For twenty-five years, Ken Kaiser was the most colorful umpire in the major leagues. Planet of the Umps is his sidesplitting tale of life behind the plate."Two things nobody wants to grow up to be are an umpire and broke. Thanks to my career in baseball, I got both."After calling balls, strikes, and outs for thirty-six baseball seasons and more than three thousand major-league games, umpire Ken Kaiser finally called it a career. From the first day ...

From one of Canada's top baseball writers and radio hosts: a retrospective of the Toronto Blue Jays on the 20th anniversary of Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run--and a look ahead to what promises to be their most successful season since. A must-have for all Blue Jays fans, and a great read for Toronto and Canadian sports fans in general.In Full Count, Jeff Blair takes us back to the days when the Toronto Blue Jays were "the Cadillac of franchises," and shows us ex...

The return of a sports classic with a new foreword by the authorFinally back in print after many years, here is Bill Lee’s classic tale of his renegade life on and off the mound. Whether walking out on the Montreal Expos to protest the release of a valued teammate or telling sportswriters eager for candid and offbeat comments more about the game than his bosses wanted anyone to know, pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee became celebrated as much for his rebellious personality as for his rem...

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny's New York Times bestselling manifesto about what parents, coaches, and athletes get wrong about sports; what we can do better; and how sports can teach eight keys to success in sports and life.Mike Matheny was just forty-one, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. ...

The decline and fall of the Montreal Expos. In 1969 the Montreal Expos played their first game. Thirty-two years later the team that once boasted baseball’s best farm system is nearly dead. In this book former Expos president Claude Brochu gets to the bottom of the Expos’ story. From his successful marketing career at Seagram’s Claude Brochu was thrust into the role of Expos president in 1986. Back then the Expos were a team with terrific potential. But as the years went by attendance bega...

There are very few major personalities in the world of sports who have so much to say about our National Pastime. And even fewer who are as well respected as Bill White.Bill White, who's now in his mid 70s, was an All-Star first baseman for many years with the New York Giants, St.Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies before launching a stellar broadcasting career with the New York Yankees for 18 years. He left the broadcast booth to become the President of the National League f...

"John's Book looks at Baseball, and its two most precious elements of Batting and Throwing, from the multiple standpoints of the 'superficially' physical and mental; from the 'meta-physically' scientific; and from the 'all-inclusiveness' of Spirituality. Therefore, Baseball's most enduring and endearing attributes can be perceived on multiple levels of conscious awareness, and thus arouse the 'dormant understanding' of all enthusiastic fanfare to more than just the mundane interests of the...

In depth analysis of all 30 teams with sections dedicated to: management, starting pitching, bullpens, lineups, bench, prospects and predictions of what will happen this upcoming season.Which managers might be fired and who might replace them?What players will be available via trade?Whose contract is expiring?Who will and won't make the playoffs?Who will win the World Series?And who will win the coveted post-season awards?Everything y...

This update to the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook provides mid-season reports on players and teams in the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system. The All-Star Break Update includes 15 new player profiles on players who have joined the Blue Jays' organization since the start of the 2014 baseball season as well as a complete break down of the 2014 draft including non-drafted free agents and international free agents. The book also includes minor league rosters as well as lists ...

Baseball, Boys, and Bad Words reveals the hilarity and magic of Little League baseball.Often called “the funniest tale ever told,” this story will have you laughing until you cry, while warming your soul, reminding you of childhood and a simpler time.In 1970, eleven-year-old Andy Andrews and a group of friends began a Little League season they would never forget. All the usual ingredients were there—well-worn gloves, freshly cut grass, and new uniforms. But...

In the years following the decline of the New York Yankees dynasty that ended in 1964, three American League teams endeavored to stake their claim to the Junior Circuit's crown. From 1965 to 1975, the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland Athletics emerged as the most significant AL clubs, but this trio achieved varying degrees of success. Through the prism of these three teams, this book examines facets of their dynastic aspirations: the way in which key personnel were assembled...

The 2016 edition of the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook updates all of the players in the Blue Jays' minor league system and adds profiles for all of the 2015 draftees as well as the newest players signed for the minor league system. We have also updated the sections for each of the Blue Jays' minor league teams including schedules and coaching staffs and have included updated depth charts.Included in the 2016 edition are:Histories and profiles of all seven North Am...