Sports Softball

Roger Kahn's first major league hit was a grand slam: The Boys of Summer, his runaway best seller that immortalized the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. Now Kahn does the same for players whose moment in the sun has not yet arrived. Good Enough to Dream is the story of his year as owner of the Class A, very minor league, Utica Blue Sox. Most of the Blue Sox will never make it to the majors, but they all share the dream that links the small child in the sandlot with the bonus baby who has just smacked one out of the stadium.

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. For a hundred years, no two teams have locked horns as fiercely or as frequently, and no two seasons frame the colossal battle more perfectly than 2003 and 2004. Now, with incredible energy and access, leading sports columnist Mike Vaccaro chronicles the history of the greatest rivalry in sports, and the two stunning American League Championship Series that define a century of baseball.

The philosopher Jacques Barzun thought that "whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball". And whoever wants to know baseball had better learn about umpires. As Larry Gerlach points out in The Men in Blue, these arbiters transform competitive chaos into organized sport. They make it possible to "play ball", but nobody loves them.Considering the abuse meted out by fans and players, why would any sane person want to be an umpire? Many reasons emerge in conversations with a dozen former major-league arbiters.

O mundo dos esportes leva à loucura milhares de fãs que acompanham de perto cada partida, aflitos com as possibilidades criadas pelo acaso. Mas um homem se recusou a aceitar a suposta aleatoriedade de uma das maiores paixões dos americanos: o beisebol. Como gerente geral de um dos times de menor orçamento da grande liga, Billy Beane impôs uma gestão mais racional, uma nova perspectiva sobre o beisebol, e usou um alto conhecimento em matemática para determinar o modo de jogar e selecionar os atletas contratados pela equipe.

Rick Ankiel had the talent to be one of the best pitchers ever. Then, one day, he lost it. The Phenomenon is the story of how St. Louis Cardinals prodigy Rick Ankiel lost his once-in-a-generation ability to pitch - not due to an injury or a bolt of lightning, but a mysterious anxiety condition widely known as "the Yips". It came without warning, in the middle of a playoff game, with millions of people watching. And it has never gone away.

Home run slugger Sylvester Coddmyer the Third has an amazing secret. For three seasons, he's been coached by men who look exactly like baseball legends: Babe Ruth, Eddie Cicotte, and Mickey Mantle. Are these men just impersonating famous ballplayers, as his friend Duane insists? Or are they from the "beyond," as Snooky Malone believes?

In The Old Ball Game, Frank Deford, NPR sports commentator and Sports Illustrated journalist retells the story of an unusual friendship between two towering figures in baseball history.

Millions of American baseball fans know, with absolute certainty, that umpires are simply overpaid galoots who are doing an easy job badly. Millions of American baseball fans are wrong. As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true.

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.

Discover the three things that you can do to shore up your weak areas, boost your strengths, and equip yourself to play at your very best each and every time you hit the field. From physical exercises designed to strengthen your arms and body to mental tips that will keep your mind in the game, the proven strategies in this book will help you to improve your overall playing ability!

From 2004 to 2011, Terry "Tito" Francona managed the Boston Red Sox, the most talked about, scrutinized team in all of sports. In Francona the legendary manager opens up for the first time about his eight years there, as they went from cursed franchise to one of the most successful and profitable in baseball history. He takes readers inside the rarefied world of a 21st-century clubhouse, from 2004 when they won their first championship in 86 years, through another win in 2007, to the controversial September collapse just four years later.

Keith Hernandez revolutionized the role of first baseman. During his illustrious career with the World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, he was a perennial fan favorite, earning eleven consecutive Gold Gloves, a National League co-MVP Award, and a batting title. But it was his unique blend of intelligence, humor, and talent - not to mention his unflappable leadership, playful antics, and competitive temperament - that transcended the sport and propelled him to a level of renown that few other athletes have achieved.

Whether you are a new coach starting out or an experienced coach looking for some help, this is the book for you! After 18 years of playing baseball and many more coaching, I have compiled what I have learned over the years in this ultimate guide to coaching baseball. Be it the general rules of the game, tips and tricks, or how to overcome failure, this book has you covered.

Weaving elements of memoir, philosophical reflection, sports writing, and humour, Fail Better is an intellectual love letter to baseball by one of North America's most engaging philosophers. Kingwell illustrates complex concepts like theoretically infinite game-space, "time out of time", and the rules of civility with accessible examples drawn from the game, its history, and his own halting efforts to hit 'em where they ain't.

Humorous case histories and profiles of great baseball scouts accompany a discussion of the trade secrets of baseball scouts, the economics of scouting, player development, and the history of the profession. In a new epilogue Kevin Kerrane explores the world of baseball scouting in the late 1990s.

Babe Ruth grew from his adolescence in a Baltimore orphanage into a baseball superstar and national treasure. But he was also a product of his time, the colorful 1920s and 1930s. A sparkling collage of narratives from “the Babe”, those who knew him, and the media makes this an exceptional biography as well as a work of cultural history.

Daniela's life gets crazy when Cooper Burke shows up. Her heart won't let her walk away from him. Daniela doesn't believe in second chances, but she can't forget Cooper. His reappearance sets off a series of frightening events that leave Daniela reeling. She doesn't want to suspect Cooper, but can't avoid it. Her steamy love affair with the hunky baseball star becomes intertwined with the acts of a stalker who is harassing her. Daniela fears she is being set up for heartbreak, while danger swirls around her.

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.

Moneyball is a quest for something that money can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected by a brotherhood of baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, and physics professors. These numbers prove that the traditional measure of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. This information has been around for years, and nobody paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A's.

For more than a decade, New York University president John Sexton has used baseball to illustrate the elements of a spiritual life in a wildly popular course at NYU. Using great works of baseball literature as well as the actual game’s fantastic moments, its legendary characters, and its routine rituals - from the long-sought triumph of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers to the heroic achievements of players like the saintly Christy Mathewson and the sinful Ty Cobb to the loving intimacy of a game of catch between a father and son - Sexton teaches that through the game we can touch the spiritual dimensions of life.