More than three decades ago, the film Field of Dreams made grown men cry with its tale of a son's quest to know his father through the magic of baseball. The mystical baseball field of that movie continues to attract thousands of visitors and here is the story of a make-believe place made real, its incredible lure, and its effect on the people who have stepped between its chalk lines.

Much has been written about Roger Maris and the historic summer of 1961 when he broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record yet little is known about the pitchers on the other side of the tale. One of the many knocks against Maris was that he faced inferior pitching in an American League watered down by expansion from eight to 10 teams. But was that really the case? Did Maris face has-beens and never-weres while Ruth confronted the cream of AL pitching? Who were these starters and relievers and how good were they? Drawing on first-hand accounts, interviews and a range of contemporary sources, this study covers each of Maris' 63 home runs that season, including the lost one and his game-winning World Series dinger. Biographies of each of his 48 victims cover the pitcher's career, pitching style and the circumstances of the game. Maris faced some really fine pitching that summer despite what many contended then-and now.

For decades prior to the rise of Babe Ruth, the most recognized name in baseball was John McGraw. An outstanding player in the 1890s, McGraw-nicknamed ""Mugsy""-was molded in the rough and tumble pre-20th century game where sportsmanship and fair play took a back seat to competition. Later, he became the successful manager of the New York Giants, dominating the National League in New York City for more than 30 years. McGraw led the Giants with authoritarian swagger-earning another moniker, ""Little Napoleon""-from 1902 through 1932, before illness forced his retirement. In his 31 seasons in New York, his teams won three world championships and 10 pennants and rarely finished out of the first division. He was a trailblazer in the use of bullpen and position player substitutions, and pushed hit-and-run strategies over the then prevalent dictums of sacrifice bunting. An unconventional leader, McGraw logged considerable bench time during his reign on account of injury and fiery temperament.

Fernando Valenzuela was only twenty years old when Tom Lasorda chose him as the Dodgers' opening-day starting pitcher in 1981. Born in the remote Mexican town of Etchohuaquila, the left-hander had moved to the United States less than two years before. He became an instant icon, and his superlative rookie season produced Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards-and a World Series victory over the Yankees. Forty years later, there hasn't been a player since who created as many Dodgers fans. After the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in the late 1950s, relations were badly strained between the organization and the Latin world. Mexican Americans had been evicted from their homes in Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles-some forcibly-for well below market value so the city could sell the land to team owner Walter O'Malley for a new stadium. For a generation of working-class Mexican Americans, the Dodgers became a source of great anguish over the next two decades. However, that bitterness toward the Dodgers vanished during the 1981 season when Valenzuela attracted the fan base the Dodgers had tried in vain to reach for years. El Toro, as he was called, captured the imagination of the baseball world. A hero in Mexico, a legend in Los Angeles, and a phenomenon throughout the United States, Valenzuela did more to change that tense political environment than anyone in the history of baseball. A new fan base flooded Dodger Stadium and ballparks around the United States whenever Valenzuela pitched in a phenomenon that quickly became known as Fernandomania, which continued throughout a Dodger career that included six straight All-Star game appearances. Daybreak at Chavez Ravine retells Valenzuela's arrival and permanent influence on Dodgers history while bringing redemption to the organization's controversial beginnings in LA. Through new interviews with players, coaches, broadcasters, and media, Erik Sherman reveals a new side of this intensely private man and brings fresh insight to the ways he transformed the Dodgers and started a phenomenon that radically altered the country's cultural and sporting landscape.

Ernie Banks is the best-known ballplayer in the history of the Chicago Cubs-a man as famous for his personality and trademark phrases as for his accomplishments on the field. Nicknamed "Mr. Cub," Banks won two National League Most Valuable Player awards and slugged 512 home runs, all while battling discrimination and poverty. His conduct away from the field was so exemplary he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Based on interviews conducted with Banks, the author details the life of this Texas-born shortstop and first baseman from his childhood playing softball to his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to his death in 2015.

In 1887, Tip O'Neill, left fielder for the St. Louis Browns, won the American Association batting championship with a .492 average-the highest ever for a single season in the Major Leagues. Yet his record was set during a season when a base on ball counted as a hit and a time at bat. Over the next 130 years, the debate about O'Neill's "correct" average diverted attention from the other batting feats of his record-breaking season, including numerous multi-hit games, streaks and long hits, as well as two cycles and the triple crown. The Browns entered 1887 as the champions of St. Louis, the American Association and the world. Following the lead set by their manager, Charles Comiskey, the Browns did "anything to win," combining skill with an aggressive style of play that included noisy coaching, incessant kicking, trickery and rough play. O'Neill did "everything to win" at the plate, leaving the no-holds-barred tactics to his rowdier teammates.

Statistics are the lifeblood of baseball. Managers pore over batting averages to determine game day lineups and batting orders; high number of runs batted in and low earned run averages receive praise from the press, higher salaries from the front office, and love from fans; and the fate of fantasy baseball players rises and falls with each statistical change. The prominence of the RC/27 and other more complex, formula-driven stats has made numbers even more important to understanding and appreciating the game. For all these baseball buffs and more, Frederick E. Taylor provides a new measure of hitting prowess that just might be a game changer.

Taylor's potential runs per game (PRG) measure accounts for batters getting on base, advancing runners, and driving in runs, and it separates leadoff and second batters from those in the middle of the order. Taylor introduces the measure, explains how it works, and applies it to players past and present. He breaks the history of major league baseball into eight eras based on differences in runs scored per game. He systematically--player-by-player and position-by-position--compares the results of the PRG measure to those drawn from other statistics, such as on-base percentage and slugging average. Taylor shows that PRG is more accurate and that career clutch hitting is a myth.

Sabermetricians, baseball fans of all stripes, and anyone who earns a living from the sport will find a wealth of information and a whole new set of stats to obsess over in "The Runmakers." Measuring baseball will never be the same.

Jackie Robinson's story is not only a compelling drama of heroism, but also as a template of the African American freedom struggle. A towering athletic talent, Robinson's greater impact was on preparing the way for the civil rights reform wave following WWII. But Robinson's story has always been far more complex than the public perception has allowed. Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey famously told the young Robinson that he was "looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." J. Christopher Schutz reveals the real Robinson, as a more defiant, combative spirit than simply the "turn the other cheek" compliant "credit to his race." The triumph of Robinson's inclusion in the white Major Leagues (which presaged blacks' later inclusion in the broader society) also included the slow demise of black-owned commercial enterprise in the Negro Leagues (which likewise presaged the unrecoverable loss of other important black institutions after civil rights gains). Examining this key figure at the crossroads of baseball and civil rights histories, Schutz provides a cohesive exploration of the man and the times that made him great.

Professional baseball took root in America in the 1860s during the same years that the sons of the first wave Irish famine refugees began to reach adulthood, and the Irish quickly demonstrated a special affinity for baseball. This is a survey of the enormous contribution of the Irish to the American pastime and the ways in which Irish immigrants and baseball came of age together. Chapters cover the Irish and early immigrants in Boston; the Chicago White Stockings; the Shamrocks, Trojans and Giants; Charlie Comiskey; Patsy Tebeau and the Hibernian Spiders; Ned Hanlon and the Orioles; Hugh Duffy and Tommy McCarthy, the ""Heavenly Twins""; umpires; John McGraw; ""Wild Bill"" Donovan, Patrick Joseph ""Whiskey Face"" Moran, and Connie Mack; the Red Sox and the Royal Rooters; and, more.

The powerful story of an essential baseball lifeIn Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever, writer Dan Good seeks to make sense of MLB MVP Ken Caminiti’s fascinating, troubled life. Good began researching Caminiti in 2012 and conducted his first interviews for his biography in 2013. Since then he’s interviewed nearly 400 people, providing him with an exclusive and exhaustive view into Caminiti’s addictions, use of steroids, baseball successes, and inner turmoil. Decades later, the full truth about Major League Baseball’s steroids era remains elusive, and the story of Caminiti, the player who opened the lid on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball has never been properly told. A gritty third baseman known for his diving stops, cannon arm, and switch-hit power, Caminiti voluntarily admitted in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that he used steroids during his career, including his 1996 MVP season, and guessed that half of the players were using performance-enhancing drugs. “I’ve made a ton of mistakes,” he said. “I don’t think using steroids is one of them.” Good’s on-the-record sources include Caminiti’s steroids supplier, who has never come forward, discussing in detail his efforts to set up drug programs for Caminiti and dozens of other MLB players during the late 1990s; people who attended rehab with Caminiti and revealed the secret inner trauma that fueled his addictions; hundreds of Caminiti’s baseball teammates and coaches, from Little League to the major leagues, who adored and respected him while struggling to understand how to help him amid a culture that cultivated substance abuse; childhood friends who were drawn to his daring personality, warmth, and athleticism; and the teenager at the center of Caminiti’s October 2004 trip to New York City during which he overdosed and died.

Comiskey Park's Last World Series analyzes the significance of the 1959 White Sox from a multitude of perspectives. The book presents much more than the White Sox being one of the few teams modern era to win a pennant with speed, pitching, and defense. The team is studied not just as a charter member of the American League but as a cultural institution that held a great deal of significance as this country's last "neighborhood" professional franchise. The team' historical importance to Chicago and the significance of the first South Side World Series in forty years is also covered in detail. There is an analysis of the economic landscape of baseball during the Golden Age throughout the book, looking at the characteristics of media markets and the different ways teams tried to maximize them in that era. Bill Veeck's unique and unusual theories about in-house promotions-everything from free giveaways to his theories about post-game fireworks- is discussed at length. The reader is also afforded an in-depth analysis of a team's ancillary sources of revenue and how critical everything from concessions to stadium rentals were to a team's bottom line during that era. No other book on the 1959 White Sox discusses the bitter legal feud Charles Comiskey and Bill Veeck waged throughout the season with as much detail and insight as this work does. Also, little has been written about why this uniquely talented 1959 White Sox team did not repeat as champions. This book ends with an entire chapter on that subject.

A lot happened in baseball in 1980. After being stabbed with a penknife in Mexico during spring training, the Indians' "Super Joe" Charboneau captured Cleveland's heart-and Rookie of the Year. Nolan Ryan became baseball's first Million Dollar Man, and Billy Ball revived Oakland's fading franchise. Bad guys Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock and Dave "Kong" Kingman terrorized fellow players, umpires and sportswriters. The Phillies and Expos battled up to the season's final weekend while the Dodgers and Astros needed a one-game playoff to decide their division. In the American League, Kansas City's George Brett posted the highest single-season batting average since 1941 and Reggie Jackson was twice confronted by gun-waving youths. In October, Brett led the Royals past the Yankees and into the Series, where he battled Mike Schmidt's Phillies in the Fall Classic. This book covers it all-the bean balls, bench-clearing brawls, the return of Darth Vader and the launch of CNN.

The book analyses the process by which the collective image of professional baseball was formed. It traces both the negation and the affirmation of ideas in the sports press that would impede or promote the growth of baseball from a recreational pastime to a team sport spectacle in the mid-19th century. The American collective image grew as a result of sports reportage, conversations about baseball in social and work groupings, game attendance (and changing values toward work and play), and reports of gambling. Newspaper editorials and news stories and letters to the editor are studied as to shifting and complex and inter-related sentiments toward playing baseball. Much of this interactive complex was influenced by the English sports ideal and newly formed attitudes toward recreation. Above all, the sports press was the primary shaper of the image of professional baseball.

The Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd--also known as "Big Poison" and "Little Poison"--played together for fourteen seasons in the same Pittsburgh outfield in the 1920s and 1930s. More than half a century after retiring, they still rank as the best-hitting brothers in major league history with a combined 5,611 hits--517 more than the three Alou brothers, 758 more than the three DiMaggio brothers, and 1,400 more than the five Delahanty brothers. And both Waners are in the Hall of Fame, the only playing brothers so honored. This work tells the story of the Waner brothers from their early lives in Oklahoma through their playing days. It is also the story of two American eras: the Roaring Twenties and the Depression years. The Waners experienced the excitement of playing in the World Series, but they also encountered the pressures of having to perform in order to keep their jobs, and they struggled to overcome health problems. Both put up impressive numbers individually: Paul amassed 3,152 hits, and his .333 lifetime average ranks among the highest ever in the game. Lloyd, a lifetime .316 hitter, collected 2,459 hits, and had it not been for health problems, he might have cleared the 3,000 hit milestone as well. Together, they were baseball heroes.

For more than a hundred years, baseball has been woven into the American way of life. By the time they reach high school, children have learned about the struggles and triumphs of players like Jackie Robinson. Generations of family members often gather together to watch their favorite athletes in stadiums or on TV. Famous players like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken, and Derek Jeter have shown their athletic prowess on the field and captured the hearts of millions of fans, while the sport itself has influenced American culture like no other athletic endeavor. In Baseball and American Culture: A History, John P. Rossi builds on the research and writing of four generations of baseball historians. Tracing the intimate connections between developments in baseball and changes in American society, Rossi examines a number of topics including: *the spread of the sport from the North to the South during the Civil War *the impact on the sport during the Depression and World War II *baseball's expansion in the post-war years *the role of baseball in the Civil Rights movement *the sport's evolution during the modern era Complimented by supplementary readings and discussion questions linked to each chapter, this book pays special attention to the ways in which baseball has influenced American culture and values. Baseball and American Culture is the ultimate resource for students, scholars, and fans interested in how this classic sport has helped shape the nation.

The early Deadball Era featured landmark achievements, great performances by several of baseball's immortals, and the presence of a delightful array of characters. John McGraw won his first pennant as a manager and repeated the following year with the team he later called his greatest. His Giants were highly praised for their playing ability and widely criticized for their rowdy behavior. Meanwhile the Cubs were putting together the greatest team in franchise history, emphasizing speed on the bases, solid defense, and outstanding pitching. Jack Chesbro won 41 games in 1904 employing a new pitch, the spitball. Other pitchers began using it, accelerating the trend toward lower batting averages. The White Sox entered baseball lore as the "Hitless Wonders," winning the 1906 pennant through adroit use of "scientific baseball" tactics. Each team had its own story and memorable players. For instance, Cardinals fans enjoyed the last years of under-appreciated Hall-of-Famers Kid Nichols and Jake Beckley. In Detroit fiery young Ty Cobb fought opponents and teammates alike, while Germany Schaefer brought chuckles with his zany antics. Elsewhere, slugging Charlie Hickman, speedy Billy Maloney and curmudgeonly Jack Taylor brought cheers and jeers with their distinctive talents and personalities.

Here are 42 interviews with women who competed in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Each interview is a separate chapter featuring data about the player, a short bio of her athletic career, and the player's recollections. A brief history covers the many changes as the League evolved from underhand pitching with a 12-inch ball in 1943 to overhand pitching, adopted in 1948, through the circuit's league's final year, 1954, when a regulation baseball was introduced. The interviews range from 1995 to 2012 and reveal details of particular games, highlights of individual careers, the camaraderie of teammates, opponents and fans, and the impact the League made on their lives. Several players recall how the 1992 movie A League of Their Own brought the historic All-American League back to life almost 40 years after the final game.

"As Jackson departed from the Grand Jury room, a small boy clutched at his sleeve and tagged along after him. 'Say it ain't so, Joe, ' he pleaded. 'Say it ain't so.'"

But to the horror of the entire nation -- it was. The headlines proclaimed the 1919 fix of the World Series and attempted cover-up as "the most gigantic sporting swindle in the history of America!" In this timeless classic, Eliot Asinof has reconstructed the entire story of the infamous scandal in which eight Chicago White Sox players arranged with the nation's leading gamblers to throw the Series to Cincinnati. Scene by scene, he vividly describes the tense meetings, the hitches in the conniving, the actual plays in which the Series was thrown, the Grand Jury indictment, and the famous 1921 trial. Further, he perceptively examines the motives and backgrounds of the players and the conditions that made the improbable fix all too possible. Here, too, is a graphic picture of the American underworld that managed the fix, the deeply shocked newspapermen who uncovered the story, and the war-exhausted nation that turned with relief and pride to the Series, only to be rocked by the scandal. Far more than a superbly told baseball story, this compelling American drama will appeal to all those interested in the history of American popular culture.

The Chicago Cubs, founded in 1869, are a charter member of the National League and the only one of the eight original league clubs still playing in the city in which the franchise started. At various times in the 19th century the players were called White Stockings, Colts and Orphans. They were first referred to as the Cubs in the March 27, 1902, issue of the Chicago Daily News. Using newspaper articles, books and archival records, the author chronicles the team's early planning stages from 1868 to 1902. Reprinted selections from firsthand accounts provide a colorful narrative of baseball in America as well as a documentary history of the Chicago team and its members before they were the Cubs.

Ted Strong Jr. (1917-1978) was a two-sport athlete, a major star of the Negro Leagues and one of the original Harlem Globetrotters. His prominence in the Negro Leagues led Branch Rickey and other white baseball league owners to consider Strong as one of several possible players to integrate major league baseball, and he was a key force on the basketball court when the Globetrotters defeated the then-invincible Minneapolis Lakers in 1948. Despite his athletic dominance in the 1930s and 40s, Strong Jr. has largely been forgotten in American sports history. In Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star, Sherman L. Jenkins finally shares the fascinating story of this star athlete. Born Theodore Relighn Strong Jr. in South Bend, Indiana, Strong Jr., the eldest of fourteen children, was fortunate to have a positive influence in his father-a baseball player himself. Strong Jr. went on to play in seven Negro League Baseball East-West All-Star games, receiving the most votes in all of Black baseball history in 1939, and was a key member of the 1940 Harlem Globetrotter basketball team that won the World Professional Basketball Championship. Jenkins details all of this and more, including Strong Jr.'s frustrations with integration efforts promised by white baseball team owners and the eventual decline of the Negro Leagues after the entrance of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball. Through hours of interviews with Strong Jr.'s father and with friends and teammates of his brother Othello, along with extensive research of newspaper archives, this book provides rich insights into an unsung hero in the American sports landscape. For baseball and basketball fans of all ages, Ted Strong Jr.'s biography displays for the first time the determination and guts of a man who was idealized by many African Americans in the early twentieth century.

Iconic ballplayer Rocky Colavito captivated fans during the 1950s and 1960s with his movie-star looks, boyish enthusiasm, powerful batting and cannon-like arm. This comprehensive biography of "the Rock"-the first in more than half a century-recounts his origins in an Italian immigrant family, his close friendships with Herb Score and Roger Maris, and his rise through the minors to become one of the Cleveland Indians' most beloved players before retiring fifth in home runs by a right-handed batter in American League history. The author tells the story of baseball's perhaps most controversial trade-Colavito, the AL's 1959 home run champion, for the Detroit Tigers' batting champion, Harvey Kuenn. Colavito's departure was a crushing blow to Indians fans and the team's subsequent 34-year slump was dubbed "the Curse of Colavito.

Lyman Bostock Jr. had baseball in his blood. The son of a former Negro League standout, Bostock began his professional career with the Minnesota Twins in 1975. Two years later, he became one of the first players in major league baseball to cash in on the new era of free agency, signing with the California Angels for more than $2 million-one of the richest contracts in sports history at that time. But Bostock's true potential would never be known. On September 23, 1978, Bostock was shot and killed in Gary, Indiana. He was just 27 years old. In Lyman Bostock: The Inspiring Life and Tragic Death of a Ballplayer, K. Adam Powell tells the story of Bostock's humble beginnings in Birmingham, Alabama, his coming-of-age in Los Angeles, his involvement in the Black Power movement, his brief yet impactful baseball career, and his senseless murder in 1978. Those who knew Bostock and played alongside him believed he was good enough to win multiple batting titles, and perhaps even make the Hall of Fame some day. More than just a ballplayer, Bostock was known as a stand-out citizen who never forgot where he came from, investing hours of his time giving back to his community, visiting with local youth, and hosting baseball clinics. Lyman Bostock captures a remarkable era in professional baseball, an era when ballplayers such as Bostock still engaged closely with their fans even as power shifted from management and owners to the players. Through careful research, exclusive interviews, and rarely-seen photographs, Bostock's life and the times in which he lived are conveyed in intimate detail. For baseball fans of all ages, Lyman Bostock's biography is a poignant and inspiring story of an upcoming star whose life was cut much too short.

The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the NHL’s “Original Six,” have been building their storied legacy for decades. Since their founding in 1926, the Hawks have won six Stanley Cup championships and produced dozens of standout stars, from Hall of Fame goaltender Mike Karakas in the ’30s to Bobby “The Golden Jet” Hull in the ’60s to current team captain Jonathan Toews. And the Chicago Tribune, the team’s hometown newspaper, has been covering it all from the very beginning. Published to coincide with the start of the 2017–18 season, The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Blackhawks is a decade-by-decade look at the city’s 21st-century sports dynasty. Curated by the Chicago Tribune sports department, this book documents every era in the team’s history, from the 1920s to the present day, through the newspaper’s original reporting, in-depth analysis, comprehensive timelines, and archival photos. Each chapter includes profiles on key coaches and players, highlighting the top players from each decade as well as every Stanley Cup championship. Bonus “overtime” material—stats and facts on championships, Hall of Famers, memorable trades, and more—provides a blow-by-blow look at all 90 years of the franchise’s history.

Baseball has long been viewed as the Great American Pastime, so it is no surprise that the sport has inspired many Hollywood films and television series. But how do these works depict the game, its players, fans, and place in American society? This study offers an extensive look at nearly one hundred years of baseball-themed movies, documentaries, and TV shows. Film and sports scholar Aaron Baker examines works like A League of their Own (1992) and Sugar (2008), which dramatize the underrepresented contributions of female and immigrant players, alongside classic baseball movies like The Natural that are full of nostalgia for a time when native-born white men could use the game to achieve the American dream. He further explores how biopics have both mythologized and demystified such legendary figures as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson and Fernando Valenzuela. The Baseball Film charts the variety of ways that Hollywood presents the game as integral to American life, whether showing little league as a site of parent-child bonding or depicting fans' lifelong love affairs with their home teams. Covering everything from Bull Durham (1988) to The Bad News Bears (1976), this book offers an essential look at one of the most cinematic of all sports.