top of you
the most powerful cure for fear of swimming ever known . . . and why it’s easier to fix than you’ve ever thought possible
the single little-known secret of triathlon training to dramatically reduce your risk of injury . . . by up to as much as 90%
the only list you’ll ever need for all your Triathlon planning
why most Triathlon coaches are 100% wrong in the way they approach race day
how to avoid the embarrassing mistakes even veteran triathletes make on race day
Start Your Triathlon Journey Today
Triathlons the Beginners Guide
is everything a new triathl
Layne Beachley: Beneath The Waves
Michael Gordon - 2008
It is about the skinny little girl they called 'Gidget' who overcame a king tide of obstacles, from chronic fatigue and depression to debilitating injury and family tragedy, to become an icon in the male-dominated world of competitive surfing. Winner of a record seven women's world championships, she also blazed trails in the mountainous waves of Hawaii's outer reefs, earning respect where it mattered most-in the water. ...
Hank Haney's Essentials of the Swing: A 7-Point Plan for Building a Better Swing and Shaping Your Shots
Hank Haney - 2009
In Hank Haney's Essentials of the Swing, the world's premier expert on the golf swing takes you back to step one to master the essentials and build a complete, powerful, and consistent swing that will improve your game quickly and keep you playing better for years to come.This step-by-step guide brings you the same careful analytical approach that Hank has shared with the hundreds of touring pros who have been his students — including the world's #1 golfer. It walks you through every aspect of your swing, from grip to contact to follow-through, and shows you how to analyze ball flight to shape your shots and put the ball where you want it more frequently and with much more consistency.Packed with helpful pictures, invaluable practice tips, and insightful pointers on everything from club selection to the difference between a good miss and a bad miss, Hank Haney's Essentials of the Swing is the resource you need to hit the top of your game and stay there.
Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else
Rob Neyer - 2008
In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends, Neyer breathes new life into both classic and obscure stories throughout twentieth-century baseball—stories that, while engaging on their own, also tell us fascinating things about their main characters and about the sport's incredibly rich history. With his signature style, Rob gets to the heart of every anecdote, working through the particulars with careful research drawn from a variety of primary sources. For each story, he asks: Did this really happen? Did it happen, sort of? Or was the story simply the wild invention of someone's imagination? Among the scores of legends Neyer questions and investigates... -Did an errant Bob Feller pitch really destroy the career of a National League All-Star? -Did Greg Maddux mean to give up a long blast to Jeff Bagwell? -Was Fred Lynn the clutch player he thinks he was? -Did Tommy Lasorda have a direct line to God? -Did Negro Leaguer Gene Benson really knock Indians second baseman Johnny Berardino out of baseball and into General Hospital? -Did Billy Martin really outplay Jackie Robinson every time they met? -Oh, and what about Babe Ruth's “Called Shot”? Rob checks each story, separates the truths from the myths, and places their fascinating characters into the larger historical context. Filled with insider lore and Neyer's sharp wit and insights, this is an exciting addition to a superb series and an essential read for true fans of our national pastime.
Strike Zone
Jim Bouton - 1994
On the mound is 32-year-old Sam Ward--it's his last chance to justify all he has sacrificed for this ultimate start. Behind the plate is aging umpire Ernie Kolacka, who has reasons to use his position to fix the game.
The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes, & History at the College World Series
Ryan McGee - 2009
In the spirit of 3 Nights in August and The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, veteran sports writer Ryan McGee goes behind the scenes, into the stands, and onto the field to reveal an exciting yet personal look at one of the hottest sports championships in the country---the College World Series.In 2008, the ten-day, eight-team tournament was the scene of one of the greatest series in its illustrious history. And Ryan McGee puts the reader behind closed doors with the underdog champs, the Fresno State Bulldogs, as well as with their seven opponents, from the first batting practice session, to bus rides to the ballpark, to the locker room and the dugout. It’s the CWS as few ever see it.But The Road to Omaha goes far beyond the 2008 season. It’s an in-depth look at the managing strategies and playing style of college baseball, as well as a series of profiles that examine the people behind and around the CWS---the players, coaches, and fans who keep that feeling of good-old-days innocence alive through their reverence for the Great American Pastime.McGee also takes up residence at Rosenblatt Stadium itself, reliving its rich history and tapping into the electricity around it, from the tailgating fans to the surrounding neighborhoods. “The Blatt” is America’s last real connection to the baseball belief that Field of Dreams can actually happen: a wooden-framed ballpark with cramped concourses where teams share locker rooms, change clothes in the parking lot, and sign autographs for kids until their fingers cramp. “The Blatt” is a monument to tradition---and the last of its kind to keep that tradition alive.Thanks to Ryan McGee’s quick eye for play-by-play action, as well as his deep love for sports, The Road to Omaha is a rare glimpse into the kind of baseball our grandfather’s knew---a snapshot of the one of the last remaining vestiges of pure Americana: a hometown, baseball, and the people who shape it and are shaped by it in turn.
So You Think You Know Baseball?: A Fan's Guide to the Official Rules
Peter E. Meltzer - 2013
In So You Think You Know Baseball?, lifelong baseball enthusiast Peter E. Meltzer catalogues every noteworthy baseball rule from the Major League rulebook and illustrates its application with actual plays, from the historical to the contemporary.You can read the book from start to finish or consult it while watching a game to understand the mechanics of a play or how it should be scored. Meltzer analyzes the entire Official Baseball Rules using hundreds of Major League plays involving both plays on the field situations and plays which have involved the official scorer. This is the first book ever written which analyzes the entire rulebook in this fashion and which is based on actual plays.With Meltzer’s unique and thoroughly entertaining guide in hand, which includes a foreword by baseball rules expert Rich Marazzi, you’ll never have to scratch your head over an umpire or scorekeeper’s call again.
Me and My Dad: A Baseball Memoir
Paul O'Neill - 2003
O'Neill epitomized the team's motto of hard work and good sportsmanship, traits instilled in him by his friend, confidant, lifelong model, and biggest fan: his dad, Chick O'Neill.In Me and My Dad, O'Neill writes from the heart about the man who inspired in him a love for the game and a determination to always play his best. O'Neill remembers the highlights of his own amazing career: the Cincinnati Reds calling him up to the majors, his first World Series, being traded to the Yankees -- and taking part in their recent championship wins. He also reflects on his father's untimely death during the 1999 World Series and on the farewell tribute his fans gave him during his last game in Yankee Stadium.
Achieving The Impossible: A Fearless Hero. A Fragile Earth
Lewis Pugh - 2010
Lewis Gordon Pugh recounts his action-packed life, including his SAS training and his swim at the North Pole. He takes examples from his own life to show how we can all achieve our goals.
The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime
Robert Whiting - 2004
Nomo... Sasaki... Ichiro... the so-called American "National Pastime" has developed a decidedly Japanese flair. Indeed, in this year's All-Star game, two of the starting American League outfielders were from Japan. And for the third straight year, Ichiro - the fleet-footed Seattle Mariner - received more votes for the All-Star game than any other player in the game today. Some 15 years ago, in the bestseller You Gotta Have Wa, Robert Whiting examined how former American major league ballplayers tried to cope with a different culture while playing pro ball in Japan. Now, Whiting reverses his field and reveals how select Japanese stars have come across the Pacific to play in the big leagues. Not only have they had to deal with the American way of life, but they have individually changed the game in dramatic fashion.
Ron Santo: A Perfect 10
Rich Wolfe - 2011
Never before told, behind the scenes stories mixed with humor and fascinating facts, plus a whopping 24 pages of great photos make this book a must read for Cubs fans. The remembrances are all here, told by an all-star team of people. It is like sitting around Wrigley Field listening to Ron's friends reminiscing about the man we all loved. Ron Santo Jr., contributed the Foreword.
Holy Toledo: Lessons From Bill King, Renaissance Man of the Mic
Ken Korach - 2013
Bill was also one of the most influential broadcasters of all time, an inspiration to legions of his fellow broadcasters who looked up to him. No less an authority than John Madden tells Ken Korach in this 80,000-word testament to Bill’s uniqueness that when he turned from coaching to broadcasting, no one was more of an influence on him than Bill. But this was true of Bill the man as well, not merely Bill the broadcaster. “We all wanted to live vicariously through Bill. The things that he did, we wished we could do,” Madden tells Ken Korach. Korach, longtime voice of the A’s and Bill’s partner for ten seasons until King’s death in 2005, is the perfect one to bring Bill to life on the page. A half-century ago, Ken Korach was a kid in Los Angeles, spinning the night dial to tune in Warriors basketball games from faraway San Francisco for one reason: He just had to hear Bill. Now, in Holy Toledo – Lessons from Bill King, Renaissance Man of the Mic, he tells the remarkable story of King the legendary baseball, basketball and football broadcaster. Bill was a student of Russian literature, a passionate sailor, a fan of eating anything and everything from gourmet to onions and peanut butter, a remarkable painter. Korach draws on a lifetime of listening to and learning from King – as well as extensive research, including more than fifty interviews with King’s family members, colleagues, friends and associates – to create this rich portrait, eagerly awaited by thousands of fans who have flocked to the Holy Toledo Facebook page and heard about the book through Ken’s media appearances.Holy Toledo features a moving foreword by Hall of Fame broadcaster Jon Miller, previously of ESPN, and a brilliant cover by Mark Ulriksen, internationally recognized for his New Yorker magazine covers, that captures King’s flair and personality.Billy Beane“The best part about Bill wasn’t just that he was so good at his job but that he was so interesting outside of his job. His mustache epitomized that. He looked eccentric and he was eccentric, in a good way.”Bob Welch“If I had a hitter I had trouble with, I’d ask Bill how I should pitch him. He always had a good answer.”Greg Papa“Bill King was the greatest radio broadcaster in the history of the United States.”Tom Meschery“Talking with Bill was like talking with an encyclopedia.… If you wanted to talk sports, literature – when Bill talked you listened, because he always had something interesting to talk about.”Al Attles“He didn’t sugarcoat it. Bill was a departure from the way it was. If a player from the Warriors made a mistake, Bill told it like it was.”Ed Rush“I’d put the radio out the window and keep turning it to certain angles and it would go in and go out. I’d listen to the Warriors and the Raiders. To do all three sports like he did, he was phenomenal. He was out of this world.”Tom Flores“Bill made some of the great plays in the history of the Raiders even greater with his description. Those moments were kept alive in his voice.”Jason Giambi“He was such an incredible man. I had so much fun with him and he would always ask how my family was doing and I have the fondest memories of him. We would talk about life and all the things he had seen. He made me well rounded.”Rick Barry“He had the ability to see a game, a basketball game, and express what was happening in eloquent terms, at times instantaneously. When he was saying something, it was happening.”
Hitter: The Life and Turmoils of Ted Williams
Ed Linn - 1993
But the tag that really fits is Hitter. “A riveting retrospective” (Baseball americanca). Index; career statistics; photographs.