Author : David Stevens
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 46,39 MB
Release : 1998
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780810834545
The first biography of one of the most adventurous and influential figures in baseball history.
Author : Roger Angell
Publisher : Open Road Media
Page : 444 pages
File Size : 21,5 MB
Release : 2013-02-05
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 1453297812
A chronicle of our national pastime’s most unforgettable era from the bestselling author of The Summer Game—“No one writes better about baseball” (The Boston Globe). Classic New Yorker sportswriter Roger Angell calls 1972 to 1976 “the most important half-decade in the history of the game.” The early to mid-1970s brought unprecedented changes to America’s ancient pastime: astounding performances by Nolan Ryan and Hank Aaron; the intensity of the “best-ever” 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox; the changes growing from bitter and extended labor strikes and lockouts; and the vast new influence of network television on the game. Angell, always a fan as well as a writer, casts a knowing but noncynical eye on these events, offering a fresh perspective to baseball’s continuing appeal during this brilliant and transformative era.
Author : Roger Angell
Publisher : Open Road Media
Page : 1335 pages
File Size : 47,15 MB
Release : 2013-11-18
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 1480465615
From “the clear-eyed poet laureate of baseball”—a definitive collection of three nonfiction classics chronicling MLB into the modern age (New York Post). In these three classic volumes, legendary New Yorker sportswriter Roger Angell chronicles the triumphs, travails, heroes, and history of America’s favorite pastime. In The Summer Game, Angell covers ten seasons in the major leagues from the 1960s to the early 1970s. With his signature panache, Angell captures the flavor of the game and the spirit of legends such as Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, and Willie Mays. In Five Seasons, Angell covers the mid-1970s, which he calls “the most important half-decade in the history of the game.” From the accomplishments of Nolan Ryan and Hank Aaron to the rising influence of network television, Angell offers a fresh perspective on this transformative period. And in Season Ticket, Angell recounts the larger-than-life narratives of baseball in the mid-1980s. Diving into subjects including the notorious 1986 World Series and the Curse of the Bambino, Sparky Anderson’s Detroit Tigers, and performance-enhancing drug use, Angell offers insights that are crucial to understanding the game as we know it today.
Author : Paul Hensler
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 31,69 MB
Release : 2017-10-06
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 1538102609
The 1960s were among the most compelling years in the history of the United States, from the intensifying clamor for civil rights to the tragic incidents of assassination and war. Caught up in this sea of restlessness was major league baseball, and the manner in which baseball addressed the challenges of this decade would have a lasting impact on the game. In The New Boys of Summer: Baseball's Radical Transformation in the Late Sixties, Paul Hensler looks at the key issues confronting baseball during this tumultuous time. Hensler carefully examines how domestic racial issues, the war in Vietnam, assassinations of prominent public figures, youthful rebellion, and drug use each placed their imprint on the game just as baseball was about to celebrate its centennial season. The expansion of both the American and National leagues is also covered in depth, as are the new divisional alignments and major rule changes that were implemented in 1969. Other factors impacting the national pastime include the appointment of Bowie Kuhn as commissioner, the rising influence of Marvin Miller as the director of the players association, the construction of modern stadiums, and the rapid developments in information technology. An earlier generation of players was venerated as the Boys of Summer, and indeed, they continue to hold their rightful place in baseball’s legend and lore; but in the late 1960s, a fresh cast of characters made their own mark as transformations in the game brought baseball into the new modern era. Baseball historians and fans alike will be entertained and informed by this fresh look at the national pastime in the decade of discontent.
Author : Richard L. Sartore
Publisher : Nova Publishers
Page : 104 pages
File Size : 25,65 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781560724643
Author : Alyson Footer
Publisher : Limited Publishing Incorporated DBA Tate Publishing Company
Page : 431 pages
File Size : 43,62 MB
Release : 2006-01-01
Category : Baseball
ISBN : 9780976991809
Author : Chris Ballard
Publisher : Hachette Books
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 15,44 MB
Release : 2012-05-15
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 140130432X
"One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart." -- Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town. "Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." -- Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune
Author : David Falkner
Publisher : Crown
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 26,52 MB
Release : 1986
Category : Baseball
ISBN : 9780812912661
Author : Rob Neyer
Publisher : Harper
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 23,87 MB
Release : 2018-10-09
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780062853615
“Winner of the 2018 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year.” 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. On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book. Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft. As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.
Author : Matthew Silverman
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 16,49 MB
Release : 2013-03-21
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 0762793236
Interest and attendance were dropping, and football was ascending. Stuck in a rut, baseball was dying. Then Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, a second-division club with wife-swapping pitchers, leaving the House That Ruth Built not with a slam but a simper. He vowed not to interfere—before soon changing his mind. Across town, Tom Seaver led the Mets’ stellar pitching line-up, and iconic outfielder Willie Mays was preparing to say goodbye. For months, the Mets, under Yogi Berra, couldn’t get it right. Meanwhile, the A’s were breaking a ban on facial hair while maverick owner Charlie Finley was fighting to keep them underpaid. But beneath the muttonchops and mayhem, lay another world. Elvis commanded a larger audience than the Apollo landings. A Dodge Dart cost $2,800, gas was a quarter per gallon. A fiscal crisis loomed; Vietnam had ended, the vice president resigned, and Watergate had taken over. It was one of the most exciting years in the game’s history, the first with the designated hitter and the last before arbitration and free agency. The two World Series opponents went head-to-head above the baby steps of a dynasty that soon dwarfed both league champions. It was a turbulent time for the country and the game, neither of which would ever be the same again.
