When I signed my National Letter of Intent to attend Binghamton University I officially become a Division I scholarship athlete. As my pen slid across the paper, I thought that the most difficult part of the journey was over. Little did I know that arriving on campus as a vulnerable freshman, playing baseball in the snow belt, and having the coach who recruited me leave before my first semester ever began were just a few of the obstacles I would face on my personal "Road to Omaha"....

The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death?Still a gangly teenager when he stepped into a Boston Red Sox uniform in 1939, Williams’s boisterous personality and penchant for towering home runs earned him adoring admirers and venomous critics. In 1941, the entire country followed Willi...

**With a new Afterword covering the 2015 season.The bestselling, inside-the-clubhouse story of two tumultuous years when the Los Angeles Dodgers were re-made from top to bottom, becoming the most talked-about and most colorful team in baseball. “It’s as if Molly Knight ushers you behind the closed clubhouse doors.” (Buster Olney, ESPN)**In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson ...

The team that won the first World Series in baseball's modern era is now officially a part of the Sports by the Numbers franchise!THE TEAM: The Boston Red Sox dominated the early 20th century, winning five World Series titles before the Evil Empire tasted postseason success for the first time. With the 86-year nightmare that followed now firmly in the past, Boston is dominant once again, having become the first team to win multiple World Series titles in the 21st century. The Sport...

IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF EIGHT MEN OUT . . .the untold story of baseball’s ORIGINAL SCANDALDid the Chicago Cubs throw the World Series in 1918—and get away with it?Who were the players involved—and why did they do it?Were gambling and corruption more widespread across the leagues than previously believed?Were the players and teams “cursed” by their actions?Finally, is it time to rewrite baseball history?With ...

As America's pastime since the mid-1800s, baseball offers the sights, sounds, and even smells that are deeply entrenched in our culture. But for some, the experience can be less sensory. Some, such as Ryan Spaeder and Kevin Reavy, live for baseball statistics. Stats give the game historical context and measurables for past, present, and predictive analysis.Incredible Baseball Stats helps tell unique baseball stories, showcasing extraordinary stats and facts in baseball his...

Funny, moving, and each one a diamond in the rough of the American consciousness, the essays in this book are the ultimate baseball conversation that pays homage to the perfect sport, in this perfect companion for all our personal baseball journeys.For some people baseball means a memory-of a certain dusty ball field on a certain summer day, or the first time they walked into a major league park and saw the perfect emerald playing field. For some, baseball means on...

The one player guide every true baseball fan will want -- the leading resource for the next generation of rising stars!The Baseball America 2017 Prospect Handbook is the ultimate guide to the next generation of baseball stars. The Prospect Handbook features in-depth analysis and statistics for 900 players, with detailed scouting reports, recaps of each team's amateur draft efforts, and a ranking of Major League Baseball's top farm systems. The Prospect Handbook is ...

The year is 1979. America is in a funk. And Pittsburgh was no exception.Double-digit inflation, a near disaster at nearby Three Mile Island, and the decline of downtown businesses all placed over the city of Pittsburgh a cloud that grew darker than the smoke that rose from the Homestead Works 25 years earlier.Into this atmosphere of doom and gloom came a cause to celebrate. The 1979 Pirates, under the baton of manager Chuck Tanner, included a cast of characters known as Scra...

Novelist W. P. Kinsella wrote that baseball is a game where little gems of wisdom or whimsy can be created in the dugout, the bullpen, or the press box during long, hot afternoons and evenings of baseball.” The Little Red Book of Baseball Wisdom unearths a treasury of quotes reflecting more than a century’s worth of history from our national pastime. Featuring contributions from Hank Aaron to Walt Whitman, Yogi Berra to John Updike.

Why does a curveball curve? What is a can of corn”? Why was Joe DiMaggio called the Yankee Clipper”? Who wrote Take Me Out to the Ballgame”? How many times did Ty Cobb steal home?In Baseball Miscellany, the fascinating history and lore of our national pastime is finally revealed! For example, the reason a curveball curves is that its spin drags a layer of air across one surface of the ball faster than it does across the opposite surface. A can of corn” is slang for an...

T-Ball Skills & Drills presents 37 creative drills that T-Ball coaches and parents can do with their team or with their own kids at home. Over a million kids participate in T-Ball every year. Hitting fundamentals, throwing, baserunning, and fielding are just some of the skills covered. Coaches need to be creative to keep kids stimulated in practices and during games. Many of the drills in T-Ball Skills & Drills use common household items as props. The drills give useful hints for skills li...