Baseball Life

In his first fourteen seasons, as a pitcher for the Giants, Christy Mathewson never won fewer than twenty games in a season, and he almost single-handedly won the 1905 World Series. In 1918, though age thirty-eight and exempt from military service, he enlisted for World War I, where he exposed himself to nearly lethal amounts of mustard gas as he taught soldiers how to put on gas masks. When he returned home, he was diagnosed with lung problems and tuberculosis, which led to his untimely death at the age of forty-five.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The superbly researched, spellbindingly told story of athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary breaker Leroy “Satchel” Paige “Among the rare biographies of an athlete that transcend sports . . . gives us the man as well as the myth.”—The Boston Globe...

Paul Pryor was a man of many talents. He’s remembered as one of the most highly regarded umpires in major league history, having officiated 3,094 major league games over a 21-year career (1961-1982). Before his call to the major leagues, he logged many years as a minor league pitcher and umpire, some under the most trying of circumstances. He was an accomplished and highly sought after banquet speaker, an outstanding writer and teacher, and a successful entrepreneur and businessman. But most important, he remained a devoted husband and father, whose family’s well-being was always ...

One of the most endearing of American heroes, Casey Stengel guided the New York Yankees to ten pennants in twelve seasons. Here is the brilliant manager stripped naked - the person underneath all the clowning, mugging, and double-talking.

Robert Creamer shows us Casey at twenty-two, famous from his very first day in the big leagues. We see Casey's playing career fall apart as he is traded, shunted to last-place teams, hampered by injuries, considered finished - until he bats a glorious home run in the 1923 World Series.

The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig. Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend—the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his...

With heart-pounding descriptions of avalanches and treacherous ascents, Barry Blanchard chronicles his transformation from a poor Native American/white kid from the wrong side of the tracks to one of the most respected alpinists in the world. At thirteen, he learned to rappel when he joined the...

Given his legacy, many Americans today believe Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play in Major League Baseball, but that answer is wrong. As far back as the late 19th century, there had been professional baseball leagues that were every bit as segregated as any other aspect of society, but before that, there were, for a brief shining moment, there were teams of black and white men playing with and against each other.

A real-life story of love, perseverance, in the Land of the Rising Sun. This book is like "Lost in Translation" meets "Green Street Hooligans," as we follow McKnight in his struggles to fit into the rigid Japanese workplace, searching for true love, and immersing himself in the fascinating culture that surrounds him. It's a unique look at life through the eyes of a foreigner in Japan, who eventually finds success and happiness.in his adopted homeland. So strap yourself in and get ready for a wild ride through the streets of Tokyo, Osaka, and the backroads of rural Japan, in Part III of the ...

Acclaimed sportswriter Allen Barra exposes the uncanny parallels - and lifelong friendship - between two of the greatest baseball players ever to take the field. Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light-years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age and almost the same size, and they came to New York at the same time. They possessed virtually the same talents and played the same position. They were both products of generations of baseball-playing families, for whom the game was the only escape from a lifetime of brutal manual labor.

Joe Farrell, Joe Farley, and Lawrence Knorr have combed New York and Pennsylvania for the gravesites and biographies of some of our most interesting and accomplished sports figures. Included in this volume are: Alan Ameche “The Horse” William “Willie” Law Anderson “Golf’s Forgotten Legend” Paul Arizin “Pitchin’ Paul” Don Richard “Ritchie” Ashburn “His Whiteness” De Bonneville “Bert” Bell “Modern Football’s Founding Father” Billy Conn “The Pittsburgh Kid” James “Jim” Crowley and Harry Stuhldreher “Half the Horsemen” Joe William Frazier “...

What if Studs Terkel wrote a book with Bill James? You'd have a book on what it's really like to make a living in the world of baseball. For everyone who ever dreamed of making their love of baseball into their vocation, Working at the Ballpark will provide a view at their lives that might have been, with interviews with more than 50 people who make a living in major league baseball. Each is asked the same questions: What is your job? How did you get into this line of work? What does this job mean to you?

Discover the transformative New York Times bestseller—a step-by-step manual for mastering your inner mind for peak performance and living your life to the fullest. As a professional baseball player, Jim Murphy’s sense of worth revolved around results. He was focused on achievement but also...

On his 11th birthday, Jackson is nervous about moving up to middle school where he knows he'll be bullied by older kids, so he makes his wish, "I don't want to grow up!" When his 12th birthday rolls around, he discovers his wish came true: he's still 11, and he's starting fifth grade (again). At first, this is the perfect life. Jackson is the smartest kid in his class, the best on his baseball team, and the star of the school band. But after a few years of being eleven, he realizes his life is passing him by.

A disastrous error on the field sends five lives into a tailspin in this widely acclaimed tale about love, life, and baseball. “Wonderful ... a novel that is every bit as entertaining as it is affecting.” —The New York Times “First novels this complete and consuming come along very, very...

He was the biggest man baseball has ever produced. Babe Ruth transcended the sport that brought him fame, money, and adulation, moving beyond the limits of baselines and outfield fences into the mainstream of American life. In this extraordinary biography, Creamer uncovers the complex and captivating man behind the legend.

Whether they wore white stockings or blue helmets, the baseball players of Chicago’s North Side have always had great stories to tell. Now fans of this loveable franchise will finally get to hear from 28 of the best players as they relive that singular moment which defined their Cubs career. In this newly updated edition of Game of My Life: Chicago Cubs, veteran sportswriter Lew Freedman brings listeners off the bench and onto the field with such greats as Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and more.

By the New York Times bestselling author of Showtime—the source for HBO’s Winning Time—the definitive biography of mythic multi-sport star Bo Jackson. From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums...

What does it really take to become a baseball legend? It is not just talent. It is discipline. Resilience. Courage under pressure. And the determination to keep showing up when quitting would be easier. Baseball Legends You Should Know introduces young readers to 28 of the most iconic players in baseball history, from trailblazers and record breakers to quiet leaders and modern superstars. Each story goes beyond statistics to reveal the character, mindset, and life lessons that shaped these athletes into legends. Designed for kids who love sports and parents who value strong role models, ...

Meet Me in a Mile & Best Christmas Choir has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher...

Discover the definitive biography of Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees icon, winner of 10 World Series championships, and the most-quoted player in baseball history. Lawrence "Yogi" Berra was never supposed to become a major league ballplayer. That's what his immigrant father told him. That's...