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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > Baseball
A GREAT MAN On June 21, 1954, Brooks Lawrence, a minor league
baseball player, got word that he was to play in the major leagues.
Though elated, he still recalled his lifelong quest to reach that
goal and capture his dream. His story, of his family and his youth,
college years, and service during World War II, features his
ongoing love of the game of baseball. The difficulties and
adversities he confronted as an African-American in both the minor
and major leagues and how he overcame them make his ultimate
triumph as a Hall of Famer an inspiring story. Brooks was a
remarkable man with a remarkable story.
This book examines what it takes for Latino youngsters to beat the
odds, overcoming cultural and racial barriers-and a corrupt
recruitment system-to play professional baseball in the United
States. Latin Americans now comprise nearly 30 percent of the
players in Major League Baseball (MLB). This provocative work looks
at how young Latinos are recruited-and often exploited-and at the
cultural, linguistic, and racial challenges faced by those who do
make it. There are exposes of baseball camps where teens are
encouraged to sacrifice education in favor of hitting and fielding
drills and descriptions of fraud cases in which youngsters claim to
be older than they are in order to sign contracts. The book also
documents the increasing use of steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs by kids desperately trying to gain an
edge. In addition to discussing the hard road many Latinos follow
to MLB, the work also traces the fascinating history of baseball's
introduction in Latin American countries-in some cases, more than a
century ago. Finally, there are the stories of great Latino
players, of men like Roberto Clemente and Carlos Beltran who made
it to the majors, but also of men who were not so lucky. Through
their tales, readers can share the dreams and expectations of young
men who, for better or worse, believe in "America's pastime" as
their gateway out of poverty. Provides a historical overview of the
increasing numbers of Latin Americans in Major League Baseball and
its minor league system Details the corrupt recruitment system in
several Latin American countries that, in most cases, leads
aspiring youngsters on a fruitless quest for a professional
baseball contract Highlights the careers of players, especially
Roberto Clemente, who became role models for young Latin American
players Offers a brief history of the origin of baseball in Latin
American countries, drawing on unique documentary material from the
National Archives Uses recent, first-person interviews to share
examples of how some individuals and institutions are attempting to
reform the system
Also Available as an Time Warner AudioBook After an injury-plagued stint in the minor leagues in his twenties, Jim Morris hung up his cleats and his dreams to start a new life as a father, high school physics teacher, and baseball coach. Jim's athletes knew that his dream was still alive — he threw the ball so hard they could barely hit it - and made a bet with him: if they won the league championship, he would have to try out for a major league ball club. They did — and he did, and during that tryout threw the ball faster than he ever had, faster than anyone there, nearly faster than anyone playing in the Bigs. He was immediately drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and three months later made his major league debut, striking out All-Star Royce Clayton.
"The View from the Stands" is both the story of one fan's love of
the game and an examination of the effect baseball has had on fans
everywhere throughout its history. A collection of stories and
insights compiled during the summer of 2002 in each of MLB's thirty
parks, "The View from the Stands" provides us with the fans'
perspective on every team and stadium in the league, and on the
most important issues currently affecting the game. It gives a
voice to the masses of people who fill our stadiums, and it
explains how a child's game became the business it is today.
This book examines the entire experience of live baseball, from
the uncomfortable seats to the misplaced marketing ventures to the
incredible feeling of seeing Bonds circle the bases. Baseball
touches our lives in so many unexpected ways. By introducing us to
the little boys who rush to the edge of the stands in Wrigley, the
recovering alcoholic who found a new family at the Metrodome, and
many others from all walks of life, "The View from the Stands"
tells the story of our love of the game--what draws us in and what
keeps us coming back for more.
Gabby Harnett is believed by many to be the greatest catcher of all
time. This work chronicles Hartnett's life from his early years in
Millville, Massachusetts, through his twenty-year career with the
Chicago Cubs as player and manager, his time in various capacities
in the minor leagues and with the New York Giants and Kansas City
Athletics, to his post-major league career as a businessman in
Chicago. His childhood, early baseball experiences with the local
team and with a nearby prep school, and his first professional
baseball season with the Worcester Boosters of the Eastern League
are covered in detail. Hartnett's major league career as the
catcher for the Cubs is well-documented, including his near
career-ending arm injury in 1929, the 1932 World Series that
featured Babe Ruth's legendary ""called shot,"" and Hartnett's
famous ""homer in the gloamin"" against the Pittsburgh Pirates that
propelled Chicago to the 1938 National League pennant. The author
also compares Hartnett's statistics to those of his famous
contemporaries, Mickey Cochrane and Bill Dickey, on a year-by-year
basis.
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