Sports Softball

Exclusive interviews with the top athletes in sports today. Trust the Grind: How World-Class Athletes Got to the Top reveals how these men and women reached the heights of their profession so that you can too. Each chapter tells a different story, as each superstar shares the habit that helped them accomplish their goals and reach the pinnacle of their profession.

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.

Bret Boone made history in 1992 as the first third-generation major leaguer in baseball history. A five-foot-ten firecracker who was spurned by scouts for his small size, supposed lack of power, and temper tantrums (one scout called him a "helmet-throwing terror"), Bret didn't care about family legacy; he wanted to make his own way. He did just that, building a 14-year career that included three all-star appearances, four Gold Gloves, a bout with alcoholism, and the ignominy of being traded for the infamous "player to be named later."

After a decade starring for the St. Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols is already compared with names in the highest reaches of baseball’s pantheon: Ruth, Gehrig, Aaron, Mays. Slugging his way toward the Hall of Fame, Pujols has raised the game’s standard for greatness almost beyond any statistical measure.

The Teammates is the profoundly moving story of four great baseball players who have made the passage from sports icons - when they were young and seemingly indestructible - to men dealing with the vulnerabilities of growing older. At the core of the audiobook is the friendship of these four very different men - Boston Red Sox teammates Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Ted Williams - who remained close for more than 60 years.

One of the most respected and successful athletes ever to grace a major-league pitcher's mound, Orel Hershiser had an approach to the game that put him in a class by himself. Now that he's retired, this Cy Young Award winner, MVP of division- and World Series-winning teams, and Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" looks back on the people, events, and decisions that most affected his life, on the field and off.

What’s the Endgame is a guidebook designed to help families navigate youth baseball, written by former All-American outfielder at Kansas State University and professional baseball player Sean Collins, who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1989.

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.

This summer, Kate Kellner is firing on all cylinders. She was offered the chance to play summer softball with the Weatherfield Trailblazers, she’s reconciled with her best friend, Ty, and with Grady by her side, she feels like anything’s possible. But this outlook on life only takes her so far. After all, she can’t just become a new person overnight. Grady’s looking forward to spending a relaxing and lazy summer with Kate. He plans to work during the day, watch her softball games at night, and spend every available hour left just soaking up the sun and living his best life.

From Jackie Robinson to Aaron Judge; from newsrooms filled with hundreds of teletype machines droning like an army of cicadas to the sleek yet ruthless digital age, keen baseball fans will devour these tales of America's pastime against the backdrop of a rapidly changing media and cultural landscape.

Dive into the world of youth baseball with The Youth Baseball Handbook, the ultimate guide to mastering the sport, regardless of your current level. This comprehensive audiobook is designed to transform complete rookies into skilled players, help seasoned athletes refine their game, and provide parents and coaches with the strategies they need to support and uplift their teams.

Road to Nowhere is the story of New York City baseball from 1990 to 1996, describing in intimate detail the collapse of both the Mets and the Yankees in the early nineties, the Yankees' then reclaiming of the city, and the Mets attempts to rebuild from the ashes. After the chaos of the 1980s, the New York Yankees finally bottomed out in 1990. It looked like New York would remain a Mets town well into the twenty-first century.

Red Sox Nation is the finest, most comprehensive history of this storied franchise, told from the point of view of the people who lived it. From every disappointment to each triumph, culminating with the 2004 World Championship, Red Sox Nation takes you into the dugout and onto the field to relive each moment.

In this stirring account, award-winning sports writer John Eisenberg brings to life the epic saga of baseball's winningest franchise from 1960 to 1997. In From 33rd Street to Camden Yards, the Orioles' story is told using the voices of the players, managers, coaches, owners, and fans who helped make the Baltimore Orioles a secular religion in the city that calls itself Baseball City USA.

This journey, a four-part chronicle beginning with my freshman year and culminating with senior year, offers an insider's view into the life of a college athlete. As I share my experiences on the baseball diamond, in the classroom, and up in the dorm room, the entire college baseball experience comes to life.

For the real sports fan, this is a must-hear audiobook. It is perhaps the biggest collection of facts and what some might call fiction, since some of the sports stories have been passed on for generations. Although it focuses on baseball, there are scores of insightful anecdotes that cross over into many other sports. It doesn't stop there. It shows how intertwined with everyday life baseball has been over the years, from its relationship to world conflicts to the impact on US presidents.

High expectations come with being labeled “the next Mickey Mantle.” But once the media or an organization utters that phrase, it becomes an albatross. The expectation is that the player will become one of the greatest players of all time—not a good player, not even a star—a superstar of the brightest magnitude.

It is a college story about baseball. The hero is a fine young fellow whom many fans will at once think they recognize as a popular player. He enters a big Eastern University from the far West and gets on the varsity team as an extra pitcher after many trying experiences.

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.

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.