At forty-four years old, Tim Wakefield is the longest-serving member of one of baseball's most popular franchises. He is close to eclipsing the winning records of two of the greatest pitchers to have played the game, yet few realize the full measure of his success. That his career can be characterized by such words as dependability and consistency defies all odds because he has achieved this with baseball's most mercurial weapon—the knuckleball.Knuckler i...

Before Jackie Robinson integrated major league baseball in 1947, black and white ballplayers had been playing against one another for decades—even, on rare occasions, playing with each other. Interracial contests took place during the off-season, when major leaguers and Negro Leaguers alike fattened their wallets by playing exhibitions in cities and towns across America. These barnstorming tours reached new heights, however, when Satchel Paige and other African- American stars took on whit...

"Brosnan obviously knows his baseball, writes about it wittily, informally and with irony. He is a cynical, tough professional athlete and his book makes wonderful reading."— New YorkerFrom the author of The Long Season—considered by many to be the greatest baseball book of all time—comes another classic sports memoir by legendary pitcher Jim Brosnan, which chronicles how his team, the Cincinnati Reds, went on to win the 1961 National League penna...

My E-Book looks at George Washington Keefe from the perspective of a player and family member. He was the son of a diabled Pennsylvania Union Civil War soldier. Charles Keefe was a cabinetmaker who drew a pension after being wounded as a reservist in combat with the Pennsylvania infantry. His son, George pitched for three seasons for the Washington Nationals. It was a different time in baseball history. The Detroit Wolverines played in the National League. Baltimore's club was also in the ...

All Guts No Glory is a memoir of a father who sacrifices his time and self-respect to become a first time little league coach, during a season in which his team loses every game. It is also a humorous and contemplative critique of youth sports in America. It is also a tender and self-deprecating meditation on parenting. And finally, it is also a portrait of Seattle, as told and revealed through the words of the players, parents, coaches, and umpires of the Capitol Hill league. Alternatingl...

Bill Lajoie just had it. When it came to drafting ballplayers and building a World Series club, few in baseball history can match his extraordinary success. The lessons of Lajoies illustrious career and the brilliance of his philosophy are put to print in Character is Not a Statistic. After a playing career that fell achingly short of the major leagues, Lajoie returned to Detroit to become a teacher in the mid-1960s. But his unyielding passion for baseball and desire to atone for a broken ...