Sports Softball

Champion Minds is your gateway to the hallowed secrets of athletic motivation that have catapulted countless sportspeople to the pinnacle of their games. Benefit from the wisdom of the best, and tap into the reservoir of mental fortitude you need to amplify your performance.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are forever intertwined in baseball history thanks to the unforgettable 1961 season, when the two Yankee icons spurred each other to new heights in pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. History has largely overlooked the bond between the two men not as titans of their sport, but as people.

In the plainest of terms, baseball scouts are tasked with seeing the future—a distant future, at that. Baseball's long developmental arc leaves room for plenty of twists and turns on the way to The Show. Some prospects shoot like arrows toward their projected potential, while others fizzle out or chart an unexpected course. Smart, Wrong, and Lucky explores how first impressions measure up to their aftermaths: the draft, years of progression, and for a talented few, major-league success.

Are your young players ready to transition from simply playing the game to truly understanding and conquering it? Play Ball brings professional-level sport psychology techniques to the fore, presenting them in a language that young minds can easily grasp and apply.

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.

There was nobody like Casey before him and no one like him since. For more than 50 years, Casey Stengel lived baseball, first as a player (he was the only person in history to play for all the New York teams - the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, and Mets) and then as a manager (for the Yankees and Mets, among others). He made his biggest mark on the game revolutionizing the role of manager while winning an astounding 10 pennants and seven World Series championships (including five straight!) with the Yankees.

In The Wit and Wisdom of Yogi Berra, author Phil Pepe takes Yogi from St. Louis to New York's Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium, including all the stops along the way - from the days he put soles on women's shoes to his induction into the Baseball's Hall of Fame, when he coined one of his most remembered phrases: "I thank everybody for making this day necessary." Phil Pepe explores Yogi Berra as a boy, player, hero, coach, manager, husband, and father, a buffoon and a human being. He relates all of the Berraisms in an absorbing treatment that is simultaneously comical, thoughtful, and biographical.

It’s no surprise that, with so much exposure to the game, your child has developed an interest in the sport. Every single time they’re around someone who loves baseball, they’re going to hear excited conversations about scores, player performance, and historical clashes between top players. And when your child starts to get curious and ask out-of-the-box questions, they’re going to turn to you for answers.

Every good hitter is fighting a battle.... Do you know what yours is and how to turn it to your advantage on the field? Three out of every four appearances at the plate result in an out. You probably know this...so why are you doubting your skills? To hit like a pro, you need to think like a pro - and that means mastering a specific mental attitude as well as your physical technique.

With his trademark wit and distinctive voice, legendary Ball Four author Jim Bouton recounts his battle against local elites' efforts to replace Wahconah Park, one of the oldest parks in the United States, against the wishes and votes of local citizens. But Foul Ball is more than just a lively romp about saving an old ballpark near Bouton's home in Massachusetts.

The 1980s New York Yankees were loaded with talent - their always-outspoken owner made sure of that. Just Out of Reach: The 1980s New York Yankees is the first-ever book to focus solely on this decade of the team. Featuring nearly 30 all-new, exclusive interviews with players and those close to the team, Just Out of Reach is a fly-on-the-wall view of what was going on behind the scenes and on the field.

If your organization is not performing at its best, this book is for you. It puts you right into the shoes of the leaders of the great baseball dynasties and demonstrates how they overcame challenges common to those in our own teams and groups. Topics include managing and motivating highly talented but dysfunctional individuals, turning around careers that have stalled late in life, better understanding the practical benefits of diversity and inclusion, and inspiring individuals to find their best within the context of their teams.

Bryce Harper's unprecedented ascent to the major leagues, from a 17-year-old first overall draft pick to a headline-creating, 19-year-old rookie center fielder for the Washington Nationals, dropped him into the middle of the best season of D.C. baseball since the Great Depression. Washington Post sports reporters chronicled each moment on and off the field, from his first press conference in Washington, to watching him wash dishes after dinner at his parents' house, to his debut at Dodger Stadium.

Packed with baseball history, interviews with dozens of the MLB's current stars and veterans, and an exclusive, inside look at the day-to-day life of a manager competing for the World Series, LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Skipper is a fascinating look into the highs, the lows, and the inner workings of professional baseball.

Would you love to explore the incredible and exciting history of baseball? Whether you want to (1) learn amazing and interesting facts about baseball history, (2) discover some of baseball’s greatest events and stories, or (3) be thoroughly entertained as you learn how baseball has evolved over the years, this audiobook will give you everything you need to know.

No sport has been more associated with America’s sense of itself, with its identity, than baseball. No sport has been so inextricably bound with America’s traditions—with its notions of democracy and fair play—than baseball. And no professional sport in America has been as dramatically connected to social change as Major League Baseball when it became racially integrated the moment Jackie Robinson took the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

Dive into a home run of inspiration with tales of grit, courage, and heart from baseball's greatest legends, perfectly pitched for young dreamers!

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".

When Joe Torre took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, the most storied franchise in sports had not won a World Series title in 18 years. The famously tough and mercurial owner, George Steinbrenner, had fired 17 managers during that span. Torre's appointment was greeted with Bronx cheers from the notoriously brutal New York media, who cited his record as the player and manager who had been in the most Major League games without appearing in a World Series.

Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs - specifically, anabolic steroids (APEDs) - provide a tempting competitive advantage for amateur baseball players. But this shortcut can exact a fatal cost on talented athletes. In his urgent book Suicide Squeeze, William Kashatus chronicles the experiences of Taylor Hooton and Rob Garibaldi, two promising high school baseball players who abused APEDs in the hopes of attracting professional scouts and Division I recruiters. However, as a result of their steroid abuse, they ended up taking their own lives.