Old Baseball

Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.

It's time to throw your way into Softball Strikeout! For Olivia, a new town, school, and softball team were possibly the last things on her mind, but after being told they’d be moving, it was now becoming a reality. Not only would she need to make new friends, but she’d also have to prove herself on her new softball team all over again. Olivia lived and breathed softball. Growing up, the only sport she’d ever been interested in was softball, and with her dad teaching her, she’d become a pretty good pitcher. However, finding herself now living in Greenville meant that she’d have to...

The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.

In The Old Ball Game, Frank Deford, NPR sports commentator and Sports Illustrated journalist retells the story of an unusual friendship between two towering figures in baseball history.

Olivia had been scared starting over in a new town, with new friends and a new softball team, but her worst fears hadn’t materialized, and, in the end, she was settling in as the Blue Jay’s lead pitcher and had quickly formed a small group of core friends she was growing to love. With the first softball game of the season done and dusted, the Blue Jays were off to a great start, but could they carry their winning momentum into their upcoming games? Only time will tell. The girls were working hard on and off the field, with a new business venture quickly taking shape and their friendship...

If you like faith-based stories that offer insight and perspective on life's most challenging trials, then this novella is for you. A.J. Maxwell lives a quiet life in Michigan with his parents. In other words, he is a typical high school senior living a typical teen’s life. Suddenly, A.J.'s life is flipped upside down. Just like Job in the Bible's Old Testament, A.J. is faced with life's harshest battles -- physically, emotionally and spiritually. A.J.'s faith is put to the test through his struggles. How will adversity change him? And how will it impact his relationship with God? Chris's...

Having received a full baseball scholarship to college, Ryder Conrad is a few weeks shy of his high school graduation. As a condition of the scholarship, the eighteen year old jock must undergo a complete medical examination performed by Dr. Kirk Livingston. Not only is Dr. Livingston his family’s doctor, but the handsome, muscular doctor is also the best friend of Ryder’s father. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ryder, the young baseball jock, has been desperately in love with “Uncle Kirk” since the age of five. With a yearning to be submissive to the rugged and divorced physician, Ryder ...

Best-selling author George Vecsey is an esteemed and award-winning sports journalist for the New York Times. In Baseball, he recounts the history of America's national pastime. Baseball has been around in various forms for thousands of years, but only within the last 200 years has it become an American institution. Growing from a sport played in open fields and big-city streets, baseball has seen its share of innovators and detractors, heroes and villains.

Baseball explores the history of organized baseball during the mid-twentieth century, examining the sport on and off the field and contextualizing its development as both sport and business. Steven P. Gietschier begins with the Great Depression, looking at how those years of economic turmoil shaped the sport and how baseball responded. Gietschier covers a then-burgeoning group of owners, players, and key figures whose stories figure prominently in baseball's past and some of whom are still prominent in its collective consciousness.

A succinct history of baseball, newly revised and updated. In this third edition of his lively history of America's game, widely recognized as the best of its kind, Benjamin G. Rader expands his scope, covering record crowds and record income, construction of new ballparks, a change in the strike zone, a surge in recruiting Japanese players, and an emerging cadre of explosive long-ball hitters. The book is published by The University of Illinois Press.

Pitching Perfection and Glove-Tastic Plays: Baseball Trivia for 9-12 Year-Olds is the perfect audiobook for any young fan who loves baseball. Whether they're watching games on TV or playing catch in the backyard, this audiobook is sure to become a favorite in their collection. So get ready to hit a home run with this exciting baseball trivia book for 9- to 12-year-olds!

Baseball has always been a symbol as much as a sport. With a blend of individual confrontation and team play, a luxurious pace, and an immaculate urban parkland setting, it offers a sunny rendering of the American Dream, both the hard work that underpins it and the rewards it promises. Film, America's other national pastime, which magnifies and mythologizes all it touches, has long been the ideal medium to canonize this aspirational idea.

We've all had times we wanted to give up. To throw in the towel. To make a break and get away from everything. The exact breaking point and how we handled it is different for all of us. For Jordan Lewis, a rebellious teen struggling with his parents' impending divorce and a breakup of his own, that point comes when he gets suspended from school and dumped on his irascible grandfather, Charlie Kalb. For Charlie, a wily widower who hasn't had anything to look forward to in years except attending the final game at Yankee Stadium, it comes when his driving buddy suffers a stroke, his trip to ...

She's half my age and completely forbidden—which makes her the most dangerous curveball life's ever thrown me. I never saw her coming—literally. Rear-ended by a curvy brunette with a sweet sassy mouth that won't quit. Joy Artemis. Brilliant, sunshine-sweet, and absolutely off-limits. She's my daughter's summer nanny, and all I want is to make her submit. When I finally pin her against my piano, tasting her innocence, the beast inside breaks free. I'll take my time corrupting her, savoring every whimper, every trembling surrender. She's mine to protect. Mine to pleasure. Mine to keep. ...

Chris Coste dreamed of playing major-league baseball from the age of seven. But after 11 grueling years in the minors, a spot on a major-league roster still seemed just out of his reach, until that fateful call came from the Philadelphia Phillies in May 2006. At age 33 (going on 80), Coste was finally heading to the big time. The 33-Year-Old Rookie is like a real-life Rocky, an unforgettable and inspirational story of one man's unwavering pursuit of a lifelong goal.

Tommy and I have been friends since we were seven. He never treated me like anything but a little sister who tagged along to the baseball games and tried to play. I never realized as we got older he had more feelings for me. He never said anything. Things got rough in high school between us when I started dating the quarterback. Tommy tried to tell me he was bad for me but I wouldn't listen. I wish I had. Tommy was always there watching over me and trying to keep me safe. I pushed him away constantly. I was thrilled when he and the other guys graduated. I finally had free range. When I met ...

Pedro Martinez. Sammy Sosa. Manny Ramirez By 2000, Dominican baseball players were in every Major League clubhouse, and regularly winning every baseball award. In 2002, Omar Minaya became the first Dominican general manager of a Major League team. But how did this codependent relationship between MLB and Dominican talent arise and thrive?

From New York Times best-selling author Andrew Maraniss comes the remarkable true story of Glenn Burke, a "hidden figure" in the history of sports: the inventor of the high five and the first openly gay MLB player. Singled Out is the fascinating story of a trailblazer in sports - and the history and culture that shaped the world around him.

Are you ready to spark curiosity and fuel your child’s love for learning? Dive into the Kids' Trivia Extravaganza, a three-book collection packed with over 300 fun, fascinating facts and quizzes designed to entertain and educate young minds.

The hunky baseball player has his eye on her, but she knows better than to trust an athlete! Agnes always promised herself to avoid athletes at all costs. The daughter of a hockey player as famous for his philandering ways as his skill on the ice, she learned the hard way that men can’t be trusted. So when she meets a hot younger man who happens to be a Triple A team pitcher, she’s ready to run the other way. Nolan loves three things: baseball, his mama, and the PR executive who’s working with him to bring more publicity to his baseball team. Sure, she’s a little older than him, a ...