|
Showing 1 - 4 of
4 matches in All Departments
Seasons come and go, but Wynter seemed to leave too soon. When
Jonathan Pitts took his wife of 15 years into his arms for their
anniversary dance, he had no idea that within a month he would be
on a completely different journey, navigating life after Wynter's
sudden death at the age of 38. One moment he was married to a
successful author and magazine publisher, and putting the finishing
touches on their book about marriage. The next he was a widower and
a single father of four grieving daughters. Without warning, the
future his family had planned together dissolved, leaving Jonathan
trying to answer the question that echoed through his daughters'
hearts and his own: How could a loving God allow this unspeakable
loss? My Wynter Season is Jonathan's story of losing the most
wonderful gift he had ever been given and his journey toward
understanding life without her. Yet in the wilderness of his grief,
Jonathan found himself surrounded by God's extravagant love, and
came to truly understand Christ's life-giving promise that death is
not the end.
At its best, baseball calls on a wide array of subtle skills,
rewarding the teams that know how to play the game better than
their opponents over the long 162-game season. Whitey Herzog
learned those skills under the tutelage of Cesey Stengel in the
Yankees' training camps of the 1950s: how to take a lead; which
side of the cutoff man to aim for; when to take an extra base
depending on whether the outfielder throws left-handed or
right-handed; the best ways to turn or prevent a double play. These
little things might make a difference in two or three games over
the course of a season, but two or three wins are often what
separates a pennant winner from the pack. As Whitey would
personally learn playing alongside greats like Roger Maris and Yogi
Berra -- and managing players like George Brett, Darrell Porter,
and Ozzie Smith -- baseball should reward such attention to detail.
That inside knowledge can create the chance for a less physically
awesome team to beat its imposing adversaries -- and what is more
satisfying in sports than David toppling Goliath through skill and
guile? But in the modern game, Herzog argues, players don't learn
these skills, and the game no longer rewards them if they do.
Expanded playoffs mean that more teams reach the postseason, so
excellence over 162 games is less important than ever before.
Players know that their agents will negotiate salaries based on
their home runs, batting averages, and RBI counts; why learn the
parts of the game that don't show up in the box scores? The richest
teams can bash their way into the playoffs by signing the players
they need to play a power game at bat and on the mound. The
free-agent draft deemphasizes good scouting, and the bonuses being
paid to untested rookies further widen the gap between rich and
poor. For the majority of teams, the season is over before it's
begun; their economic circumstances won't let them play the only
style you can win with today. But it would be wrong to lump Herzog
in with the crowd that says things can never be as good as they
used to be. Outrageous, thought-provoking, candid, and
laugh-out-loud funny, You're Missin' a Great Game celebrates the
game of baseball as it was, and as it can be again. For all the
fans revitalized by the excitement and glamour of the home-run
chase and the barrier-breaking '98 season, Whitey Herzog shows how
-- with some intelligent planning and attention to the virtues of
the game -- baseball's best days can and should be still ahead of
us.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.