Try Not to Suck
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Join more than 145,000 players and coaches who have found playing heads-up baseball helps them overcome the failure, frustration, and fear the game throws at you each day and instead play with confidence, consistency, and composure under pressure. Talent, strength, and great mechanics don't matter if you can't compete in games. Developed by working with elite players and coaches over the past 40 years, the strategies and tools in this audiobook (an "upgrade" to the classic 1994 edition) arm you with the approach you need to find out how good you can be at baseball.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Power Ball
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The Captain
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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.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
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Teammate
- My Journey in Baseball and a World Series for the Ages
- By: David Ross, Don Yaeger, Theo Epstein - foreword
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 305
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 279
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 276
In 2016 the Cubs snapped a 108-year curse, winning the World Series in a history-making, seven-game series against the Cleveland Indians. Of the many storylines to Chicago's fairytale season, one stood out: the late-career renaissance of David Ross, the 39-year-old catcher who had played back-up for 13 of his 15 pro seasons. Beyond Ross's remarkably strong play, he became the ultimate positive force in the Cubs locker room, mentoring and motivating his fellow players, some of them nearly 20 years his junior.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Grandpa Rossy
- By MeDi on 05-21-17
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The Cubs Way
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- By: Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Tom Verducci
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 652
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
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Story5 out of 5 stars 602
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Masterpiece
- By Bob on 08-14-17
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Heads-Up Baseball 2.0: 5 Skills for Competing One Pitch at a Time
- By: Dr. Ken Ravizza, Dr. Tin Hanson
- Narrated by: Michael Haytack
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Join more than 145,000 players and coaches who have found playing heads-up baseball helps them overcome the failure, frustration, and fear the game throws at you each day and instead play with confidence, consistency, and composure under pressure. Talent, strength, and great mechanics don't matter if you can't compete in games. Developed by working with elite players and coaches over the past 40 years, the strategies and tools in this audiobook (an "upgrade" to the classic 1994 edition) arm you with the approach you need to find out how good you can be at baseball.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great for coaches and players
- By Katie on 01-10-20
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Power Ball
- Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game
- By: Rob Neyer
- Narrated by: Rob Neyer
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Solid overview of Baseball in 2018
- By Tyler Burch on 11-21-18
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Let's Play Two
- The Legend of Mr. Cub, the Life of Ernie Banks
- By: Ron Rapoport
- Narrated by: Charley Steiner
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
The definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players, by acclaimed journalist Ron Rapoport.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Story, A must read for Ernie Banks fans
- By Shank on 03-17-20
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The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 160
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
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Astroball
- The New Way to Win It All
- By: Ben Reiter
- Narrated by: Ben Reiter
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 839
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 745
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 741
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.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Now a book on cheating?
- By Danika R. on 02-01-20
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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
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 334
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A wonderful glimpse into the next level of player development
- By Bryan Eisenberg on 06-08-19
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The Mental Game of Baseball
- A Guide to Peak Performance
- By: H.A. Dorfman, Karl Kuehl, Rick Wolff - foreword
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 22
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
In this book, authors H.A. Dorfman and Karl Kuehl present their practical and proven strategy for developing the mental skills needed to achieve peak performance at every level of the game. The theory and applications are illustrated by anecdotes and insights from major and minor league players, who at some point discovered the importance of mastering the inner game in order to play baseball as it should be played. Intended for players, managers, coaches, agents, and administrators as well as fans who want a more in-depth look at the makeup of the complete baseball player.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Dry but great information
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Ninety Percent Mental
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- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
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In Ninety Percent Mental, Bob Tewksbury shows listeners a side of the game only he can provide, given his singular background as both a longtime MLB pitcher and a mental skills coach for two of the sport's most fabled franchises, the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. Fans watching the game on television or even at the stadium don't have access to the mind games a pitcher must play in order to get through an at-bat, an inning, a game. Tewksbury explores the fascinating psychology behind baseball, such as how players use techniques of imagery, self-awareness, and strategic thinking to maximize performance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unique and fascinating perspective
- By elizabeth on 04-11-18
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The Wax Pack
- On the Open Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
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Is there life after baseball? Starting from this simple question, The Wax Pack ends up with something much bigger and unexpected - a meditation on the loss of innocence and the gift of impermanence, for both Brad Balukjian and the former ballplayers he tracked down. To get a truly random sample of players, Balukjian followed this wildly absurd but fun-as-hell premise: he took a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 (the first year he collected cards), opened it, chewed the nearly 30-year-old gum inside, gagged, and then embarked on a quest to find all the players in the pack.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely a joy to listen to
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The Matheny Manifesto
- A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life
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Mike Matheny was just 41, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results.
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4 out of 5 stars
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If your a youth coach, get this book
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The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told
- Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond
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- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 76
At a 1931 barnstorming exhibition game in Tennessee, a 17-year-old pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back. Her name was Jackie Mitchell - "organized baseball's first girl pitcher." In July 1970, a stripper rushed onto the field at Riverfront Stadium to kiss Johnny Bench, temporarily disrupting a game attended by President Nixon and his family. These are just some of the great, quirky, and comic moments in the annals of baseball recorded in The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not what I was expecting... at all
- By keith on 04-16-17
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Wooden
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- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 582
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 496
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Story5 out of 5 stars 488
Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. In honest and telling passages about virtually every aspect of life, Coach shares his personal philosophy on family, achievement, success, and excellence. Raised on a small farm in south-central Indiana, he offers lessons and wisdom learned throughout his career at UCLA, and life as a dedicated husband, father, and teacher.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gold
- By A. Sanders on 07-30-18
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The Arm
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 497
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 496
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A MUST READ for every youth baseball parent and coach
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Baseball Cop
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
From a lead officer of Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations, the unprecedented and explosive inside story of the dark side of MLB and its complicity in computer hacking, human trafficking, and other shady dealings. Written with acclaimed and award-winning investigative journalists Teri Thompson and Christian Red. Baseball Cop is the story of Eddie Dominguez, a decorated member of the Boston Police Department who worked for Major League Baseball first as a Resident Security Agent for the Boston Red Sox and then as an officer for the league's newly founded Department of Investigations (DOI).
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5 out of 5 stars
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His insight is out of the park
- By H Hartson on 02-05-19
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K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than 300 people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Perfect Baseball Book
- By Jordan on 05-21-19
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Belichick
- The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 21 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 450
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 397
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 396
From a New York Times best-selling author, the definitive biography of the NFL’s most enigmatic, controversial, and yet successful coach, Bill Belichick. Veteran sports writer and award-winning author Ian O’Connor delves into the mind of the man who has earned a place among coaching legends like Lombardi, Halas, and Paul Brown, presenting sides of Belichick that have previously been unexplored. O’Connor discovers how this legendary coach shaped the people he met and worked with in ways perhaps even Belichick himself doesn’t know.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Book
- By Amazon Customer on 01-09-19
Publisher's Summary
With his irreverant personality, laid-back approach, and penchant for the unexpected, Joe Maddon is a singular presence among Major League Baseball managers. Whether he's bringing clowns and live bear cubs to spring training or leading the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in 108 years, Maddon is always one to watch.
In Try Not to Suck, ESPN's Jesse Rogers and MLB.com's Bill Chastain fully explore Maddon's life and career, delving behind the scenes and dissecting that mystique which makes Maddon so popular with players and analysts alike. Packed with insight, anecdotes, and little-known facts, this is the definitive account of the curse-breaker and trailblazer at the helm of the Cubs' new era.
Critic Reviews
"A solid baseball book about a fascinating man." (Booklist)
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