The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
Buy for $15.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kirby Heyborne
-
John Pruden
About this listen
It's the ultimate in fantasy baseball: You get to pick the roster, set the lineup, and decide on strategies - with real players, in a real ballpark, in a real playoff race. That's what baseball analysts Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller got to do when an independent minor-league team in California, the Sonoma Stompers, offered them the chance to run its baseball operations according to the most advanced statistics.
We tag along as Lindbergh and Miller apply their number-crunching insights to all aspects of assembling and running a team, following one cardinal rule for judging each innovation they try: It has to work. We meet colorful figures like general manager Theo Fightmaster and boundary-breakers like the first openly gay player in professional baseball. Even José Canseco makes a cameo appearance.
Will their knowledge of numbers help Lindbergh and Miller bring the Stompers a championship, or will they fall on their faces? Will the team have a competitive advantage or is the sport's folk wisdom true after all? Will the players attract the attention of big-league scouts, or are they on a fast track to oblivion?
©2016 Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller (P)2016 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The MVP Machine
- How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 563
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 485
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 481
Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Just too much cussing!
- By D Maybee on 04-19-20
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
-
Winning Fixes Everything
- How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess
- By: Evan Drellich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Baseball has been defaced and consumed by corporate America. As Moneyball-thinking and Ivy League graduates grabbed hold of the sport, the Astros set out to build a cost-efficient winning machine on the principles of the outside business world, squeezing every dollar out of every transaction, player and employee. In less than a decade, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow helped revolutionize the game and create an environment that led to one of the worst cheating scandals in baseball history, a Shakespearean tragedy of innovation and failed change management.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Houston Trashstros
- By DavidF on 02-20-23
By: Evan Drellich
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 533
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 456
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Smart Baseball
- The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 430
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.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
If you sorta like baseball--save your money
- By david ortega on 05-11-17
By: Keith Law
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,868
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,632
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,628
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Moneyball
- The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,988
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,188
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,187
Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of major league teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book, Outstanding Narration, Sloppy Edit
- By Dirk Turgid on 03-05-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
The MVP Machine
- How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 563
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 485
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 481
Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Just too much cussing!
- By D Maybee on 04-19-20
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
-
Winning Fixes Everything
- How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess
- By: Evan Drellich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Baseball has been defaced and consumed by corporate America. As Moneyball-thinking and Ivy League graduates grabbed hold of the sport, the Astros set out to build a cost-efficient winning machine on the principles of the outside business world, squeezing every dollar out of every transaction, player and employee. In less than a decade, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow helped revolutionize the game and create an environment that led to one of the worst cheating scandals in baseball history, a Shakespearean tragedy of innovation and failed change management.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Houston Trashstros
- By DavidF on 02-20-23
By: Evan Drellich
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 533
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 456
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Smart Baseball
- The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 430
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.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
If you sorta like baseball--save your money
- By david ortega on 05-11-17
By: Keith Law
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,868
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,632
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,628
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Moneyball
- The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,988
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,188
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,187
Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of major league teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book, Outstanding Narration, Sloppy Edit
- By Dirk Turgid on 03-05-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
Astroball
- The New Way to Win It All
- By: Ben Reiter
- Narrated by: Ben Reiter
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 917
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 809
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 806
Astroball is the inside story of how a gang of outsiders went beyond the stats to find a new way to win. When new Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and his top analyst, the former rocket scientist Sig Mejdal, arrived in Houston in 2011, they had already spent more than half a decade trying to understand how human instinct and expertise could be blended with hard numbers. Astroball is the story of the next wave of thinking in baseball and beyond, at once a remarkable underdog story and a fascinating look at the cutting edge of evaluating and optimizing human potential.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Now a book on cheating?
- By Peter R. on 02-01-20
By: Ben Reiter
-
Big Data Baseball
- Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak
- By: Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 456
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 410
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 406
After twenty consecutive losing seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, team morale was low, the club’s payroll ranked near the bottom of the sport, game attendance was down, and the city was becoming increasingly disenchanted with its team. Big Data Baseball is the story of how the 2013 Pirates, mired in the longest losing streak in North American pro sports history, adopted drastic big-data strategies to end the drought, make the playoffs, and turn around the franchise’s fortunes.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Science of Baseball Choices
- By Lifeisshort on 06-03-15
By: Travis Sawchik
-
The Arm
- Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Thing in Sports
- By: Jeff Passan
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 662
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 585
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 584
Yahoo's lead baseball columnist offers an in-depth look at the most valuable commodity in sports - the pitching arm - and how its vulnerability to injury is hurting players and the game, from Little League to the majors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A MUST READ for every youth baseball parent and coach
- By Casey Fitzsimons on 05-29-16
By: Jeff Passan
-
The Cubs Way
- The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse
- By: Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Tom Verducci
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 770
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 705
With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best baseball book I’ve ever read
- By Michael Klotz on 04-15-17
By: Tom Verducci
-
The Bad Guys Won
- A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform - and Maybe the Best
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Jeff Pearlman
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 178
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Maybe 3.5
- By Lifeisshort on 02-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
Where Nobody Knows Your Name
- Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 392
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 359
John Feinstein is one of the most influential sportswriters of the last three decades. In his masterful new audiobook, Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Feinstein delivers a fascinating account of the mysterious proving ground of America’s national pastime, pulling back the veil on the minor leagues of baseball.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Living on the Cusp of a Dream
- By W Perry Hall on 04-09-14
By: John Feinstein
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 177
New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Showtime
- Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,038
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 916
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 913
Best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end - marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV - Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Offended at the style used to voice black characters.
- By NP on 01-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
The Yankee Years
- By: Joe Torre, Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 385
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 238
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
A dramatic and revelatory account of Joe Torre’s 12 years as manager of the New York Yankees. Joe Torre is the most successful - and most respected - baseball manager of the modern era, steering the Yankees to six American League pennants and four World Series championships. When he left the team in 2007, it was front-page news around the country. Famously diplomatic during his tenure with the Yankees, Torre finally speaks out about what it was like building and managing the dynasty during those 12 glorious and tumultuous years.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen
- By Lynn on 02-12-09
By: Joe Torre, and others
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Inside the Baseball Revolution
- By: Brian Kenny
- Narrated by: Brian Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 519
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 477
Most people who resist logical thought in baseball preach "tradition" and "respecting the game". But many of baseball's traditions go back to the 19th century, when the pitcher's job was to provide the batter with a ball he could hit and fielders played without gloves. Instead of fearing change, Brian Kenny wants fans to think critically, reject outmoded groupthink, and embrace the changes that have come with the "sabermetric era".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful detail on baseballs past and future
- By Bradley on 07-27-16
By: Brian Kenny
-
The Inside Game
- Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Rhett Samuel Price
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
In this groundbreaking book, Keith Law, the ESPN baseball writer and author of the acclaimed Smart Baseball, offers an era-spanning dissection of some of the best and worst decisions in modern baseball, explaining what motivated them, what can be learned from them, and how their legacy has shaped the game....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator is negative value compared to replacement
- By Daniel W. Franzen on 11-28-20
By: Keith Law
-
Three Nights in August
- Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
- By: Buzz Bissinger
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Nordling
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 345
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 217
Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Book with good premise follows through
- By Peter on 11-18-05
By: Buzz Bissinger
Critic reviews
Featured Article: The Best Baseball Audiobooks of All Time
Ask any baseball fan and they'll tell you: some of their favorite sounds can only be heard at the ballpark—the smooth, satisfying pop of a catcher’s glove as a pitch hits its mark; the crack of a bat as it tears into a fastball, explosive and hopeful, drawing the crowd to their feet. Our list, a roundup of outstanding baseball audiobooks, offers a glimmer of that same ballpark magic with just a few of the greatest stories from our national pastime.
Related to this topic
-
The Best Team Money Can Buy
- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse
- By: Molly Knight
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
BOTH BOOK AND TEAM NEED TO BE BETTER
- By Ray on 09-06-15
By: Molly Knight
-
A Band of Misfits
- Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants
- By: Andrew Baggarly
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
For 53 years, San Francisco waited. Waited for a team like the 2010 Giants to come along. Waited for a team that could end a title drought that started in New York and carried on for more than five decades after a move to the West Coast. Waited for that one magical postseason run that could unleash more than a half-century of pent-up frustration. At long last, the 2010 Giants hopped on that magic carpet and made it happen. San Jose Mercury News beat reporter Andrew Baggarly captured the 2010 Giants' incredible run through the regular season, playoffs and World Series in his new book.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Relived that season!
- By jeff olson on 12-20-18
By: Andrew Baggarly
-
Three Nights in August
- Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
- By: Buzz Bissinger
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Nordling
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 345
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 217
Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Book with good premise follows through
- By Peter on 11-18-05
By: Buzz Bissinger
-
The Grandest Stage
- A History of the World Series
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. And there’s no one better to bring this rich history to life than New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, whose bestselling book about pitching, K, was lauded as “Michelangelo explaining the brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel” by Newsday.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent!
- By DavidF on 09-09-24
By: Tyler Kepner
-
The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 298
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 278
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 275
Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
-
Long Shot
- By: Mike Piazza, Lonnie Wheeler
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Piazza
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a "courtesy pick". The Dodgers never expected him to play for them - or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League Rookie of the Year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star 12 times. Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I only thought i knew the Mike Piazza story
- By James on 03-24-13
By: Mike Piazza, and others
-
The Best Team Money Can Buy
- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse
- By: Molly Knight
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
BOTH BOOK AND TEAM NEED TO BE BETTER
- By Ray on 09-06-15
By: Molly Knight
-
A Band of Misfits
- Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants
- By: Andrew Baggarly
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
For 53 years, San Francisco waited. Waited for a team like the 2010 Giants to come along. Waited for a team that could end a title drought that started in New York and carried on for more than five decades after a move to the West Coast. Waited for that one magical postseason run that could unleash more than a half-century of pent-up frustration. At long last, the 2010 Giants hopped on that magic carpet and made it happen. San Jose Mercury News beat reporter Andrew Baggarly captured the 2010 Giants' incredible run through the regular season, playoffs and World Series in his new book.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Relived that season!
- By jeff olson on 12-20-18
By: Andrew Baggarly
-
Three Nights in August
- Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
- By: Buzz Bissinger
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Nordling
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 345
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 217
Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Book with good premise follows through
- By Peter on 11-18-05
By: Buzz Bissinger
-
The Grandest Stage
- A History of the World Series
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. And there’s no one better to bring this rich history to life than New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, whose bestselling book about pitching, K, was lauded as “Michelangelo explaining the brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel” by Newsday.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent!
- By DavidF on 09-09-24
By: Tyler Kepner
-
The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 298
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 278
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 275
Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
-
Long Shot
- By: Mike Piazza, Lonnie Wheeler
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Piazza
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a "courtesy pick". The Dodgers never expected him to play for them - or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League Rookie of the Year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star 12 times. Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I only thought i knew the Mike Piazza story
- By James on 03-24-13
By: Mike Piazza, and others
-
As They See 'Em
- A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires
- By: Bruce Weber
- Narrated by: Charley Steiner
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 71
Millions of American baseball fans know, with absolute certainty, that umpires are simply overpaid galoots who are doing an easy job badly. Millions of American baseball fans are wrong. As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Judging Umpires
- By Bruce on 11-28-09
By: Bruce Weber
-
108 Stitches
- Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game
- By: Ron Darling, Daniel Paisner - contributor
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
This is New York Times bestselling author and Emmy-nominated broadcaster Ron Darling's 108 baseball anecdotes that connect America’s game to the men who played it. Darling has played with or reported on just about everybody who has put on a uniform since 1983, and they in turn have played with or reported on just about everybody who put on a uniform in a previous generation. Like the 108 stitches on a baseball, Darling's experiences are interwoven with every athlete who has ever played, every coach or manager, and every fan.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Meh
- By Amazon Customer on 04-13-19
By: Ron Darling, and others
-
The Baseball Codes
- By: Jason Turbow, Michael Duca
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 330
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 259
Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), and some of which only a minority of players are even aware of (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box).
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A bit dry, both in content and narration...
- By Everett on 09-17-10
By: Jason Turbow, and others
-
Dollar Sign on the Muscle
- The World of Baseball Scouting
- By: Kevin Kerrane
- Narrated by: Patrick Kerrane
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
Humorous case histories and profiles of great baseball scouts accompany a discussion of the trade secrets of baseball scouts, the economics of scouting, player development, and the history of the profession. In a new epilogue Kevin Kerrane explores the world of baseball scouting in the late 1990s.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good for diehards, but dated and riddled w errors
- By Kindle Customer on 03-02-17
By: Kevin Kerrane
-
The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 42
Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
-
Power Ball
- Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game
- By: Rob Neyer
- Narrated by: Rob Neyer
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Solid overview of Baseball in 2018
- By Tyler Burch on 11-21-18
By: Rob Neyer
-
Summer of '68
- The Season That Changed Baseball - and America - Forever
- By: Tim Wendel
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
From the beginning, ’68 was a season rocked by national tragedy and sweeping change. Opening Day was postponed and later played in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral. That summer, as the pennant races were heating up, the assassination of Robert Kennedy was later followed by rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But even as tensions boiled over and violence spilled into the streets, something remarkable was happening in major league ballparks across the country. Pitchers were dominating like never before, and with records falling and shut-outs mounting, many began hailing ’68 as “The Year of the Pitcher".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detroit Upsets St. Louis in 1968 World Series.
- By Matthew Tsien on 05-01-18
By: Tim Wendel
-
The Chicago Cubs
- Story of a Curse
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 85
For Rich Cohen and millions of other fans, the Chicago Cubs have always been more than a team: they've been the protagonists of a King Arthur epic, in search of the Holy Grail that is winning the World Series. A chronicle of the last few miraculous seasons as experienced through the prism of Cubs history, The Chicago Cubs tracks the famous curse, which was placed on the team in 1945 by the infamous owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, who was ejected from Wrigley Field when he tried to bring his goat into the grandstand for the fifth game of the World Series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
just listen and it all happens again
- By Z. Kuhn on 10-28-17
By: Rich Cohen
-
Where Nobody Knows Your Name
- Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 392
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 359
John Feinstein is one of the most influential sportswriters of the last three decades. In his masterful new audiobook, Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Feinstein delivers a fascinating account of the mysterious proving ground of America’s national pastime, pulling back the veil on the minor leagues of baseball.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Living on the Cusp of a Dream
- By W Perry Hall on 04-09-14
By: John Feinstein
-
Game Six
- Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime
- By: Mark Frost
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
Best-selling author Mark Frost takes listeners back to the 1975 World Series in this thrilling account of the greatest baseball game ever played. The Reds and Red Sox endured three soggy days of inactivity to reach game six. But all that downtime could not prepare them for what happened when the skies finally cleared.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
For the love of Baseball
- By Al on 03-23-10
By: Mark Frost
-
1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever
- By: Bill Madden
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how—and, in practice, when—did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball’s famous black experiment” did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players—Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks—in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America’s public schools.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Acumen bugaboo
- By steve finkelstein on 04-25-21
By: Bill Madden
-
Bums
- An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- By: Peter Golenbock
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Before the team headed to Los Angeles in 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the most colorful and beloved teams in baseball. In Bums, best-selling author Peter Golenbock has compiled a fascinating oral history of the Ebbets Field heroes with recollections from former players, writers, front-office executives, and faithful fans.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A MUST for the true Dodgers or Giants fan!!
- By Karen on 02-25-07
By: Peter Golenbock
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The MVP Machine
- How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 563
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 485
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 481
Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.