The Detroit Tigers gave a memorable performance in the pennant race against the New York Yankees in 1961, the American League's first expansion season. Starting faster, the Tigers held first place for more than half the season, until the Yankees caught up in late July. They met in a climactic three-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers swept all three, winning the pennant for the eleventh time in 13 seasons. But the 18 games the Tigers and Yankees played against each other were some of the most exciting contests of '61. The Yankees' saga is well known but the Tigers' tale has largely been ignored. This book chronicles the season highlights, such as the home run duel between Roger Maris, who slugged a record 61, and Mickey Mantle, who hit a personal best 54. Other outstanding performances were given by the Tigers' Norm Cash, who led the league with a .361 average, and Rocky Colavito, who hit 45 home runs.

When we think of baseball, we think of sunny days and leisurely outings at the ballpark--rarely do thoughts of death come to mind. Yet during the game's history, hundreds of players, coaches and spectators have died while playing or watching the National Pastime. In its the second edition, this ground breaking study provides the known details for 150 years of game-related deaths, identifies contributing factors and discusses resulting changes to game rules, protective equipment, crowd control and stadium structures and grounds. Topics covered include pitched and batted-ball fatalities, weather and field condition accidents, structural failures, fatalities from violent or risky behavior and deaths from natural causes.

The impact of antitrust law on sports is in the news all the time, especially when there is labor conflict between players and owners, or when a team wants to move to a new city. And if the majority of Americans have only the vaguest sense of what antitrust law is, most know one thing about it-that baseball is exempt. In The Baseball Trust, legal historian Stuart Banner illuminates the series of court rulings that resulted in one of the most curious features of our legal system-baseball's exemption from antitrust law. A serious baseball fan, Banner provides a thoroughly entertaining history of the game as seen through the prism of an extraordinary series of courtroom battles, ranging from 1890 to the present. The book looks at such pivotal cases as the 1922 Supreme Court case which held that federal antitrust laws did not apply to baseball; the 1972 Flood v. Kuhn decision that declared that baseball is exempt even from state antitrust laws; and several cases from the 1950s, one involving boxing and the other football, that made clear that the exemption is only for baseball, not for sports in general. Banner reveals that for all the well-documented foibles of major league owners, baseball has consistently received and followed antitrust advice from leading lawyers, shrewd legal advice that eventually won for baseball a protected legal status enjoyed by no other industry in America. As Banner tells this fascinating story, he also provides an important reminder of the path-dependent nature of the American legal system. At each step, judges and legislators made decisions that were perfectly sensible when considered one at a time, but that in total yielded an outcome-baseball's exemption from antitrust law-that makes no sense at all.

Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light-years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age and almost the same size, and they came to New York at the same time. They possessed virtually the same talents and played the same position. Acclaimed sportswriter Allen Barra exposes the uncanny parallels - and lifelong friendship - between two of the greatest baseball players ever to take the field.

This book provides a basis for a good, solid survey of college mathematics for students in non-technical fields. It covers a variety of topics that are applicable to real life in ways that college algebra may not be for those majoring in the liberal arts. The book can also be used for a high school course once students have had algebra and geometry. Since mathematics is often a challenge for students in the non-technical majors, this book seeks to make it more palatable by finding the motivation for all of its topics in sports, primarily baseball. Topics covered include Logical Fallacies, Unit Conversions, Statistics, Probability/Combinatorics, Finance, Geometry, Modeling, and Voting Theory.

There are very few major personalities in the world of sports who have so much to say about our National Pastime. And even fewer who are as well respected as Bill White.
Bill White, who's now in his early 70s, was an All-Star first baseman for many years with the St.Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies before launching a stellar broadcasting career with the New York Yankees for 18 years. He left the broadcast booth to become the President of the National League for five years.
A true pioneer as an African-American athlete, sportscaster, and top baseball executive, White has written his long-awaited autobiography in which he will be candid, open, and as always, most forthcoming about his life in baseball. Along the way, White shares never-before-told stories about his long working relationship with Phil Rizzutto, insights on George Steinbrenner, Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Bob Gibson, Bart Giamatti, Fay Vincent, and scores of other top baseball names and Hall of Famers.
Best of all, White built his career on being outspoken, and the years fortunately have not mellowed him. UPPITY is a baseball memoir that baseball fans everywhere will be buzzing about.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BESTSELLER The legendary Willie Mays shares the inspirations and influences responsible for guiding him on and off the field in this reflective and inspirational memoir. Even if, like me, you thought you had pretty much read and heard all there was to read and hear about Willie Mays, this warmhearted book will inform and reward you. And besides, what true baseball fan can ever get enough of Willie Mays? Say Hey! Read on and enjoy. --From the Foreword by Bob Costas "It's because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for President." --President Barack Obama Widely regarded as the greatest all-around player in baseball history because of his unparalleled hitting, defense and baserunning, the beloved Willie Mays offers people of all ages his lifetime of experience meeting challenges with positivity, integrity and triumph in 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid. Presented in 24 chapters to correspond with his universally recognized uniform number, Willie's memoir provides more than the story of his role in America's pastime. This is the story of a man who values family and community, engages in charitable causes especially involving children and follows a philosophy that encourages hope, hard work and the fulfillment of dreams. "I was very lucky when I was a child. My family took care of me and made sure I was in early at night. I didn't get in trouble. My father made sure that I didn't do the wrong thing. I've always had a special place in my heart for children and their well-being, and John Shea and I got the idea that we should do something for the kids and the fathers and the mothers, and that's why this book is being published. We want to reach out to all generations and backgrounds. Hopefully, these stories and lessons will inspire people in a positive way." --Willie Mays

In his classic account of two years with the most audacious bush league ballclub ever to plumb the bottom of the pro sports barrel, Neal Karlen presents a dizzying collection of characters: co-owners comedian Bill Murray and sports impresario Mike Veeck; baseball's formerly winningest pitcher Jack Morris; outfielder Darryl Strawberry, on his way back to the majors; the back-rubbing Sister Rosalind; baseball's first woman player Ila Borders; frantic fans, a ball-carrying pig, a blind sportscaster, and a host of others. They all prove the credo of the Saints: Fun is Good. "Hilarious, insightful, touching, informative, Neal Karlen's baseball account delivers a world of vivid characters and ironic redemptions. Karlen is simply one of the best, most sophisticated, and literate practitioners of journalism we have. He goes out and gets the full story, while turning himself into a wonderfully self-mocking, truthful, and likable narrator. I loved every page of this book." --Phillip Lopate, author, essayist, and film critic "Two things make it great: characters and story line. The tale is rendered in hilarious fashion, mixing plenty of baseball with plenty of laughs." --"Rocky Mountain News" "A fun-is-good book . . . with] enough oddballs to make Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seem like a straightforward account of a schoolgirl's visit to a theme park." --"Sports Illustrated" this isn't from a review, must be from a column] "The funkiest team in baseball." --"The New York Times "
Neal Karlen, who has written for the "New York Times," "Newsweek," and" Rolling Stone," is the author or co-author of seven books, including "Augie's Secrets" from the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

With the aim of providing anyone interested in baseball scorekeeping everything he or she needs to perform the task, this book contains a thorough and comprehensive manual on keeping a scorecard, together with a detailed analysis of each of the numerous, and often complex, official rules governing scorekeeping in baseball (many of which were revised or modified in 2007), as well as scorekeeping issues outside of MLB's rulebook. Myriad examples are given (many drawn from significant and well-known major league games throughout the history of baseball as well as a number of examples drawn from popular culture) of how baseball's scorekeeping rules are applied and dealt with in both routine situations as well as the most difficult and convoluted scenarios. Revised and updated to reflect recent changes to the MLB rulebook, this book is very readable and perfectly accessible to a broad audience.

From the front office to the family room, sabermetrics has dramatically changed the way baseball players are assessed and valued by fans and managers alike. Rocketed to popularity by the 2003 bestseller Moneyball and the film of the same name, the use of sabermetrics to analyze player performance has appeared to be a David to the Goliath of systemically advantaged richer teams that could be toppled only by creative statistical analysis. The story has been so compelling that, over the past decade, team after team has integrated statistical analysis into its front office. But how accurately can crunching numbers quantify a player's ability? Do sabermetrics truly level the playing field for financially disadvantaged teams? How much of the baseball analytic trend is fad and how much fact? The Sabermetric Revolution sets the record straight on the role of analytics in baseball. Former Mets sabermetrician Benjamin Baumer and leading sports economist Andrew Zimbalist correct common misinterpretations and develop new methods to assess the effectiveness of sabermetrics on team performance. Tracing the growth of front office dependence on sabermetrics and the breadth of its use today, they explore how Major League Baseball and the field of sports analytics have changed since the 2002 season. Their conclusion is optimistic, but the authors also caution that sabermetric insights will be more difficult to come by in the future. The Sabermetric Revolution offers more than a fascinating case study of the use of statistics by general managers and front office executives: for fans and fantasy leagues, this book will provide an accessible primer on the real math behind moneyball as well as new insight into the changing business of baseball.

Baseball is much more than a game. As the American national pastime, it has reflected the political and cultural concerns of US society for over 200 years, and generates passions and loyalties unique in American society. This Companion examines baseball in culture, baseball as culture, and the game's global identity. Contributors contrast baseball's massive, big-business present with its romanticized origins and its evolution against the backdrop of American and world history. The chapters cover topics such as baseball in the movies, baseball and mass media, and baseball in Japan and Latin America. Between the chapters are vivid profiles of iconic characters including Babe Ruth, Ichiro and Walter O'Malley. Crucial moments in baseball history are revisited, ranging from the 1919 Black Sox gambling scandal to recent controversies over steroid use. A unique book for fans and scholars alike, this Companion explains the enduring importance of baseball in America and beyond. Read Leonard Cassuto's article 'Baseball and the Business of American Innocence' in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

This book uses game accounts, with detailed descriptions of game events, to describe the rivalry between the Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota from 1902-1960. It focusses on the 18 seasons during which one or the other of the two rivals captured the American Association championship. Each chapter includes an introduction which explains the general status of the pennant-winning team (including biographical information on key players), followed by a section including the game accounts, followed by a third section which sums up the season and provides analyses of critical statistical areas which help describe the relationship between the two teams for that particular season. Woven into the game accounts are items of interest which help the reader to develop range of viewpoints, for example, how a player may have been injured, when they arrived with the team, the status of the team in the standings and with respect to the pennant race and other specific biographical details about the players. The game accounts are the meat of the book where various techniques are employed to help the reader become immersed in the action from baseball as it was played decades ago. Perhaps the most unique thing about the game accounts is that they are told in the present tense as if the story were being told from the point of view of the broadcaster live in the booth.

In 1924, after the Hilldale Giants captured the league crown in the new Eastern Colored League and the Kansas City Monarchs won out in the four-year-old Negro National League, the two teams met in what was to be a best-of-nine series for the world championship. But a 13-inning tie in Game 4 and alternating wins throughout would force a tenth and deciding game, making it the longest World Series - black or white - on record in the modern era. It was arguably the most dramatic, as well, as each team reeled off three wins in a row, four games were decided by a single run, and five were won in the final inning. This heavily illustrated volume provides a comprehensive account of the first championship series played between teams from two all-black professional leagues. Noted Negro League historian Larry Lester provides commentary, records, and full statistics for each club's regular season performance, along with biographical profiles of the players. Coverage also includes position-by-position comparisons of the Series combatants; a breakdown of the attendance, gate receipts, and team shares; game-by-game summaries; comments from the players; and complete statistics - including pitcher-batter matchups - for both teams.

Old Comiskey Park includes essays and memories covering the history and evolution of the former home of the Chicago White Sox, as well as its importance to its surrounding neighbourhoods, and to the city of Chicago. Essays cover Charles Comiskey and the location of the ballpark; the neighbourhoods that surround the site; the dimensions and configurations of Old Comiskey Park; a summary of All-Star, World Series, and playoff games played there; Negro League baseball at Comiskey Park; Bill Veeck; the ballpark as host to events and sports other than White Sox baseball; and an analysis of the evolution of the famous "exploding scoreboard," the original model for today's modern sports stadium boards. Former players, White Sox personnel, and fans contributed memories, including substantial pieces by Roland Hemond and Nancy Faust.

This is a straightforward history of the Athletics franchise, from its Connie Mack years in Philadelphia with great teams featuring Eddie Collins, Chief Bender, Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove, through its 13 years in Kansas City, under Arnold Johnson and Charles O. Finley, and on to its great years in Oakland-with the three World Series wins featuring Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando and Vida Blue, and the conflicts with Finley-as well as the less successful seasons that followed, and ending up with the unusual operation of the club by Billy Beane.

"Both a pleasure and a revelation."--Daniel Okrent, author of Nine Innings In 1968, two astounding pitchers would dominate the game as never before. One was black, the other white. The stoic Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. The flashy Denny McLain was a crass self-promoter who lived a life apart from his Detroit Tigers teammates, searching for fame. But for one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet at the World Series. Gibson set a major-league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. They would reach these heights against the backdrop of assassinations, while boys boarded planes to Saigon and riots swept through American cities, forever changing the fabric of this country. In the grand tradition of David Halberstam, The Year of the Pitcher evokes a nostalgic season and its incredible characters through the story of one of the great rivalries in sports, painting an indelible portrait of the national pastime during our most turbulent era.

Being a Phillies fan has never been easy. The team has amassed the most losses of any professional sports franchise in history, as well as the longest losing streak and the most last-place finishes in the major leagues. The year 1980 was redemption for a miserable, century-old legacy of losing. It was also the beginning of the end for a team that could have been among the very best in baseball throughout the decade. Between 1980 and 1983 the Philadelphia Phillies captured two pennants and a world championship. Legends like Tug McGraw, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, and Pete Rose led the collection of homegrown products, veteran castoffs, and fair-haired rookies. If they had won another World Series, the team not only would have distanced themselves from a history of losing but would have established a championship dynasty. It never happened. The 1981 season was a watershed for both the Phillies and baseball. A players' strike led to a sixty-day work stoppage. The Phils, who had been in first place before the strike, were unable to regain their winning ways after play resumed. Labor relations between an increasingly powerful Players Association and inflexible owners became more acrimonious than ever before. Player salaries skyrocketed. Old loyalties were forgotten, and the notion of a homegrown team, like the 1980 Phillies, was a thing of the past. Almost a Dynasty details the rise and fall of the 1980 World Champion Phillies. Based on personal interviews, newspaper accounts, and the keen insight of a veteran baseball writer, the book convincingly explains why a team that had regularly made the post-season in the mid- to late 1970s, only to lose in the playoffs, was finally able to win its first world championship.

Author and scholar Braham Dabscheck muses upon some of baseball's silent yet magnificently important treasures. He examines several topics, including the business of the game (industrial and labor relations, Curt Flood, law, and organized baseball); social commentary and biographies (the work of Stephen Jay Gould and Ken Burns, for example); and culture of the game as it spreads across the globe to places like Australia, Japan, and Latin America. This collection of essays is both insightful and remarkable, and is a valuable companion to any enthusiast.

Between October 1961 and October 1962, the Yankees and the Mets shared the city for the first time, their front offices located on opposite sides of Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, and their playing fields--Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds--situated on opposite sides of the Macombs Dam Bridge. This book tells the story of the first year of their life together as New York City rivals. The emerging rivalry between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets was about more than just games won or money earned. As personified by Mets manager Casey Stengel and Yankees right-fielder Roger Maris, it was also a struggle over the future of the game. Bill Morales holds a doctorate in history from Rutgers University and has lectured at the Baseball Hall of Fame Symposium in Cooperstown, New York. He has taught at Rutgers University, Nassau Community College, and is professor of history at Bergen Community College.

Eddie Cicotte, who pitched in the American League 1905-1920, was one of the tragic figures of baseball. A family man and a fan favourite, he ascended to stardom with nothing more than a mediocre fastball, endless guile and a repertoire of trick pitches. He won 29 games in 1919 and led the Chicago White Sox to the pennant. Although he pitched poorly in the World Series that October, fans did not hold it against him--a slump can happen to anybody. A year later, the public learned the truth: Cicotte's poor performance was no slump. He had taken a bribe to throw the Series. Along with seven teammates, he was implicated in what became known as the Black Sox Scandal, the most disgraceful episode in the history of the sport. Overnight, he became a pariah and would remain so for the rest of his life. This is the first full-length biography of Cicotte, best known today not as a great pitcher but as one of the "Eight Men Out.

The Bronx Is Burning "meets Chuck Klosterman in this wild pop-culture history of baseball's most colorful and controversial decade

"The Major Leagues witnessed more dramatic stories and changes in the '70s than in any other era. The American popular culture and counterculture collided head-on with the national pastime, rocking the once-conservative sport to its very foundations. Outspoken players embraced free agency, openly advocated drug use, and even swapped wives. Controversial owners such as Charlie Finley, Bill Veeck, and Ted Turner introduced Astroturf, prime-time World Series, garish polyester uniforms, and outlandish promotions such as Disco Demolition Night. Hank Aaron and Lou Brock set new heights in power and speed while Reggie Jackson and Carlton Fisk emerged as October heroes and All-Star characters like Mark "The Bird" Fidrych became pop icons. For the millions of fans who grew up during this time, and especially those who cared just as much about Oscar Gamble's afro as they did about his average, this book serves up a delicious, Technicolor trip down memory lane.
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Discover What Made Baseball America's Pastime #1 New Release in Baseball Statistics Baseball Memories & Dreams celebrates the iconic moments, heroes, and trends that define baseball for its millions of fans This compendium of baseball writing covers it all-recollections of Hall of Famers and narratives from top baseball writers; stories on the rich iconography and history of the game across the full diversity of players, teams, and leagues; and reflections on the way America's pastime has shaped our culture. Selected from the Baseball Hall of Fame's member magazine, Baseball Memories & Dreams brings to life the best of baseball. More than just a baseball history book. Revel in America's pastime and explore baseball history in articles written by notable sports writers, Hall of Famers, media personalities, and the Hall's own expert historians. Baseball Memories & Dreams showcases the best of baseball facts, baseball biographies, and baseball media personalities into a robust catalogue of known and unknown information. Get the inside scoop into the lives of baseball giants like Johnny Bench, Peter Gammons, John Grisham, Tim Kurkjian, Ichiro Suzuki, Joe Torre, and more. From their stories, gain insight into each individual life to see just what trials and hardships made these men into the best baseball players in history. With Baseball Memories & Dreams in hand, you'll see America's pastime in a new light. Inside, you'll find over 70 articles on America's pastime, highlighting: Baseball facts, baseball biographies, stats, and artifacts-and the history and lore behind them Coverage of Black, Hispanic, and woman players Stories about baseball's great players, teams, and rivalries, as well as the moments that trace the game's wide-ranging history If you enjoy baseball books-best sellers like The Baseball 100, Cloudbuster Nine, or Talking to GOATS-you'll love Baseball Memories & Dreams.

Baseball in the 1950s comes to life through the words of 92 players from the fifties. In their conversations with author Gene Fehler, they tell, in more than a thousand stories and comments, of memorable moments, their dealings with umpires and managers, injuries and trades that affected their careers, regrets and joys that still remain with them so many years later. Players spoken to include Hall of Famers, All Stars, journeymen, and a few who were in the big leagues for the proverbial cup of coffee. Regardless of stature, they all have wonderful stories to tell about big league life in the 1950s, high and low, and moments with other players.

[In the early 20th century, two female baseball players signed with minor league teams only to have their contracts canceled when their gender became public. They withdrew politely, never having the chance to put their talents on display. In this historical novel, Cleveland pitcher Annie Cardello does not go so quietly. When the baseball commissioner cancels her signed agreement, she vows to retaliate. A volatile woman with family roots in ancient Sicily, Annie plots her revenge--murder. Before she can follow through with her scheme, however, her efforts to help a troubled brother involve her in another, separate killing, one that piques the interest of the Mafia. A deft blend of sports history and thriller, Drawing Card demonstrates the danger of a woman scorned, especially one with a mean curve ball.]

In 2004, the Atlanta Braves won their 13th straight National League East division title, an unprecedented level of consistency in the current days of free agency. Behind this success has been the architectural genius of John Schuerholz, who not only built one of the strongest teams in baseball history in the early nineties, but kept them among the elite teams in baseball for over a decade. Now Schuerholz pulls back the front office's curtain in the most candid baseball book since Michael Lewis's Moneyball, discussing everything from how the Braves actually traded for Barry Bonds in the early 90's, to dealing with John Rocker's hateful comments in 1999, to the loss of franchise leaders Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine to free agency, to the recent acquisition of Tim Hudson, all the while keeping the Braves at the top of the baseball mountain. John Schuerholz's book will make baseball fans worldwide look at the game in a different way.