Lively and filled with vivid anecdotes, Viva Baseball! chronicles the struggles of Latin American professional baseball players in the United States from the late 1800s to the present. As Latino players, managers, and owners continue to blossom into baseball's biggest stars, they have benefited from a growing Spanish-language media, a group identity, an increase in financial leverage and attention, and a burgeoning Latino culture in the United States. Although there have been several positive developments in the treatment of Latin American players, many, such as Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, and Ozzie Guillen, still face shocking racism. Samuel O. Regalado draws upon archives and rich interviews with Latin baseball stars like Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda, and Minnie Minoso to show the changing tenor of discrimination in the twenty-first-century game.

Are baseball and cricket two sports divided by a common language? Both employ bats, balls, and innings. Fans of both love statistics, revel in nostalgia, and use baffling jargon. In "Right Off the Bat," baseball nut Evander Lomke and cricket buff Martin Rowe explain "their" sport to the other sport's fans--through anecdotes, diagrams, photographs, and a curve (or dipper) or two.

Cricket and baseball share a parallel and occasionally intertwined history (the first international cricket match was played in the United States). Indeed, they have mirrored their countries' struggles with identity and race, and have expanded beyond the shores of their founding countries to become multinational sports commanding global followings that are, even now, challenging the future of both sports.

"Right off the Bat" is the perfect present for fans of either sport, as well as a handy introduction to those who want to divine the deeper rhythms of play.

Evander Lomke has worked in book publishing for over thirty years and is the executive director of the American Mental Health Foundation. A lifelong Yankees fan, it's only right and proper that he lives in the Bronx, New York.

Martin Rowe is the co-founder of Lantern, a book publishing and media company, and author of "Nicaea: A Book of Correspondences." A long-suffering supporter of the England cricket team, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.

A loving look at the old ball game, from the cartoonists at "The New Yorker"

America's national pastime engages fans and fanatics across the country and around the world. Across the magazine's eight decades, the artists at "The New Yorker" have captured the emotional essence of the game, and "The New Yorker Book of Baseball Cartoons, Second Edition" brings an all-star lineup of cartooning greats together in one delightful collection.Collects over 100 drawings that present a playful view of the all-American sportIncludes an introduction by Michael CrawfordFeatures classic cartoons by "New Yorker" legends from Charles Addams to Jack Ziegler

Selected by Robert Mankoff, acclaimed cartoonist and cartoon editor of "The New Yorker," "The New Yorker Book of Baseball Cartoons" is a home run for baseball fans of all ages.

An essential experience of being a baseball fan is the hopeful anticipation of seeing the hometown nine make a run at winning the World Series. In "Paths to Glory," Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt review how teams build themselves up into winners. What makes a winning team like the 1900 Brooklyn Superbas or the 1917 White Sox or the 1997 Florida Marlins? And how are these teams different? What makes each championship team a unique product of its time? Armour and Levitt provide the historical context to show how the sport's business side has changed dramatically but its competitive environment remains the same.Utilizing new statistics to evaluate a player's value and career patterns, Armour and Levitt explore the teams that took risks, created their own opportunities, and changed the game. How did the Washington Senators achieve the unthinkable and blow past Babe Ruth's Yankees in 1924 and 1925? How did the 1965 Minnesota Twins quickly rise to the top and why did they just as suddenly fall? Did Charlie Finley assemble the last old-fashioned championship team before free agency, or was the Moustache Gang another example of winning by building from within? Why did the star-laden Red Sox of the 1930s keep falling short? In exploring these teams and more, Armour and Levitt analyze the players, the managers, and the executives who built teams to win and then lived with the consequences.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year "An instant sports classic." --New York Post * "Stellar." --The Wall Street Journal * "A true masterwork...880 pages of sheer baseball bliss." --BookPage (starred review) * "This is a remarkable achievement." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A magnum opus from acclaimed baseball writer Joe Posnanski, The Baseball 100 is an audacious, singular, and masterly book that took a lifetime to write. The entire story of baseball rings through a countdown of the 100 greatest players in history, with a foreword by George Will. Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious, The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book's introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, "Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?" Baseball's legends come alive in these pages, which are not merely rankings but vibrant profiles of the game's all-time greats. Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers, unfairly forgotten All-Stars, talents of today, and more. He doesn't rely just on records and statistics--he lovingly retraces players' origins, illuminates their characters, and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball's past and present. Just how good a pitcher is Clayton Kershaw in the twenty-first- century game compared to Greg Maddux dueling with the juiced hitters of the nineties? How do the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth's? Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history? No compendium of baseball's legendary geniuses could be complete without the players of the segregated Negro Leagues, men whose extraordinary careers were largely overlooked by sportswriters at the time and unjustly lost to history. Posnanski writes about the efforts of former Negro Leaguers to restore sidelined Black athletes to their due honor, and draws upon the deep troves of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and extensive interviews with the likes of Buck O'Neil to illuminate the accomplishments of players such as pitchers Satchel Paige and Smokey Joe Williams; outfielders Oscar Charleston, Monte Irvin, and Cool Papa Bell; first baseman Buck Leonard; shortstop Pop Lloyd; catcher Josh Gibson; and many, many more. The Baseball 100 treats readers to the whole rich pageant of baseball history in a single volume. Chapter by chapter, Posnanski invites readers to examine common lore with brand-new eyes and learn stories that have long gone unheard. The epic and often emotional reading experience mirrors Posnanski's personal odyssey to capture the history and glory of baseball like no one else, fueled by his boundless love for the sport. Engrossing, surprising, and heartfelt, The Baseball 100 is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who have played it.

In his speech at his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, former Negro League player Buck Leonard said, ""Now, we in the Negro Leagues felt like we were contributing something to baseball, too, when we were playing.... We loved the game and we liked to play it. But we thought that we should have and could have made the major leagues."" The Negro Leagues had some of the best talent in the game, but from their earliest days they were segregated from those leagues that received all the recognition. This complete history of the Negro Leagues begins with the second half of the nineteenth century, discussing the early attempts by African American players to be allowed to play with white teammates, and progressing through the creation of the ""Gentleman's Agreement"" in the 1890s which kept baseball segregated. It then discusses the establishment of the first successful Negro League in 1920 and examines various aspects of the game for the players (lodgings, travel accommodations, families, off-season jobs, play and life in Latin America, difficulties encountered because of race). The history ends in 1960, when the Birmingham Black Barons went out of business and took the Negro Leagues with them. Also included are stories of individual players, owners, umpires, and others involved with the Negro Leagues in the United States and in Latin America.

Growing up in a tiny shack in the Dominican Republic, Felipe Alou never dreamed he would be the first man born and raised in his country to play and manage in Major League Baseball-and also the first to play in the World Series. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream to become a doctor, and an improbable turn of events that led to the pro contract. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for his brothers and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moises. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed for another fourteen years-four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou's pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family.

2022 SABR Baseball Research Award Finalist for the 2022 SABR Seymour Medal The careers of pitchers Jack Quinn and Howard Ehmke began in the Deadball Era and peaked in the 1920s. They were teammates for many years, with both the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox and later with the world champion Philadelphia Athletics, managed by Connie Mack. As far back as 1912, when he was just twenty-nine, Quinn was told he was too old to play and on the downward side of his career. Because of his determination, work ethic, outlook on life, and physical conditioning, however, he continued to excel. In his midthirties, then his late thirties, and even into his forties, he overcame the naysayers. At age forty-six he became the oldest pitcher to start a World Series game. When Quinn finally retired in 1933 at fifty, the "Methuselah of the Mound" owned numerous longevity records, some of which he holds to this day. Ehmke, meanwhile, battled arm trouble and poor health through much of his career. Like Quinn, he was dismissed by the experts and from many teams, only to return and excel. He overcame his physical problems by developing new pitches and pitching motions and capped his career with a stunning performance in Game One of the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, which still ranks among baseball's most memorable games. Connie Mack described it as his greatest day in baseball. Comeback Pitchers is the inspirational story of these two great pitchers with intertwining careers who were repeatedly considered washed up and too old but kept defying the odds and thrilling fans long after most pitchers would have retired.

Grundman presents readers with a portrait, the first of its kind, of Dolph Schayes - the star of the Syracuse Nationals basketball team during the 1950s and 1960s. Schayes may not have one of the most recognizable names in basketball history, but his accomplishments are staggering. He was named one of the fifty greatest players of all time by the NBA, and he held six NBA records, including one for career scoring, at his retirement. Grundman chronicles Schayes's life from his early days as the child of Jewish Romanian immigrants, through his illustrious basketball career, first at New York University, then as part of the Syracuse Nationals. In writing about Schayes's career, Grundman also reflects on many of the revolutionary changes that were happening in the professional basketball world, changes that affected not only Schayes and his contemporaries but also the essence of the sport.

Their names were chanted, crowed, and cursed. 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 smalltime 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 IrishAmerican 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.

The college baseball season doesn't end when the school year is finished. Many of the top NCAA Division I, II, and III baseball players continue to play in one of the game's most unique environments, the summer wood bat leagues. They swap aluminum bats for wood and play from June through August in more than forty states. The poetry of America's pastime persists as soon-to-be stars such as Gordon Beckham, Buster Posey, and Aaron Judge crash in spare bedrooms and play for free on city and college ball fields. Summer Baseball Nation chronicles a season in America's summer collegiate baseball leagues. From the Cape to Alaska and a lot of places in between, Will Geoghegan tells the stories of a summer: eighteen of the best college players in the country playing Wiffle ball on Cape Cod, the Midnight Sun Game in Alaska, a California legend picking up another win, home runs flying into Lake Michigan, and the namesake of an old Minor League club packing the same charming ballpark. At every stop, players chase dreams while players and fans alike savor the moment.

This book is about former LSU head baseball coach Skip Bertman, the man who brought winning baseball to LSU. It sheds light on Skip's work ethic, inventiveness, attention to detail, entrepreneurial ability, and overall contributions to LSU in his capacity as Coach and later as Athletic Director. It includes chapters on each of the five National Championships won under his direction, beginning in 1991; it reveals his secrets to training great pitchers who later pitched in the Major League; and it shows how he embraced and used "The Power of Positive Thinking" throughout his career. The book is based in part on personal observations by the author, a veteran sportswriter, and numerous interviews with Skip's former players, colleagues and family members. (Illustrated with color and black-and-white photos.)

Looking for the ultimate book to help you learn and master softball's essential skills? Look no further than the guide that has helped develop the game's top players and most successful teams. This new edition of "Softball Skills & Drills" is completely updated with more skills, more drills and strategies, and more of the stellar instruction that have made it the top-selling title on the sport.

Judi Garman, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, teams with Cal State Fullerton's Michelle Gromacki to share their secrets to developing and mastering every aspect of the game.

With step-by-step instruction, full-color photo sequences, technique tips, and unique insight into the game, you'll learn every fundamental skill:

-Hitting

-Bunting

-Slap Hitting

-Baserunning

-Sliding

-Fielding

-Throwing

-Pitching

-Catching

And with over 230 of the game's best drills, coverage of team offense and defense, pitch selection, pitch recognition, and in-game strategies, Softball Skills and Drills is simply the most comprehensive and practical guide on the sport.

Whether striving to become a complete player or preparing your team for another championship run, "Softball Skills &" "Drills" is the one book you cannot be without.

In Mallparks, Michael T. Friedman observes that as cathedrals represented power relations in medieval towns and skyscrapers epitomized those within industrial cities, sports stadiums exemplify urban American consumption at the turn of the twenty-first century. Grounded in Henri Lefebvre and George Ritzer's spatial theories in their analyses of consumption spaces, Mallparks examines how the designers of this generation of baseball stadiums follow the principles of theme park and shopping mall design to create highly effective and efficient consumption sites. In his exploration of these contemporary cathedrals of sport and consumption, Friedman discusses the history of stadium design, the amenities and aesthetics of stadium spaces, and the intentions and conceptions of architects, team officials, and civic leaders. He grounds his analysis in case studies of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore; Fenway Park in Boston; Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles; Nationals Park in Washington, DC; Target Field in Minneapolis; and Truist Park in Atlanta.

Baseball began as a schoolyard game, brought to America by the colonists. It evolved rapidly over the second half of the nineteenth century, with innovations and rule changes continuing throughout the twentieth century and into the modern era. But why and how did these changes take place? In Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball, Richard Hershberger examines the national pastime's development, from the reasoning behind new rules and innovations to the consequences of these changes-both intended and unintended-that often led to a new round of modifications. Topics examined include the dropped third strike, foul territory, nine innings, tagging up, balls and strikes, tie games, equipment, the infield fly rule, and many more. Ultimately, this book provides the reader with a narrative history of how baseball evolved from an informal folk game to the sport played in ballparks around the world today. As such, Strike Four is a wonderful reference for sports fans and historians of all generations.

A Booklist Top 10 Sports & Recreation Book Finalist for the 2022 CASEY Award Born and raised in rural Mississippi and the even balmier climes of central Florida, Red Barber, at the age of thirty-two, became one of New York City's most influential citizens as the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When he arrived in 1939, Barber brought the down-home drawl and idioms of his southern roots to the borough, where residents said they could walk down any street and never miss a pitch because his voice wafted out of every window and every passing car. From his colorful expressions like "rhubarb" and "sitting in the catbird seat" to his vivid use of similes-a close game was "tighter than a new pair of shoes on a rainy day"-Barber's influence on his contemporaries and the many generations of broadcasters who followed him cannot be overstated. But behind all the base hits, balls, and strikes lies a compelling story that dramatizes the shifting expectations and roles of a public figure-the sports broadcaster-as he adapted to complex cultural changes throughout the course of twentieth-century American life. Red Barber follows the trajectory of Barber's long career from radio and television play-by-play man for the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Yankees to his work calling college and professional football games, his nine-year tenure as director of sports for CBS Radio, and his second acts as an Episcopal lay reader, sportswriter, and weekly guest with Bob Edwards on NPR's Morning Edition. This talented public figure was also a private man committed to rigorous self-examination and willing to evolve and grow under the influence of changing times. When the Dodgers first signed Jackie Robinson and smashed the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Barber struggled to overcome the racism he had absorbed from his culture as a child. But after observing the vicious abuse Robinson endured from opposing fans, Barber became an ardent supporter of him and the many Black players who followed. Barber was also bothered deeply by the strains that his single-minded careerism imposed on his family. He was challenged to navigate longtime family tensions after his only child, Sarah, came out as a lesbian. And his primary role during the later years of his life was caretaking for his wife, Lylah, during her decline from Alzheimer's disease, at a time when the ailment was something many families concealed. Ultimately Red Barber traces the career of a true radio and television pioneer who was committed to the civic responsibility of mass media. Barber firmly believed the most important role of a broadcaster was telling the truth and promoting public well-being.

The greatest relief pitcher of all time shares his extraordinary story of survival, love, and baseball.
Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane, had never heard of Babe Ruth, spoke no English, and couldn't imagine Tampa, the city where he was headed to begin a career that would become one of baseball's most iconic. What he did know: that he loved his family and his then girlfriend, Clara, that he could trust in the Lord to guide him, and that he could throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to, every time.
With astonishing candor, Rivera tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The thirteen-time All-Star discusses his drive to win; the secrets behind his legendary composure; the story of how he discovered his cut fastball; the untold, pitch-by-pitch account of the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2001 World Series; and why the lowest moment of his career became one of his greatest blessings.
In "The Closer, "Rivera takes readers into the Yankee clubhouse, where his teammates are his brothers. But he also takes us on that jog from the bullpen to the mound, where the game -- or the season -- rests squarely on his shoulders. We come to understand the laserlike focus that is his hallmark, and how his faith and his family kept his feet firmly on the pitching rubber. Many of the tools he used so consistently and gracefully came from what was inside him for a very long time -- his deep passion for life; his enduring commitment to Clara, whom he met in kindergarten; and his innate sense for getting out of a jam.
When Rivera retired, the whole world watched -- and cheered. In "The Closer, "we come to an even greater appreciation of a legend built from the ground up.

The Weight Lifted collects Chicago Tribune sportswriter Paul Sullivan's coverage of the Chicago Cubs' historic 2016 championship season. The 16-article collection traces the arc of the Cubs' groundbreaking year, from their spring training in Arizona all the way to their rousing Game Seven victory against the Cleveland Indians. Through interviews with players, fans, team manager Joe Maddon and other key figures, as well as in-depth reporting of the games as they happened, Sullivan details how the Cubs-once deemed "the lovable losers"-overcame the odds to end the longest championship drought in sports history. The Weight Lifted allows Chicago fans to relive the 2016 season from start to incredible finish-a dream that was 108 years in the making.

Legendary New Yorker writer and editor Roger Angell is considered to be among the greatest baseball writers to date. He brought a fan’s love, a fiction writer’s eye, and an essayist’s sensibility to the game. No other baseball writer has a through line quite like Angell’s: born in 1920, he was an avid fan of the game by the Depression era, when he watched Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hit home runs at Yankee Stadium. He began writing about baseball in 1962 and continued through the decades, blogging about baseball’s postseasons, until shortly before his death in 2022. No Place I Would Rather Be tells the story of Angell’s contribution to sportswriting, including his early short stories, pieces for the New Yorker, autobiographical essays, seven books, and the common threads that run through them. His work reflects rapidly changing mores as well as evolving forces on and off the field, reacting to a half century of cultural turmoil, shifts in trends and professional attitudes of ballplayers and executives, and a complex, discerning, and diverse audience. Baseball is both change and constancy, and Angell was the preeminent essayist of that paradox. His writing encompassed fondness for the past, a sober reckoning of the present, and hope for the future of the game. This edition features a new epilogue.

Finalist for the 2022 SABR Seymour Medal Grover Cleveland Alexander was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, with 373 career victories during twenty seasons in the Major Leagues. Elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938, the right-hander remains a compelling-and tragic-figure. "Pete" Alexander's military service during World War I was the demarcation line between his great seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and his years of struggle and turmoil with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals after the Great War. Indeed, Alexander's service during World War I has all but been forgotten, even though it dramatically changed his life-and his game. Alexander served in the 342nd Field Artillery Regiment, which included big leaguers and star athletes among its officers and men. Naturally, the regiment fielded an outstanding baseball team, but it also faced hard service during the final weeks of the war. After the armistice in November 1918, the unit undertook occupation duty in Germany. The Best Team Over There examines this crucial period closely: where Alexander was stationed, how he was trained, how he withstood the effects of combat and shelling, how he interacted with his fellow athletes and soldiers, and how the war changed his baseball career, revealing for the first time the little-known details of this critical stage in the legendary pitcher's life and career. We can't truly understand Alexander and his enduring appeal to baseball fans without also understanding his life as a gunner and soldier.