Called the ""Chairman of the Board"" because of his remarkable control in big-money games, Eddie ""Whitey"" Ford still holds the record for World Series wins (10), and was Casey Stengel's ace during much of the Yankees' historic mid-century pennant streak. Off the mound, Whitey's carousing with Mickey Mantle was legendary, and he, in many ways, symbolizes the excesses and good fortunes of the Yankees during that era - living hard and winning often. This book delves into the life and baseball career of Whitey Ford, the Hall of Fame left-hander who helped the Yankees win 11 pennants and six world championships. After a childhood in the New York sandlots, he quickly worked his way through the Yankees farm system and, when called up in 1950, won nine straight in a pennant race and then won the final game of the World Series sweep of the Phillies. He would go on to pitch for 16 seasons - all of them with New York - and retire as the winningest pitcher in franchise history. His story is detailed here with a generous helping of play-by-play action and personal anecdotes. Seven appendices offer Ford's career statistics and compare him to other great pitchers, past and present.

Since the progressive era, baseball has been promoted as an institution encapsulating the best of American values and capable of bridging the chasms of twentieth century American culture - urban versus rural, industry versus agriculture, individual versus community, immigrant versus native, white versus color. Among the more enthusiastic of the game's proponents have been American filmmakers, and baseball films present perhaps the purest depiction of baseball's vision of an idealized America. This critical study treats baseball cinema as a film genre and explores the functions of baseball ideology as it is represented in that genre. It focuses on how Hollywood's presentation of baseball has served not only to promote dominant values, but also to bridge cultural conflicts. Commentary on 85 films deals with issues of race, community, gambling, players, women, and owners.

"The best all-around catcher in black baseball history"-Cumberland Posey, Owner of the Homestead Grays National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey's professional career spanned nearly three decades in the Negro Leagues and elsewhere. He distinguished himself as a defensive catcher who also had an impressive batting average and later worked as a manager of the Newark Eagles and the Baltimore Elite Giants. Using archival materials and interviews with former Negro League players, baseball historian Rich Westcott chronicles the catcher's life and remarkable career in Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate as well as providing an in-depth look at Philadelphia Negro League history. Westcott traces Mackey's childhood in Texas as the son of sharecroppers to his success on the baseball diamond where he displayed extraordinary defensive skills and an exceptional ability to hit and to handle pitchers. Mackey spent one third of his career playing in Philadelphia, winning championships with the Hilldale Daisies and the Philadelphia Stars. Mackey also mentored famed catcher Roy Campanella and had an unlikely role in the story of baseball's development in Japan. A celebrated ballplayer before African Americans were permitted to join Major League Baseball, Biz Mackey ranks as one of the top catchers ever to play the game. With Biz Mackey, he finally gets the biography he deserves.

"He deftly examines Foster's outstanding career on the diamond in the early 1900s...Cottrell effectively documents Foster's contributions to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981."
--"Choice"

"Robert Charles Cottrell's definitive biography of Rube Foster adds much to our knowledge of this commanding figure in the history of the old black baseball leagues."
--Robert Peterson, author of "Only the Ball Was White"

"Rube Foster ranks with Charles Comiskey, Connie Mack, and John McGraw as one of the founding giants of modern baseball. As player, manager, owner, and executive he set the standard for baseball in black America during the early twentieth century. "The Best Pitcher In Baseball" clearly establishes Foster's greatness and his extraordinary contributions to the national pastime."
--Jules Tygiel, author of "Past Time: Baseball As History"

When Rube Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his rightful place alongside baseball's greatest black heroes was at last firmly established. A world-class pitcher, a formidable manager, and a brilliant administrator, Rube Foster was arguably more influential in breaking down the color barrier in major league baseball than the venerable Jackie Robinson.

Born in 1879, Rube Foster pitched for the legendary black baseball teamsthe Cuban X-Giants and the Philadelphia Giants before becoming player-manager of the Leland Giants and the Chicago American Giants. Long a central figure in black baseball, he founded baseball's first black leaguethe Negro National League in 1920. From its inception, the Negro League served as a vehicle through which many of the finest black players could showcase theirconsiderable talents. Challenging racial discrimination and stereotypes, it ultimately set the stage for future efforts to contest Jim Crow.

Despite the long-standing success of the Negro National League as an influential black institution, Rube Foster was deeply embittered by organized baseball's unmitigated refusal to lift the color barrier. He died a broken man in 1930.

The Best Pitcher in Baseball is the story of a man of unparalleled vision and organizational acumen whose passion for justice changed the face of baseball forever. It is a moving tribute to a man and his dream.

This is an anthology of 17 papers, eight presented at the Fifteenth Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture in June 2003 and nine presented at the Sixteenth in June 2004. Selected from over 60 papers delivered at both symposia, the essays represent the finest scholarship from two conferences. The essays are divided into five sections. ?Gender: Feminism and Masculinity on and off the Diamond? examines the relationship between baseball and gender, and includes a discussion of the rituals of brawling and a unique autobiographical account from former major league player Dan Ardell. ?African Americans and the Game? studies Reconstruction-era baseball, the African American press's attitude toward the Negro Leagues, and the declining appeal of baseball for the African American community. ?Other Minorities: Beyond Baseball's Melting Pot? expands on the discussion of baseball and ethnicity. ?Baseball Media: Literature, Journalism, and Audiovisual Reproduction? examines baseball from the perspective of the media and popular arts and considers baseball's cultural stereotypes in film, drama, and literature. ?The Business of Baseball? offers five essays on topics ranging from the foundation of the Yankees dynasty to the impact of market size on competition in the modern major leagues.

Waite Hoyt was much more than a baseball player. A multi-faceted, sometimes troubled man, Hoyt was a vaudevillian, a mortician, a writer, a painter, and (of course) a Hall of Fame pitcher. He was also an alcoholic who overcame his demons and became one of the first players to make the transition to the announcers booth. His teammates and managers were among the all-time greats, but hell always be associated with his friend Babe Ruth. He was there when Ruth hit 29 homers for a new record in 1919; when Ruth hit his 60th in 1927; when the Babe hit his 714th, and last, home run; he was even a pallbearer at Ruths funeral. His career on the mound and as the Cincinnati Reds announcer lasted from 1915 to 1965, and to walk in his footsteps is to journey through the history of baseball in the 20th century.

This biography of Waite Hoyt involves many great moments in baseball history, and includes some of the classic tales that Hoyt, a natural-born storyteller, would tell about his teammates. It follows his transition from a career on the field to his career behind the microphone, and his struggles with alcoholism that almost cost him his dream of working as a broadcaster. Later chapters chronicle his years in the announcers booth, his induction into Cooperstown, and his longtime championing of Babe Ruth as beyond compare, even as Ruth's most prominent records fell to Maris and Aaron.

In the early 20th century, immigration, labor unrest, social reforms and government regulations threatened the power of the country's largest employers. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, remained successful by controlling its workforce, the local media, and local and state government. When a 1912 strike in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts, threatened to bring the Industrial Workers of the World union to Manchester, the company sought to reassert its influence. Amoskeag worked to promote company pride and to Americanize its many foreign-born workers through benevolence programs, including a baseball club. Textile Field, the most advanced stadium in New England outside of Boston when it was built in 1913, was the centerpiece of this effort. Results were mixed-the company found itself at odds with social movements and new media outlets, and Textile Field became a magnet for conflict with all of professional baseball.

Beginning with the Cleveland Indians' hard luck during World War II, this thrilling history follows the team through its historic role in racial integration and its legendary postwar comeback. Rich with player photographs and stories, this book is sure to excite American history buffs and baseball fans alike. In early 1942, baseball team owners across the country scrambled to assemble makeshift rosters from the remaining ballplayers who had not left the sport for the armed forces. The Cleveland Indians suffered a tremendous loss when star pitcher Bob Feller became the first Major Leaguer to enlist, taking his twenty-plus wins per year with him. To make matters worse, the Indians' new player-manager, Lou Boudreau, had no coaching or managing experience. The resulting team was mediocre, and players struggled to keep up morale. Feller's return in late 1945 sparked a spectacular comeback. A year later Bill Veeck bought the franchise and, over the next two years, signed the first American League players to break the color barrier: Larry Doby and Satchel Paige. The 1948 season ended with the Indians and Boston Red Sox tied, resulting in the American League's first playoff game. Thanks in part to rookie Gene Bearden's outstanding pitching, the Indians went on to beat the National League's Boston Braves for their second World Series title.

"... a smart and energetic collection of essays on baseball statistics. Curve Ball doesn't play misty-eyed homage to baseball's traditions and conventional wisdoms.... This is great stuff.... Curve Ball makes clear how pleasurable [stats] can be, and arguably how important, to view the great American game with real precision." -- The Wall Street Journal "Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Must own!" -- Baseballnotebook.com "In [Curve Ball] Albert & Bennett explain the game in ways the conventional press - even titans such as Bill James - cannot." -- Baseball America "[The book] illustrates how statistical reasoning can be useful in teasing out the role of chance from performance in baseball to better assess ability.... Curve Ball represents another advance in the genre of baseball and statistics books." -- Journal of the American Statistical Association There is a fascination among baseball fans and the media to collect data on every imaginable event during a baseball game and to use these data to try to understand characteristics of the game. But patterns in baseball data are difficult to detect due to the inherent chance variation that is present. This book addresses a number of questions that are of interest to many baseball fans - including how to rate players, predict the outcome of a game or the attainment of an attainment, make sense of situational data, and decide the most valuable players in the World Series. Curve Ball is directed to a general audience and does not assume that the reader has any prior background in probability or statistics, although knowledge of high school algebra will be helpful.

Some of the best players in Major League Baseball were born outside the United States, with Latino players representing one of the fastest growing ethnicities in the league. Current and former stars such as Albert Pujols, Rod Carew, and Miguel Cabrera all found incredible success in MLB. They have won major awards, guided their teams to the postseason, played in All-Star games, and an elite few have been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Latino Stars in Major League Baseball: From Bobby Abreu to Carlos Zambrano celebrates the ever-increasing diversity of baseball in America. It includes more than 140 in-depth profiles of retired and active ballplayers representing countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. For many of these players, the road to "The Show" wasn't easy-discrimination, poverty, language barriers, and government restrictions are major obstacles that Latino players have faced in the past and continue to face today. Author Jonathan Weeks covers these struggles and more in the profiles, showing the players' strength, resiliency, and ultimately, their rise to the top of professional baseball. Latino Stars in Major League Baseball is a definitive collection of the best and brightest Latino stars both past and present. Full of colorful anecdotes and inspiring stories, this book provides a rich understanding of Latino players' impact on baseball in the United States.

Armando Marsans, who joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1911, was the first Cuban star of the major leagues. Events in baseball have often mirrored America's social development-Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier is one example-and the story of Armando Marsans has much to teach about the United States and Latin America during the early 20th century.

In detailing the career of Marsans, this work also recapitulates baseball history in Cuba and describes the early development of professional baseball in America. Examples of how Americans reacted to Marsans as a player and a per son, and the prevalence of Latino stereotypes during this era, are fully explored. Part biography, part sociological study, this book introduces the reader to a physically gifted player and to a young, powerful America struggling to find its own identity in its new ethnic makeup.

"No athlete performed at a higher level through greater stress than Jackie Robinson."
–Scott Simon

The integration of baseball in 1947 had undeniable significance for the civil rights movement and American history. Thanks to Jackie Robinson, a barrier that had once been believed to be permanent was shattered–paving the way for scores of African Americans who wanted nothing more than to be granted the same rights as any other human being.

In Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, renowned broadcaster Scott Simon reveals how Robinson’s heroism, firmly planted in the memory of Americans, brought the country face-to-face with the question of racial equality. From his days in the army to his ascent to the major leagues, Robinson battled bigotry at every turn. Simon deftly traces the journey of the rookie who became Rookie of the Year, recalling the taunts and threats, the stolen bases and the slides to home plate, the trials and triumphs. Robinson’s number, 42, is now retired on every club in major league baseball–in homage to the man who had to hang his first Brooklyn Dodgers uniform on a hook rather than in a locker.

TURNING POINTS features preeminent writers offering fresh, personal perspectives on the defining events of our time.

Of baseball there have been countless books - but, surprisingly, relatively few about the owners, the men and women who invested their time - and, frequently, their fortunes - in baseball teams. What has been written tends to concentrate on the financial aspects of ownership or individual owners and their private lives, and pays less attention to the enduring contributions certain owners have made. Eight owners and their lasting influences on the game are the focus of this book. Charles Ebbets, Barney Dreyfuss, Helene Britton, Clark Griffith, Walter O'Malley, Bill Veeck, Charles Finely and August Busch were chosen for inclusion not only because of their larger contributions but also because they were hands-on owners who ran their teams decisively. For instance, Helene Britton proved that a knowledgable woman could successfully run a ball club, even if she couldn't vote; Bill Veeck hired the first black player in the American League, introduced exploding scoreboards and was the first owner to put his players' names on the backs of their uniforms; Walter O'Malley relocated his Dodgers to the West Coast and convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham to bring his team out too.

The Giants-Dodgers rivalry began in the 1840s, was considered to be the best in baseball by 1890, and continues to be the game's oldest and most storied rivalry today. Three reasons it has been the best are how often both teams have been good, how rarely they have been bad, and how tenaciously they have battled each other. At the rivalry's peak, from 1946 to 1971, the Giants and Dodgers finished either one - two or within five games of first place a remarkable nine times. This, the first book on the Giants-Dodgers saga in over forty years, is the definitive account of the rivalry from its beginning to the present. It covers both teams and their players, including all the greats, such as Wee Willie Keeler, John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Mel Ott, Leo Durocher, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Ralph Branca, Sandy Koufax, Juan Marichal, Joe Morgan, Tommy Lasorda, and Barry Bonds, among many others. It also examines the two teams' four cities, and gives special attention to their moves to California in the 1950s. The rivalry arguably reached its apex in the years following the move.

Like virtually every other aspect of American life, baseball was affected by World War II. Many of its players left the playing field for the battlefield, but the game continued, played by those who stayed behind. Wartime baseball entertained a nation in desperate need of a diversion and a morale boost in a time of crisis. This book studies baseball during World War II, with both a statistical analysis of the game and stories of its players--those who went to war and those who did not. It provides recaps for each season between 1942 and 1945, and season-by-season recaps and highlights for each team. Starting lineups of the war years are compared to the starting lineups of 1941 (the last year of peacetime baseball) to show how dramatically the war changed the game. A list of players who went to war is provided, along with a list of players who replaced them on the roster if they were starters or starting pitchers. Brief statistical sketches of players who went to the war discuss their play before and after and how they were replaced. Other lists include wartime players who lost their starting jobs in 1946; minor league players who died in the war; and Negro League players who were drafted.

Exactly one hundred years before the Brooklyn Dodgers won the 1955 World Series, the Brooklyn Excelsiors were playing on the same grounds where the Dodgers would begin their long history. Brooklyn and its teams played a prominent role in the early history of the game and reigned as champions of baseballs first organized league through most of the 1860s. The early years of organized baseball (1855-1884) in Brooklyn when it was the center of the baseball universe is the focus of this book. In addition to discussing the early clubs and players, this work examines the transformation of baseball from a recreational pursuit of gentlemens clubs to a professional spectator sport. It also reveals much about the social norms, gender and race relations, and the role of the media in the early game and covers the many firsts that are attributed to early Brooklyn teams, such as having the first paid player, tragic hero and curveball pitcher, and being the first team to take road trips, play in enclosed ball parks and charge admission. Notably, they were heralded by the most famed sports journalist of the nineteenth century.

No one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the "shot and beer" town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon over 19 seasons in Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Anaheim has become one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century: taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball one year to the World Series the next and leading the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years. Like his teams, Maddon defies convention. He is part strategist, part philosopher, part sports psychologist, and part motivational coach. In THE BOOK OF JOE, Maddon gives readers unique insights into the game, including the tension between art and data, the changing role of managers as front offices gain power, why the honeymoon with the Cubs did not last, and what it's like to manage the modern player, including stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish, and Kris Bryant. But you expect even more from a manager who meditates daily, admires Twain, and has only one rule when it comes to a team dress code: "If you think you look hot, wear it!" And Maddon delivers. Built on-old school values and new-school methods, his wisdom applies beyond the dugout. His mantras about leadership, mentorship, team building, and communication are meditations on life, not just baseball. Among those mantras are: "Do simple better." "Try not to suck." "Don't ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure." "See it with first-time eyes." "Tell me what you think, not what you've heard." THE BOOK OF JOE is Maddon at his uniquely holistic best. It is a memoir of a fascinating baseball journey, an insider's look at a changing game, and a guidebook on leadership and life.

For the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans, there was a great deal of uncertainty going into the 1985 season. Only three years before, the Cards had won the World Series, but were predicted to finish last in the National League East Division by every major publication. Manager Whitey Herzog was expected to rebuild his team, drug abuse had cast a lingering shadow over the game, and a players strike threatened to halt play. The situation looked bleak for St. Louis but the season turned out to be nothing like the predictions. The Cards found themselves in a battle for the pennant. From beginning to end, that magical season is chronicled here. The book recaps the 1982 championship season and provides background information on Whitey Herzog and Gussie Buschs building of the early 1980s Cards, Busch Stadium and its characteristics particular to base running, and players of the era, including Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee and pitchers Bob Forsch and Joaquin Andujar. It then goes in-depth to discuss the Cards 1985 spring training and season and the World Series.

This comprehensive survey of major league baseball looks at the national pastime's legendary figures, major innovations, and pivotal moments, from the beginning of the twentieth century through World War II. In America's Game: A History of Major League Baseball through World War II, Bryan Soderholm-Difatte provides a comprehensive narrative of the major developments and key figures in Major League Baseball, during a time when the sport was still truly the national pastime. Soderholm-Difatte details pivotal moments-including the founding of the American League, the 1919 Black Sox scandal, and navigating the Great Depression and two World Wars-and concludes with a chapter examining the exclusion of black ballplayers from the major leagues. Central personalities covered in this book include baseball executives Judge Landis and Branch Rickey, managers John McGraw and Joe McCarthy, and iconic players such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. America's Game isn't simply about celebrating the exploits of great players and teams; it is just as much about the history of Major League Baseball as an institution and the evolution of the game itself. With significant changes taking place in baseball in recent times, this book will remind baseball fans young and old of the rich history of the game.

A hundred and ninety-one. Mention the number anywhere near a ballpark and before you can ask who or what, fans will almost certainly shape their lips with a single word: Wilson. They'll tell you Hack Wilson, a burly, bull-necked outfielder who roamed Wrigley Field in the 1920s and 1930s, was the man who drove in 191 runs in 1930--more than most players had hits. A few of them will know that in 1929, Wilson racked up 159 RBI and hit 39 home runs. Still fewer might be able to tell you that for the four seasons 1927-1930, the slugger hit no fewer than 30 home runs a season and drove home no fewer than 120. But you are unlikely to find more than a handful of fans who know how the Cub great's career came to an end. Or when. Or why. The heir apparent to Ruths title of world-beater, Wilson was a star by his late 20s and a record setter by 30. But he was also an alcoholic who was as practiced at swinging his fists as he was his bat. By his early 30s his days as a full-time player were behind him, and by 48 he was dead; his son refused to claim the body. This biography examines the turbulent life and career of one of the most dominant short-stint powerhitters ever to pull on a uniform. From Wilsons early career as a steelworker, through his time as the beloved ballplayer and icon for the City of Big Shoulders to his days as a down-on-his-luck baseball washout and itinerant laborer, an unflinching look at this Hall of Famer is provided.

When all-time pitching great Christy Mathewson died of tuberculosis in 1925 at the age of 45, it touched off a wave of national mourning that remains without precedent for an American athlete. The World Series was underway, and the game the day after Mathewson's death took on the trappings of a state funeral: officials slowly lowered the flag to half-mast, each ballplayer wore a black armband, and fans joined together in a chorus of "Nearer My God to Thee." Newspaper editorials recalled Mathewson's glorious career with the New York Giants, but also emphasized his unstinting good sportsmanship and voluntary service in World War I. The pitcher known to one and all as "Matty" or "Big Six" was as beloved for the strength of character he brought to the national pastime, as for his stunning 373 career victories. "I do not expect to see his like again," said his best friend and former manager, John McGraw. "But I do know that the example he set and the imprint he left on the sport that he loved and honored will remain long after I am gone."
In Matty, Ray Robinson tells the story of a man who became America's first authentic sports hero. Until Mathewson, Robinson reveals, Americans loved baseball, but looked down on ballplayers and other athletes as hard-drinking, skirt-chasing ne'er-do-wells. Deprived of real-life role models, millions of readers followed the serialized exploits of Frank Merriwell, a fictional hero who excelled at sports from baseball to billiards and never drank, smoke, or swore. Robinson shows how an eager public greeted Mathewson as a flesh-and-blood version of Merriwell from his first year at Bucknell University, where he shone as star pitcher, premier field-goal kicker, and class president. Lured into the big leagues before he could graduate, the tall, handsome pitcher soon won over men, women and children with his sense of fair play and his arsenal of blazing fastballs, sweeping curves, and infamously deceptive fadeaway pitches. Robinson skillfully details the highlights of Mathewson's career, including his showdowns against the great batters of his day and his encounters with the young Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis teams. Here are the six remarkable days in October, 1905 when Mathewson became the only pitcher ever to hurl three straight shutouts in a World Series, and the afternoon at West Point when he won $50 in a bet that he could throw 20 of his best pitches to exactly the same spot. Robinson does not underplay Mathewson's occasional failings, but the most surprising aspect of this fascinating portrait is just how close America's first Hall of Fame pitcher came to living up to his image.
Drawing on rare interviews, press clips, and long overlooked eyewitness accounts, Matty brings baseball's golden age to life--not only the great teams and the early superstars, but the long train trips between games, with cramped berths and no air conditioning; the small town ballplayers let loose amidst big city vice; and the two-bit gambling that eventually led to the infamous Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 Series (a scandal that might have escaped detection if the sportswriters in the press box with Mathewson had not been able to rely on his experienced eye for clues to how ballplayers might throw games). Offering rare insight into the making of an early twentieth century American hero, Matty is must reading for anyone who loves baseball.

During the 1952 World Series, a Yankee fan trying to watch the game in a Brooklyn bar was told, "Why don't you go back where you belong, Yankee lover?" "I got a right to cheer my team," the intruder responded, "this is a free country." "This ain't no free country, chum," countered the Dodger fan, "this is Brooklyn." Brooklynites loved their "Bums"--Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and all the murderous parade of regulars who, after years of struggle, finally won the World Series in 1955. One could not live in Brooklyn and not catch its spirit of devotion to its baseball club.

In Brooklyn's Dodgers, Carl E. Prince captures the intensity and depth of the team's relationship to the community and its people in the 1950s, showing how the team extended its influence well beyond the sports arena. He captures both the racial intensity surrounding Jackie Robinson's breaking the color line, and the controversy it generated on the team, in baseball, and the nation. He takes a hard look at the Dodger's ubiquitous presence in the life of Brooklyn, the team's closeness to the children, female fans, and Brooklyn's diverse ethnicity. Prince goes on to open the door to the male culture of Brooklyn's bars, the wonderful baseball played by thousands of Brooklyn's boys on the Parade Grounds, including many who made the leap to the Dodger's minor league farm system, as those who made the ultimate jump to the majors. And Prince doesn't ignore the underside of the Dodger experience: the paternity suits and "baseball Annies," the routine baseball-related 50's sexism, and the ethnic conflicts that went with the Brooklyn territory.

In this superb volume, Carl E. Prince provides a stirring history of the depth and intensity of the relationship between Brooklyn and its Dodgers in the golden years after the Second World War.

Ted Williams is our greatest living expert on how to hit a baseball -- the last baseball player to hit .400 in the major leagues. Williams's career hitting statistics will stand forever as a monument to his complete mastery of the single most difficult thing to do in sport: .344 lifetime batting average, 521 home runs, 1839 RBI and 2654 hits.

The Science of Hitting has reigned as the classic handbook on hitting since being published in 1971 -- and now it's even better! Ted's hitting advice has been updated, and exciting new color graphics and photos have been added to enhance your reading pleasure. The Gallery of Great Hitters has been expanded to include Ted's choices for the best hitters of the '70s and '80s: look inside to see who made the cut!

You'll still find all of Ted's great advice on how to improve your turn at bat and become the best hitter possible. Learn:

* How to think like a pitcher and guess the pitch
* The three cardinal rules for developing a smooth line-drive swing
* The secrets of hip and wrist action
* Pitch selection
* Bunting
* Hitting the opposite way

And much more!

Whether you play the game or simply enjoy reading about it, you'll find The Science of Hitting an unforgettable addition to your sports library.

For most baseball teams, the 2020 season was a strange, short, fanless diversion--but not in Los Angeles. After years of frustrating playoff runs, they finally reclaimed the World Series trophy after more than 30 years, led by their star pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, their electric new outfielder, Mookie Betts, and a bevy of impressive young players assembled by their hard-charging, ingenious team President, Andrew Friedman. The collection of talent that took the field in 2020, and again in 2021, was nothing short of a superteam, on a par with the dynastic Yankees of the 1990s. Yet winning at modern baseball is nothing like it was even 20 years ago. In the years since Billy Beane's famous Moneyball teams, baseball has grown to look less like a sport and more like a Wall Street firm that traded its boiler room for a field. Teams relentlessly exploit inefficiencies, new innovations, and tiny advantages--sometimes without regard for the rules of the game. The result is a sport that has never been played at a higher level, yet has seen its TV ratings and attendance numbers in long, slow decline. And with the league's collective bargaining agreement set to expire at the end of 2021, a labor crisis looms. This fascinating book not only examines the remarkable Dodgers team that won it all, but offers a unique view inside a sport that can't seem to break its addiction to winning at all costs--even when those costs might be the future of the game. From Kershaw's late-career breakthrough to Friedman's machinations, it shows what it takes to win, and what it will take to save the sport.

Best Baseball Book of 2020 from Sports Collectors Digest 2021 Seymour Medal Finalist In the summer of 1932, at the beginning of the turbulent decade that would remake America, baseball fans were treated to one of the most thrilling seasons in the history of the sport. As the nation drifted deeper into the Great Depression and reeled from social unrest, baseball was a diversion for a troubled country-and yet the world of baseball was marked by the same edginess that pervaded the national scene. On-the-field fights were as common as double plays. Amid the National League pennant race, Cubs' shortstop Billy Jurges was shot by showgirl Violet Popovich in a Chicago hotel room. When the regular season ended, the Cubs and Yankees clashed in what would be Babe Ruth's last appearance in the fall classic. After the Cubs lost the first two games in New York, the series resumed in Chicago at Wrigley Field, with Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt cheering for the visiting Yankees from the box seats behind the Yankees' dugout. In the top of the fifth inning the game took a historic turn. As Ruth was jeered mercilessly by Cubs players and fans, he gestured toward the outfield and then blasted a long home run. After Ruth circled the bases, Roosevelt exclaimed, "Unbelievable!" Ruth's homer set off one of baseball's longest-running and most intense debates: did Ruth, in fact, call his famous home run? Rich with historical context and detail, The Called Shot dramatizes the excitement of a baseball season during one of America's most chaotic summers.