Baseball Life

Sixteen-year-old Matthew McGough was a fairly typical teenager, obsessed with getting through high school, girls, and baseball, not necessarily in that order. His passion for the New York Yankees was absolute, complete with a poster of his hero, Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, hanging on his bedroom wall.

As one of America's oldest and most beloved sports, baseball has long been touted as the national pastime, but of all the millions of people who have played it over the last few centuries, few have influenced Major League Baseball like Ty Cobb, whose career spanned over 20 seasons. The Georgia Peach overcame early hardships to set nearly 100 MLB records in his time as a player and player-manager for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics.

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, teams of Black and White men playing with and against each other. One of the first Black men to play on such a team was Moses Fleetwood Walker, and he was the first who openly identified as Black.

Larry Sasso has three passions in life: teaching, working with young adults, and helping clients become financially independent. He has now turned his passions into Get in the Game, a guide to personal finances and life for young adults. Using his unique perspective as a softball and baseball coach, Larry teaches young adults how to get on the path to financial independence. Along the way, he teaches broader lessons about life, starting a career, and leadership. The lessons are delivered in a fun, easy-listening format.

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.

Given the passage of time, people tend to debate how good Ruth would be today, including most recently a current MLB reliver, Adam Ottavino, who claimed he would strike out Ruth every time. That claim became even more controversial when Ottavino joined none other than the Yankees ahead of the 2019 season, which led to the reliever walking back some of the comments. But even as far back as 1929, Bucky Harris may have foreseen debates of this kind by pointing out, “These other home run hitters are neck and neck. When the Babe was doing his stuff, he was miles ahead of his field."

Twelve-year-old House Jackson, star pitcher and team captain of the Aurora County All-Stars, has been sidelined for a whole sorry year with a broken elbow. He's finally ready to play, but wouldn't you know that the team's only game of the year has been scheduled for the exact same time as the town's 200th-anniversary pageant. Now House must face the pageant's director, full-of-herself Frances Shotz (his nemesis and perpetrator of the elbow break), and get his team out of this mess.

On or off the field, Ben and Matt couldn't be more different. Ben Roberson is an all-or-nothing player: He's big, he's bold, and he's brash. Ben's swing can hit a ball right out of the park - but that's if he can get a hit at all. Matt Baker is small and shy, and his stutter has him avoiding the spotlight - even if he’s the best all-around player on the team. But while Matt knows he's got the chops, a part of him has always envied "Big Ben" and his attention-grabbing charm.

I'm nobody's baby daddy. I don't care how many stunning women throw themselves at me, looking to turn one hot night into an 18-year paycheck. I've got way too much on the line to throw it away for one night of pleasure. Ball is life, and basketball is my first priority. I've got a championship to win. But when I see that familiar face shaking her pom-poms on the sidelines, I'm transported back to childhood, back to the days before a fiery plane crash ripped us apart, forcing us to grow up overnight.

Forget the steroid-addled, overpaid, and unmotivated players: America's pastime is still alive and well and is still the heartfelt sport it's always been...in the minor leagues. And nowhere is this truer than in Kentucky, whose rich baseball history continues to play out in the four teams profiled in this audiobook. Following these teams through the 2010 season - the triumphs, struggles, and big-league hopes and dreams - the book tells the larger story of baseball in America's smaller venues.

In My Long Journey Home: Discovering Life After the Game, Rick Williams bares his soul in a captivating and inspiring memoir that will appeal to both men and women alike. As a former minor league baseball player who faced the crushing disappointment of being released from the Atlanta Braves organization, Williams found himself spiraling out of control. He turned to drugs, womanizing, and other destructive behaviors to cope with the pain and loss. For years, he felt rejected and alone, and the fallout from a contentious custody battle with his two oldest children left him shattered.

Roger Kahn is one of America's foremost sportswriters. After successful seasons as a newspaperman and magazine writer, he burst onto the national scene in 1972 with his memorable bestseller, The Boys of Summer, a work that went beyond sports and captured the minds and hearts of millions across the country. Now in his eighth decade, Kahn has again written a book for the hearts and minds of his readers.

Maggie Fortini doesn't play baseball but is a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jim Maine is a Giants fan whom who teaches Maggie the fine art of scoring a baseball game. Jim is drafted into the army and sent to Korea, and although Maggie writes to him often, his silence is just one of a string of disappointments - being a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the early 1950s meant season after season of near misses and dashed hopes.

In descriptions of athletes, the word “hero” is bandied about and liberally attached to players with outstanding statistics and championship rings. Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life is the story of a man who epitomized heroism in its truest meaning, holding values and personal interactions to be of utmost importance throughout his life - on the diamond, as a marine in World War II, and in his personal and civic life.

How does an undrafted free agent and two-sport college walk-on end up in a Chicago White Sox uniform? With a college football career derailed by mononucleosis and a college baseball career shattered by rotator cuff surgery, Brian Kent's narrative will motivate any athlete. Follow the journey from high school to college(s); from the dojo to the independent leagues; and from personal training to a White Sox contract.

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.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd gives an honest account of how he has kept his faith in God despite all the trials and temptions associated with the Major League Baseball lifestyle.

Ethan Bryan played and wrote about baseball for years. Then his daughters challenged him to set out on a yearlong experiment: to play catch with someone every day. This experience led him across 10 states and 12,000 miles on a quest both quixotic and inspiring. Taking you from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the home of the Daytona Tortugas in Florida, Bryan played ball and swapped stories with public school teachers, veterans, journalists, nurses, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, athletes from every level, and members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

The 1947 World Series was "the most exciting ever" in the words of Joe DiMaggio, with a decade's worth of drama packed into seven games between the mighty New York Yankees and underdog Brooklyn Dodgers. It was Jackie Robinson's first Series, a postwar spectacle featuring Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, and President Harry Truman in supporting roles. It was also the first televised World Series - sportswriters called it "Electric October".

Exploring a pitching career that began with a complete-game victory over Hall of Famer Don Drysdale in 1964 and ended when he could no longer control his pitches, this book details the life of Pittsburgh Pirates great Steve Blass. This insider's view of the humorous and bizarre journey of a World Series champion pitcher turned color commentator will delight Pirates and baseball fans alike.