From the genesis of baseball in the 1840s, when so-called "e;kranks"e; cheered the teams of their choice, fans have been an ever-present component of the sport.
“Baseball’s most eloquent analyst” demonstrates why he has “long since attained the status of national treasure,” in this classic essay collection (The New York Times Book Review).
The Big Red Machine dominated major league baseball in the 1970s, but the Cincinnati franchise began its climb to that pinnacle in 1961, when an unlikely collection of cast-offs and wannabes stunned the baseball world by winning the National League pennant.
For the reader interested in learning more about working in sports--or the fan that wants a look at what those inside the radio booth go through day-to-day--this book contains the secrets and successes of minor league baseball broadcasters with a combined century of experience telling the story of America's pastime.
This history of America's pastime describes the evolution of baseball from early bat and ball games to its growth and acceptance in different regions of the country.
Although very few baseball games end with a final score of one to zero, and such a score line might suggest a contest devoid of drama, nothing could be further from the truth.
For many New Yorkers, the removal of the Brooklyn Dodgers--perhaps the most popular baseball team of all time--to Los Angeles in 1957 remains one of the most traumatic events since World War II.
Dating back to the Gas House Gang of the 1930s and up to the clubs most recent World Championship in 2006, being a Cardinal has meant a style of play, a level of dedication, and a pride in being a member of a special group.
As the companion volume to Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1860-1901: Operating by Any Means Necessary, Lomax's new book continues to chronicle the history of black baseball in the United States.
The Seventh Inning Stretch, by noted baseball expert Josh Pahigian addresses all of the most interesting baseball arguments, however frivolous, that fans have been engaging in for decades, and even a few they may have never stopped to consider before.
For more than 35 years, the very best in baseball predictions and statisticsThe industry's longest-running publication for baseball analysts and fantasy leaguers, Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster, published annually since 1986, is the first book to approach prognostication by breaking performance down into its component parts.
Baseball during the late 1800s and the Deadball Era was filled with aggressive, hard-nosed players who had no qualms about exhibiting belligerent behavior while tenaciously achieving victory on the diamond.
The Immaculate Inning shines a light on the miracle of baseball's endless possibilitythe way that on any given day, someone (maybe a star, or maybe a scrub) could perform the rarest of single-game feats or cap off a seemingly unobtainable chase for a record.
Sweet Lou and the Cubs chronicles from the inside-out Lou Piniella's stirring and celebrated quest to reverse the team's fortunes after a record 100 years without a World Series championship.
In the 111-year-history of the Boston Red Sox, fans have been treated to countless firsts the first manager of the franchise (Jimmy Collins), the first American League MVP to play for the Sox (Tris Speaker), the first 20-game winner (Bill Dineen), the first to hit 500 home runs (Ted Williams), and the first Red Sox pitcher to win the Cy Young Award (Roger Clemens).
For six extraordinary years around the turn of the millennium, the Yankees were baseball's unstoppable force, with players such as Paul O'Neill, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera.
One Sunday afternoon in August 1965, on a day when baseballs most storied rivals, the Giants and Dodgers, vied for the pennant, the national pastime reflected the tensions in society and nearly sullied two men forever.
This book completes the series of histories of the clubs and players responsible for making baseball the national pastime that began with Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (McFarland 2011).
Joe McCarthy was headed towards a career as a plumber--until the parish priest intervened, and convinced McCarthy's mother that he could make more of himself in baseball.