The book follows the colorful career of Frank Lane, who as baseball's busiest general manager during the 1950s made the deals that turned the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians from losers into pennant contenders almost overnight. He also worked--or tried to--as general manager of the Kansas City A's (Lane lasted eight months in 1961 under first-year owner Charlie Finley) and for the Milwaukee Brewers, where his boss was Bud Selig. He is best known for having traded 1959 American League home run champion Rocky Colavito to Detroit for the AL's 1959 batting champ, Harvey Kuenn, and for trading Indians manager Joe Gordon to Detroit for Tigers manager Jimmy Dykes. During his brief absence from baseball (1962-1964), he signed on as general manager of the National Basketball Association's second-year expansion team, the Chicago Zephyrs. He became a ""superscout"" for the Baltimore Orioles for several years and, after leaving Milwaukee, had the same job with the Texas Rangers and, finally, the California Angels. He completed well over 500 major- and minor-league transactions in his career. Joe Garagiola put it best: ""They used to say that the toughest job on any club Frank Lane was running belonged to the team photographer.

On the average major league roster, Hispanic or Latin-born players today account for at least 25 percent of the team. In 1900 there were none; in 1911 the number had crept to two; and after World War II when American GI's returned to the playing fields, there was, for a brief time, only one Latino in the major leagues. From 1900 through the 1940s early Latino players suffered discrimination, poor accommodations, low pay and homesickness to play a game they loved. Those who were both talented and light-skinned enough to make it to the majors were mocked for their foreign-ness. Those in the Negro Leagues were, like African American ballplayers, segregated and largely ignored by the public and major league scouts. Building on what we know about the careers of these pioneer players, Nick Wilson draws on primary documents and interviews to round out our knowledge of them as people. Organised by decade, this book presents new information on the players who came before baseball's great Latin explosion. Profiled here are Rafael Almeida, Jose Mendez, Miguel Gonzalez, Luis Tiant, Sr., Martin Dihigo, Armando Marsans, Rodolfo Fernandez, Roberto Ortiz, Adolfo Luque, Cristobal Torriente, Hiram Bithorn and Pedro ""Preston"" Gomez, and many others. An appendix on Americans who influenced the Latin migration is also included.

This is the story of one of the most dramatic baseball seasons ever, as it stretched both backwards and forwards--from the ghosts of seasons and players past to the reality of what followed. At the beginning of 1986, most of the baseball talk was about money; at the end it was about one of the most dramatic seasons ever, a season that played out like a compelling drama driven by a cast of memorable characters--Bonds, Canseco, Puckett, Ryan, Rose, Boyd, Gooden, Strawberry, Clemens, Hernandez, Boggs, and more. On an institutional level the game was facing critical issues--player contracts, collusion, drugs, free agency, charges of racism, cheating, gambling, the growing popularity of professional football, and the influence of cable TV and satellites. Yet it produced a season of intense drama ending with an unforgettable post-season.

In the years following the decline of the New York Yankees dynasty that ended in 1964, three American League teams endeavored to stake their claim to the Junior Circuit's crown. From 1965 to 1975, the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland Athletics emerged as the most significant AL clubs, but this trio achieved varying degrees of success. Through the prism of these three teams, this book will examine facets of the dynastic aspirations of each during this time: the way in which key personnel were assembled into a cohesive roster, the glory that was won by the clubs, and the factors leading to their decline. Drawing on a rich variety of primary and secondary sources, the story is told of vital players from Latin America who made their way to Minnesota, the select few who ventured from the Orioles' training facility in Thomasville, Georgia, to Baltimore, and the collegiate stars selected in the early years of the newly-created amateur draft who went on to help forge a dynasty in Oakland.

Widely regarded as the best manager of his time, Bill McKechnie built winners at every stop, took four teams to the World Series and became the only man to do it in three different cities. He tamed roughneck players with a fatherly approach to leadership and a scholarly approach to strategy. This biography covers the life of McKechnie from his birth in a Pittsburgh suburb in 1886, through his playing and managing days, to his retirement years in west central Florida. Firsthand accounts come from the author's interviews with McKechnie's only surviving child, who also provided family photos for the book.

During the mid-1950s, an unlikely star stood alongside baseball standouts Mickey Mantle, Henry Aaron and Willie Mays--a slugger with a funny name and muscles so bulging that he had to cut the sleeves off his uniform to swing freely. Ted Kluszewski played little baseball in his youth, making a name for himself instead as a hard-hitting football player at Indiana University before showing potential on the diamond and being signed by the Cincinnati Reds. Between 1953 and 1956, no other player in major league baseball hit more home runs than Kluszewski. If not for a back injury, he may have gone down in major league history as one its greatest players. With detailed statistics from both his football and baseball careers, this biography chronicles the unusual odyssey that took Kluszewski to the big leagues and ultimately made him an icon during the 1950s.

This collection of fresh essays seeks to examine the intersection of baseball and social class, pointing to the conclusion that America's game, infused from its origins with a democratic mythos and founded on high-minded principles of meritocracy, is nonetheless fraught with problematic class contradictions. Each essayist has explored how class standing has influenced some aspect of the game as experienced by those who play it, those who watch it, those who write about it, and those who market it. The topic of class is an amorphous one and in tying it to baseball the contributors have considered matters of race, education, locality, integration, assimilation, and cultural standing. These elements are crucial to understanding how baseball creates, preserves, reinforces and occasionally assails class divisions among those who watch, play, and own the game.

This book analyzes how sportswriters discuss issues of race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual identity, age, and class within professional baseball from 1998 to the present. Each chapter looks at the media representations of a specific controversy including the 1998 home-run chase, Alex Rodriguez's historic contract singing, Barry Bond's home-run chases, Mike Piazza's ""I am not gay"" press conference, Effa Manley's Hall of Fame induction, the celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, as well as the various incidents involving performance-enhancing drugs. The author puts it together and reveals what messages are being conveyed by the issues.

In 1939, baseball's past ran headlong into its future. As the game celebrated its 100th anniversary with the opening of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, it learned that the legend of the sport's origins was purely a myth. On the field, the veteran players who had saved the game after the Black Sox scandal were slowly giving way to a new wave of players, men who would usher in the Golden Age of the game. Through extensive research, augmented by interviews with such Hall of Famers as Bob Feller, Ernie Harwell, Charlie Gehringer and Monte Irvin, the game's pivotal season is retold here. The appendix provides a statistical summary of the year.

This is the first full-length biography of Kid Nichols (1869-1953), who won 30 or more games a record seven times and was the youngest pitcher to reach 300 career victories. Much new light is shed on Nichols' early life in Madison, Wisconsin, along with important influences and experiences as a teenager living in Kansas City. His professional career is documented by drawing heavily from publications of the era and Nichols' own words. The high regard in which he was held by fans, teammates and even opponents is contrasted with his contentious relationship with team owners. Nichols' period of restlessness, ambition, and risk-taking following his long stint with Boston's National League team is detailed, as is the campaign to get him into the Hall of Fame. The book includes previously unpublished photos from his descendants' archives, many more than a century old.

This book is about the successful operation of a sports franchise. While there are many sports-related books about what happens on the playing field, there are few written about the equally interesting but seldom told stories of what happens on the business side. Why does someone acquire a professional sports team? What goes into the branding, marketing and entertainment that make some teams successful, and others not? What are the key challenges that managers, athletic directors and other sports staff face? Are there valuable lessons from the major and minor leagues for university, high school and other amateur sports programs? Do sports teams generate a profit? And if so, how? While the examples are drawn from the business of minor league baseball, the lessons are equally applicable to all other sports, and even to many retail businesses.

This is a biographical dictionary of the 325 men who played in the National Association between 1871 and 1875, with their playing record, together with what we know of their other baseball experience and their lives beyond baseball. The book also contains a dictionary of the 25 clubs who participated in the league, showing their history, their management, their uniforms and logos, their home grounds, and their performance in the league. About 150 player photographs are included and each club entry has two or three supporting images (18 are historical maps).

One of early baseball's most popular celebrities, Arlie Latham played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s. A brainy hitter and base-runner, he was also the sport's brashest, funniest player, his ""fresh"" personality bringing him as much trouble as reward. He played with the 19th century's greatest names, and was friends with everyone from King Kelly to King George V. He parlayed his stardom into a vaudeville career and the first official major league coaching job. In his fifties he carried the game he loved into world war to cheer Allied troops and in his seventies went to work for the Yankees. Arlie Latham's baseball odyssey is made more compelling by the parade of players, gamblers, boxers, actors, women and mascots that passes through it, providing a unique glimpse into America's game and the people who loved it.

This first book-length biography of Jimmy Collins examines the life of an intensely private, business-oriented ballplayer who was the first third baseman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Collins' life is covered in depth from his early years growing up in Buffalo, through his 14-year major league baseball career 1895-1908 primarily in Boston, to his post-baseball life as a real estate investor. This book sheds new light on Collins' motivations to leverage his baseball success--which included leading Boston to victory in the first modern-day World Series in 1903--into lucrative baseball contracts to fund his real estate investments. When he led the Boston Americans to successive American League championships in 1903 and 1904, Collins was instrumental in the foundation of today's highly successful Boston Red Sox franchise and its intense rivalry with the New York Yankees.

During the Cleveland Indians' checkered 110-year history, only two of its teams have brought home baseball's ultimate prize. While the 1948 team continues to be revered by Clevelanders, little has been written about the 1920 team that won the city's first pennant and World Series. Few, if any, World Series championship teams faced as much adversity as did the 1920 Cleveland Indians. Among the obstacles they faced during the season were the death of their star pitcher's wife in May; the shadow of the Chicago ""Black Sox"" scandal; and the tragic deadly beaning of shortstop Ray Chapman, the only fatal injury ever sustained by a major league player on the field of play. This chronicle of that incredible season highlights an overlooked chapter in history of one of baseball's most beloved underdogs.

With more losses and last-place finishes than any other club in Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies have earned a reputation as one of the most unsuccessful teams ever to take the field. Even so, the Phillies have boasted many unforgettable players and achieved a number of notable triumphs. This history of the Phillies begins with the club's inception in 1883 and goes through the 2012 season, highlighting the team's finer moments and players but also covering less memorable times. Among the people and events it recounts are the great outfield of the 1890s, Chuck Klein's slugging feats, the 1980 World Series, the surprise 1993 pennant win, and the very successful years in Citizens Bank Park, including the world champions of 2008. An exploration of the Phillies' special relationship with Philadelphia and numerous historic photographs complete this comprehensive celebration of the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in professional sports history.

Sabermetrics, the specialized analysis of baseball through empirical evidence, provides an impartial perspective from which to explore the game. In this work, the third in a series, three mathematicians employ statistical science in an attempt to answer some of baseball's toughest questions. For instance, how good were the 1961 New York Yankees? How bad were the 1962 Mets? Which team was the best of the Deadball Era? They also strive to determine baseball's greatest player at various positions. Throughout, the objective evidence allows for debate devoid of emotion and personal biases, providing a fresh, balanced evaluation of these and many other challenging questions.

This book is about the realities baseball as an economic force and as a product of popular culture. Baseball does not happen only between the white lines or in the ballparks--it's in the media, bobblehead giveaways, and mobile device apps. Issues of globalization, race and ethnicity, nationality, legacy making, iconic value building, and marketing concerns are all essential to understanding the complex and global product that Major League Baseball is today. A rich...intersection shall we say of fan, corporate, player, media, and owner values exist in each of these parts of the whole. These parts combine in nearly countless ways.

One of major league baseball's first Native American stars, John Tortes ""Chief"" Meyers (1880-1971) was the hard-hitting, award-winning catcher for John McGraw's New York Giants from 1908 to 1915 and later for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in four World Series and remains heralded for his role as the trusted battery mate of legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson. Unlike other Native American players who eschewed their tribal identities to escape prejudice, Meyers--a member of the Santa Rosa Band of the Cahuilla Tribe of California--remained proud of his heritage and become a tribal leader after his major league career. This first full biography explores John Tortes Meyers's Cahuilla roots and early life, his year at Dartmouth College, his outstanding baseball career, his life after baseball, and his remarkable legacy to both baseball and the Native American community.

Buck Ewing (1859-1906) was regarded by contemporaries as the greatest catcher and all-around player of his era, though he is virtually forgotten today. A lifetime .300-hitter, he played every position on the diamond and led the league in fielding at two different positions. The first hitter to reach double digits in home runs, Ewing once stole six bases in a game, pioneered the snap forearm throw to catch runners napping, averaged 35 steals a season, and is the only catcher to lead his team in stolen bases (53 in 1888). Off the field, Ewing's personality proved as multifaceted as his playing skills. Considered both affable and modest, he still received criticism from fellow players for negotiating contracts directly with the National League and was accused of faking injuries. This revealing biography provides a detailed exploration of Ewing's life and career, shedding new light on one of baseball's most talented and versatile players.

In 1972, the Philadelphia Phillies experienced one of their worst seasons in franchise history, finishing with an abysmal 59-97 record. Yet throughout this disastrous season, Steve ""Lefty"" Carlton proved to be a diamond in the rough. In his first year with the club, he led the league with 27 wins, eight shutouts, and a sizzling 1.98 ERA, earning an astounding 45.8 percent of Philadelphia's wins. He also won his first Cy Young award, the first pitcher to do so with a last-place team. This work chronicles Carlton's magical season, including the Rick Wise-for-Carlton trade, Lefty's 5-1 start following the players' first-ever strike, his 15-game winning streak, and a number of memorable games along the way. Interviews with Phillies icons, Hall of Famers, and legendary sports writers add insights to this account of Carlton's remarkable achievements amidst one of the most calamitous period in Phillies history.

Professional baseball has always consisted of a variety of characters, from likeable youngsters to notorious rebels. From 1871 to the present, the sport has witnessed the likes of Germany Schaeffer, an infielder with a penchant for "stealing" first base; Joe Medwick, the only player ever removed from a game for his own safety; and first baseman Hal Chase, noted for being one of the most corrupt players in baseball history. The Cooperstown Chronicles takes an entertaining look at the unusual lives, strange demises, and downright rowdy habits of some of the most colorful personalities in the history of baseball. Chapters profile the game's well-known tough-guys, the hard-drinking revelers, head-hunting pitchers, players who took their own lives, and those who died far too young from accidents or diseases. Frank Russo goes beyond the stats and delves into each player's personality, his life outside of baseball, and even his final resting place. The stories of little-known players like Terry Enyart, who pitched just one and two-thirds innings in the major leagues, are told next to those of superstars such as Mike Flanagan, who played professional ball for 18 years. However brief or long a career he may have had, every major league player has a story to tell. The Cooperstown Chronicles gives a voice to many of those players who are no longer able to tell their stories themselves. Compelling, fun, and often surprising, this book will entertain baseball fans and historians alike.

Between 1870 and 2010, 165 Jewish Americans have played Major League baseball. This work presents oral histories featuring 23 of these Jewish major leaguers. From Bob Berman, a catcher for the Washington Senators in 1918, to Adam Greenberg, an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs in 2005, the players discuss their careers and consider how their Jewish heritage has affected their lives in and out of baseball. Legends like Hank Greenberg and Al Rosen join lesser-known players to reflect on topics such as the annual dilemma of whether to play on high holidays, efforts to rebut anti-Semitism on and off the field, bonds formed with black teammates also facing prejudice, and personal and Jewish pride in their accomplishments. Together, these oral histories paint a vivid portrait of what it was like to be a Jewish major leaguer and shed light on a fascinating facet of American baseball history.

On August 16, 1920, Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw a fastball that struck Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman died the next morning. Hit by Pitch is a nonfiction graphic novel about these men, their lives and legacies, and the event that linked them forever. Born the same year (1891), both in Kentucky, they had similar beginnings but opposing personalities. This wonderfully drawn work brings the two men and their era back to life.

Since the Boston Red Sox came into existence in 1901, some of the greatest players ever to step onto a baseball diamond have filled its rosters. Starting with Cy Young, the parade of legendary players included Tris Speaker, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz, among others. This work profiles 200 of the most memorable players to have donned Boston's red, white and blue. Some, like Williams, enjoyed long, illustrious careers with the Red Sox. Others, like Smokey Joe Wood, shone brightly for only a brief period. Also included are journeymen who became legends as a result of one glorious World Series game, like Bernie Carbo, or players with just one memorable post-season appearance, like Dave Roberts. Together, these legends, idols, and heroes made Red Sox history and forever changed American baseball.