Harry Caray is one of the most famous and beloved sports broadcasters of all time, with a career that lasted over 50 years. Always a baseball enthusiast, Caray once vowed to become a broadcaster who was the true voice of the fans. Caray's distinctive style soon resonated across St. Louis, then Chicago, and eventually across the nation. In The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball's Greatest Salesman, Don Zminda delivers the first full-length biography of Caray since his death in 1998. It includes details of Caray's orphaned childhood, his 25 years as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, his tempestuous 11 years broadcasting games for the Chicago White Sox, and the 16 years he broadcast for the Chicago Cubs while also becoming a nationally-known celebrity. Interviews with significant figures from Caray's life are woven throughout, from his widow Dutchie and grandson Chip to broadcasters Bob Costas, Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, Pat Hughes, and more. Caray was known during his final years as a beloved, often-imitated grandfather figure with the Cubs, but the story of his entire career is much more nuanced and often controversial. Featuring new information on Caray's life-including little-known information about his firing by the Cardinals and his feuds with players, executives, and fellow broadcasters-this book provides an intimate and in-depth look at a broadcasting legend.

Whoever claims winning isn't everything obviously has not spoken with an athletic coach.Coaching the Mental Game offers coaches of all sports a definitive volume for effectively understanding an athlete's mental awareness, which in turn will help drive success. Author H.A. Dorfman details appropriate coaching strategies aimed at perfecting the player's mental approach to performance. Coaching the Mental Game will become the Bible for coaches who strive to make their athletes the most complete performers possible. Not only a wonderful asset to athletic coaches, this book will also prove to be a motivational resource for workers in all industries as well as in the game of life.

In this third edition of ""Baseball Ratings"", author Charles Faber combines the second edition ('great fodder for arguments' - ""Booklist/RBB"") with his book on 19th-century greats, ""Baseball Pioneers"" ('very impressive' - ""Reference and User Services Quarterly""; 'a notable and...worthwhile addition' - ""ARBA""), updating the ratings and expanding the commentary in each. The result, ""Baseball Ratings: The All-Time Best Players at Each Position, 1876 to the Present"", is that rarest of rankings books - a time-tested, comprehensive reference work that invites reading.Batters, fielders and pitchers from all major leagues since 1876 are ranked by position and, for pitchers, according to role (e.g., starter, middle reliever, closer) according to career, peak, and per-season achievement. All big league players with at least five years of service are rated, and appendices identify underrated and overrated players, rate multiposition players, and sort the great by handedness.

Women have been involved in baseball from the game's early days, in a wide range of capacities. This ambitious encyclopedia provides information on women players, managers, teams, leagues, and issues since the mid-19th century. Players are listed by maiden name with married name, when known, in parentheses. Information provided includes birth date, death date, team, dates of play, career statistics and brief biographical notes when available. Related entries are noted for easy cross-reference. Appendices include the rosters of the World War II era All American Girls Professional Baseball League teams; the standings and championships from the AAGPBL; and all women's baseball teams and players identified to date.

Over the last half-century, the Philadelphia Phillies have experienced epic highs--World Series titles in 1980 and 2008--and frustrating lows, and Larry Shenk has been there for every minute of it. He provides a behind-the-scenes look at the personalities and events that have shaped the franchise's history. The book gives the detailed scouting reports on Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley and takes readers into the clubhouse as Steve Carlton closes in on 300 career wins. Listen in on Pete Rose's phone call with President Reagan after Rose broke the National League hits record and see Richie Ashburn's face when he heard he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Giving fans a taste of what it's like to be a part of the Phillies' storied history from a perspective unlike any other, readers will also learn about a man whose work ethic and character has made an impact on the players and staff for 50 years.

They are a select few. They are the royalty of baseball. They embody the history and drama of the sport. Their plaques hang in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and many of them believe their induction to the Hall was anything but guaranteed. Despite baseball writers telling them that it was only a matter of time, few took those words as matter-of-fact. For even those Hall of Famers who were told to wait by their phone at an appointed hour, some still were stunned after hearing the news from the Baseball Writers Association of America or the Hall of Fame. The reactions to the call varied, from stoic to overwhelming emotion, but the Hall of Famers all shared at their core a trait - humility. Despite their ferocity and toughness on the field, most Hall of Famers included in this book said the call to inform them of their election sparked reflection, appreciation and gratitude. As one Hall of Famer put it, "You're not just celebrating your career, you're celebrating those who made you what you are, those that touched your life." Interviewing Hall of Famers and studying them individually and as a group brings the realization that the National Baseball Hall of Fame is not just a repository of player biographies and artifacts. It is also a repository for the generations of families who supported and nurtured those who became Hall of Famers and who helped them realize their dreams.

This book traces the history of the New York Mets from the franchise's inauspicious beginnings?the 1962 team, led by Casey Stengel and made up of players like Rod Kanehl and Jay Hook, lost 120 games?through the miraculous championship season of 1969. Based on interviews with more than one hundred former players and extensive research by one of the more highly regarded baseball historians writing today, the book covers the era in unprecedented detail. Any Met fan from the 1960s will find some familiar stories along with some they?ve probably never read before. Presented in an easy-to-read, narrative style, this book traces the rapid ascent of the Mets and explores the reasons for their early failure and dramatic success.

Though Willie Mays' World Series basket catch and Duke Snider's 1954 wall-climbing grab immediately come to mind, there are many catches that have been called 'the greatest'. This work documents baseball's best catches by outfielders from 1897 (the year of earliest catch described in a 1950 Baseball Digest attempt to describe baseball's greatest) to 1964 (the year of Duke Snider's retirement, the demolition of the Polo Grounds, and, arguably, Willy Mays' last great grab). After introductory chapters on factors that influenced the catches and their legacies - from ballpark quirks, changes to the baseball, and gloves, to sportswriters and photography - the book describes famous catches by decade. Extensive research yields a wealth of information for each catch, including commentary by period sportswriters, players, and, often, the man who snagged the ball.

The Bad Guys Won, award-winning Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman returns to an innocent time when a city worshipped a man named Mookie and the Yankees were the second-best team in New York.

It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin's left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake--hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox.

With an unforgettable cast of characters--including Doc, Straw, the Kid, Nails, Mex, and manager Davey Joshson--this "affectionate but critical look at this exciting season" (Publishers Weekly) celebrates the last of baseball's arrogant, insane, rock-and-roll-and-party-all-night teams, exploring what could have been, what should have been, and what never was.

As a part of popular culture, sport has made a deep impression in American life. And nowhere is this clearer than in baseball, the game that seems to transcend generations and has made its way into our language and literature. In The National Game, John Rossi offers not only an expert overview of baseball over the past 175 years; he shows how the game has reflected and contributed to changes in American society over that time. The country grew up playing baseball, Mr. Rossi notes, but the professional game took hold in the cities of the Northeast just as the nation was transforming itself from a rural to an urban society. Essentially a middle-class attempt to create a club sport, the game began early on to integrate immigrant groups-and over the years it became an important pathway to acceptance for all kinds of outsiders. The National Game chronicles baseball's popular successes and financial failures; its interleague wars and continuing struggles between owners and players; and its accommodations to radio and television-without neglecting the colorful players and managers who have won the hearts of fans. For a readable, concise history of the game and its place in American culture, Mr. Rossi's book is hard to beat. With 10 black-and-white photographs.

Complete guidelines and specifications for designing, building, and maintaining baseball and softball fields

Baseball and Softball Fields is a hands-on tool for everyone responsible for the maintenance and management of baseball and softball facilities, including new construction and reconstruction projects. Packed with in-depth material on the design, construction, and maintenance of baseball and softball fields, this practical resource offers real-world knowledge from industry experts, including Major League groundskeepers. Other useful information includes guidelines, specifications, and tips for keeping playing fields in top-notch condition.

Leading professionals demonstrate the proven techniques and best practices they use year after year to overcome common problems, from cosmetic fixes for damaged turfgrass to spot drainage systems for wet spots on a field. Written in nontechnical language that professionals can quickly understand, the step-by-step guidelines in this book can be swiftly implemented without any background in field design, turfgrass management, or soil science. From recreational fields to state-of-the-art stadiums, coverage addresses a variety of useful topics for a broad range of ballparks, including:

• Stadium and field design
• Fences, dugouts, and bullpens
• Drainage and irrigation
• Soil selection
• Turf management
• Field aesthetics
• Renovation
• Skinned-area maintenance

With material addressing all three growing zones in North America–the warm season, the transitional, and the cool season–Baseball and Softball Fields is a potent resource for builders, managers, and groundskeepers of all types of baseball and softball fields.

Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium was home to baseball's College World Series from 1950 until 2010. Future Major League stars played pro ball there in all but seven seasons during the same period. The venue also hosted barnstorming games, football games, concerts and a variety of novelty events in its lifetime. The history of the stadium is told by people who lived it. Essays and recollections by players and coaches who competed there, organizers of the Series and other events, and fans who enjoyed more than six decades of entertainment establish Rosenblatt's place in the American cultural landscape.

Baseball player Tony Lazzeri was the first great Italian-American sports superstar. He was known for his excellent glove, strong throwing arm and good speed, as well as his honesty, integrity and support of his teammates. This member of the 1927 Murderers' Row of the New York Yankees batted sixth behind Earl Combs, Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel. The major league's first power-hitting second baseman, he batted over.300 five times and drove in over 100 runs in seven seasons. He was the Yankees regular second baseman for twelve consecutive seasons and helped them win six pennants and five world championships. Chosen to play in the first All-Star Game in 1933, he made the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Researched from primary sources as well as interviews with his peers, this biography covers Lazzeri's life from his birth in San Francisco to Italian immigrants; his harsh, poverty-stricken childhood, and struggles with epilepsy (though he never suffered an attack while playing baseball); through every moment of his impressive career (as well as the time he struck out against Grover Cleveland Alexander in Game Seven of the 1926 World Series); ending with his death at age 42 of a heart attack. Lazzeri's batting record is included as an appendix and the work is illustrated with both private and public photographs.

In 1901, Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson launched a brazen challenge to the National League's supremacy. This book covers the American League's origins in the Western League, the decisions and planning that laid the groundwork for the American League, and in detail, the 1901 season that established the AL as a new major league.

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.

Despite the big market, bright lights and World Series rings, many Hall of Fame level players from the Mets and Yankees have been passed over by voters, often by good margins. The biggest reason: they didn't accumulate those traditional lifetime stats in hits, home runs or wins that typically punch Hall of Fame tickets. New York fan favorites Keith Hernandez, Ron Guidry, David Cone and others had the misfortune of playing before today's accepted measurement tools like on-base percentage, slugging percentage and ERA-plus (adjusting a pitcher's earned run average to the league norm in a given year) became commonplace. Some players were overshadowed by bigger personalities who were better able to take advantage of the New York spotlight. This book makes an in-depth case for the induction of seven Mets and Yankees, and evaluates many more who have been looked over for a spot in the Hall of Fame. Giving these players a fresh look, it uses advanced stats that weren't around when these men were playing and places traditional stats in the context of their era.

Another peek at baseball's good old days-or, in this case, bad old days-by veteran sports-historian Harvey Frommer. Frommer paints Shoeless Joe as a baseball natural ("Joe Jackson hit the ball harder than any man ever to play baseball"-Ty Cobb), an illiterate hick (his table utensils consisted of knife and fingers), and an innocent man snared by the greatest scandal in baseball history.

In the words of former American League umpire Nestor Chylak, umpires are expected to "be perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day." Forced to deal with sullen managers and explosive players, they often take the blame for the failures of both. But let's face it--umpires are only human. For well over a century, the fortunes of Major League teams--and the fabric of baseball history itself--have been dramatically affected by the flawed decisions of officials. While the use of video replay in recent decades has reduced the number of bitter disputes, many situations remain exempt from review and are subject to swirling controversy. In the heat of the moment mistakes are often made, sometimes with monumental consequences.

For many Americans, Opening Day was, and remains, the true marker of each year's beginning. Here we relive the Opening Days of baseball's most storied and glamorous team, the New York American League club that began as the Highlanders and achieved glory as the Yankees. As we watch the Yankees year by year, we watch them, as well as baseball and the social fabric of America, change gradually, and at times radically. We begin early in the century, when the team played at Hilltop Park and follow them as their opening day venue shifted to the Polo Grounds, the gigantic new Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, back to the renovated Yankee Stadium, and finally in the new Yankee Stadium. We also see them open in historic Fenway Park, fondly remembered Shibe Park and Griffith Stadium, and all around the expanded leagues after 1961. We see the first game in which Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio played against each other, the only game in which Williams shared the diamond with Lou Gehrig. We ponder the fact that, with that Opening Day of 1939, the Yankees entered the era of broadcast baseball with no expectation that the tail would eventually be wagging the dog. We see the teams of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek Jeter gradually give way, each to the next. We watch the annual opening-day celebration modified and affected by wars, by economic depression and expansion, by the shift of populations West and to the suburbs, and by political protest. We see presidents and mayors, actors and singers, and of course, managers and owners and players. We see protesters at Opening Day, 1945, demanding that black men, so vital to the war effort in Europe and the Pacific, be allowed to play in the major leagues. Eleven years later, we see President Eisenhower, eating peanuts and staying for the whole game as he watched the integrated New York and Washington teams open the 1956 season.

The Boston Red Sox are one of the most iconic baseball teams, representing not just a city or a state, but an entire region-it's the only professional baseball team in New England. Baseball greats such as Cy Young and Babe Ruth wore the uniform early in their careers and many other players, including Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, Carl Yastrzemski, Pedro Martinez, and Johnny Damon have played with New England's beloved ball club. Sports historian Robert W. Cohen has chosen the 50 best ever to play for the Sox and profiles their exploits. Chances are you'll find your favorite player here.

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.

1954,A triumphant season for black ballplayers and the countryaward-winning New York Times bestselling author Bill Madden delivers the first major book to fully examine the 1954 baseball season, drawn largely from exclusive recent interviews with the major players themselves, including Willie Mays and Larry Doby as well as New York baseball legends from that era: Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford of the Yankees, Monte Irvin of the Giants, and Carl Erskine of the Dodgers. 1954 transports readers across the baseball landscape of the time as future superstars such as Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and others entered the leagues and continued to integrate the sport. Weaving together the narrative of one of baseball's greatest seasons wit the racially charged events of that year,the same in which the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation of the races be outlawed in America's public schools, 1954 demonstrates how our national pastime was actually ahead of the curve in terms of the acceptance of black Americans, while the nation at large continued to struggle with tolerance.