Baseball Memoirs

Baseball's Natural is John Theodore's true account of the slick-fielding first baseman who played for the Cubs and the Phillies in the 1940s and became immortalized in baseball lore as the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's The Natural. Eddie Waitkus grew up in Boston and fought in the Pacific theater in World War II. Following the war, Waitkus became one of the most popular players of his era. In 1949, with his career on the rise, his life changed dramatically in a Chicago hotel when a 19-year-old shot him in the chest.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series tells the story of his own life from childhood to the present, and chronicles the journey that made him the writer he is today. Over the last forty years, Stuart Woods has written more than ninety novels of suspense and...

Muhammad Ali’s daughter captures the legendary heavyweight boxing champion, Olympic Gold medalist, activist, and philanthropist as never before in this candid and intimate family memoir, based on personal recordings he kept throughout his adult life. Athlete. Activist. Champion. Ambassador...

THE TIGER WORE SPIKES—An Informal Biography of Ty Cobb, Baseball's Greatest Player

In many sports, the pinnacle is Wheaties-box fame and notoriety. But in the world of pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is the dilemma that faces Danny Basavich, an affable, generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who flounders through high school until he...

Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the 20th century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him.

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. Mat Memories is Arezzi's chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back - he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.

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.

In 1942, Pete Reiser was on the road to baseball superstardom. Then he crashed into a wall—an unpadded concrete outfield wall as he tried to make a game-saving catch. And for Pete, nothing was ever the same. A year earlier, at age 22, he had won a batting title, a rookie of the year award, and a pennant with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sportswriters could not stop marveling at his skill set, highlighted by a keen batting eye, a rifle throwing arm, and speed that whisked him from home to first in three-point-six seconds.

In this audiobook, you'll find scores of interesting stories about unforgettable moments in the game, and see what the batboy saw as he mingled with legendary players of the 1950s, a time that may well go down as the greatest in American baseball history!

Jon Peters had it all: record-breaking high school baseball pitcher, on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a beautiful girlfriend. He was going to play professional baseball. He was going to have everything he'd ever wanted. Until a shoulder injury and four surgeries changed his life. With dreams shattered, Jon struggled to find value and happiness. After years of searching vainly to make sense of it all, alcohol, a suicide attempt, deep-seated anger, and a failed marriage made him feel even more desperate.

Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt's improbable baseball journey began when the 1915 New York Giants signed him as a high school junior, for no pay and a five-dollar bonus. Based on a trove of Hoyt's writings and interview transcripts, Tim Manners has reanimated the baseball legend's untold story, entirely in Hoyt's own words. Over his twenty-three-year professional baseball career, Hoyt won 237 big league games across 3,845 2/3 innings—and one locker room brawl with Babe Ruth. He writes at length about the art of pitching and how the game and its players changed—and didn't—over his lifetime.

No origin story of the New York Mets is complete without Ed Kranepool. The lefty first baseman known as "Steady Eddie" made his major-league debut at age seventeen during the team's inaugural season and would eventually depart, nearly two decades later, with his name written throughout the franchise's record books. In this definitive autobiography, Kranepool shares a remarkable life story.

Mickey Mantle: a name synonymous with baseball greatness, yet shrouded in mystery. In 7 The Legend, Randall Swearingen, a lifelong fan turned Mantle historian, peels back the myth to reveal the man. Drawing from exclusive teammate stories, this vivid biography uncovers why Mantle was sent to Triple-A in 1951, the true extent of his crippling injuries, and the personal demons he battled off the field. From the roar of Yankee Stadium to the shadows of his conflicted marriage, Mantle’s journey is one of dazzling highs and heart-wrenching lows. Why did opponents name their sons after him?

ボールパークを創りたい、その夢を北海道で実現した男たちの物語

Everything Happens in Chillicothe is an authentic, behind-the-scenes look at the lowest rung of professional baseball, and a biography of Max McLeary, the one-eyed umpire and a most intriguing individual. Author Mike Shannon spent the 2000 Frontier League season attending games with McLeary and gives his account of the season here. The audiobook speaks volumes about umpiring as a profession, relationships (particularly between Max and his estranged son, a minor league player.

Yogi Berra is one of the most popular former athletes in American history and the most quoted American since Abraham Lincoln. Part comedian, part feisty competitor, Berra is also the winningest player in baseball history, with 14 pennants, 10 World Series, and three MVPs.

At fifteen, Willie Horton received his first contract offer to become a professional baseball player. At twenty, he smacked his first major-league home run. At twenty-four, Horton stood in full uniform on the hood of his car, in the midst of burning homes and overturned vehicles, and pleaded for an end to the violence of the 1967 Detroit riots. In this new autobiography, Horton shares the fascinating story of his life and career, from growing up in Detroit's Jeffries Projects as the youngest of twenty-one children to winning a World Series with his hometown Tigers in 1968.

This memoir shares the unique coming of age story of a young college student, utterly devoid of confidence, until he is "recruited" as a semi-professional mascot for a junior hockey team. After a year on the ice, a new opportunity draws him into the world of Minor League Baseball. As the unexpectedly humorous, heartwarming, and (at times) hazardous experiences unfold, the young man finds himself sitting in the hospital with his future wife, weighing the risks of one more season against the potential of one day going pro.

New York Daily News reporter Madden and Klein, of the Newark Star-Ledger, who have covered the Yankees for years, here join forces on a history that may send fans to their handkerchiefs and opponents into laughter. The authors chiefly discuss the period 1977 to 1989, when principal team owner George Steinbrenner converted a stable, conservative, successful franchise into a club characterized by "chaos, confusion, and craziness'' to the point that some top players refuse to sign with the team.