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It took something truly remarkable to save the 1981 Major League Baseball season from being remembered only as the year of the players' strike. It took the Los Angeles Dodgers: Fernandomania and Lasorda and Garv and Bake and the Penguin. It took three amazing October comebacks to beat the Houston Astros, the Montreal Expos, and, finally, the New York Yankees, avenging Dodger World Series losses to the Yankees in 1977 and 1978. Rick Monday was right in the middle of that magical 1981 Dodger seaso...

Offering readers more than just a sneak peek into the dugout, Bob Forsch's Tales from the St. Louis Cardinals Dugout takes fans into the clubhouse, out to the bullpen, onto the mound, up to the batter's box, around the base paths, along for the ride to spring training, and even on a fishing trip or two in this tribute to the long and storied tradition of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. In his own witty style, Bob Forsch, known to many as "Forschie" during his playing days, has drawn from his exci...

In Game of My Life New York Yankees, everyone from stars to supersubs offers personal stories revealing the obstacles they had to overcome in order to succeed on sports' biggest stage. Some of the biggest names to ever don the pinstripes are captured in personal portraits here, from Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to Don Mattingly, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, and all the way back to Yogi Berra and Tommy Henrich. Along with taking readers behind the scenes of the greatest moments in Yankees histor...

More than twenty former and current Philadelphia Phillies players share their fondest single-game experience and memories with author Bob Gordon. Many of the moments celebrate the extraordinary events that have shaped the Phillies' rich heritage. Curt Simmons, John Vukovich, Kevin Jordan, Del Unser, Doug Glanville, and Tug McGraw are just a few of the legendary Phillies stars who discuss the games of their lives. Even Phillie Phanatics I and II join in the fun. This book is the ticket for Philad...

"Five-Plus Tools" is a scouting term that refers to a rare and elite type of amateur baseball prospect. A player with five-plus tools grades out well above average in all five skill areas, known as tools: hitting, power, running, throwing, and fielding. While most baseball fans critique players who are already on the professional level, a scout needs to find raw talent and figure out if they're the "future." In Five-Plus Tools, Dave Perkin, who was a professional scout and is currently the Majo...

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 "Scrap Iron," "Cobra,"...

The New York Mets fan is an Amazin' creature whose species finds its voice at last in Greg Prince's Faith and Fear In Flushing, the definitive account of what it means to root for and live through the machinations of an endlessly fascinating if often frustrating baseball team. Prince, coauthor of the highly regarded blog of the same name, examines how the life of the franchise mirrors the life of its fans, particularly his own. Unabashedly and unapologetically, Prince stands up for all Mets fans...

They were coming off a seemingly endless string of losing records. They were considered years away from legitimate contention. They were derided and disregarded as a matter of course. But in 2015 the New York Mets changed their course and changed their story. The result was the best kind of amazin'. Against all expectations, these Mets surged from the starting gate, hung tough when adversity threatened to overwhelm their budding chances, and fortified themselves for a stretch drive few could hav...

"The Splendid Splinter," "Teddy Ballgame," "The Kid" no matter the nickname, Ted Williams was one of the most accomplished hitters in baseball history. He was the last man to hit .400 in a single season, a nineteen-time All-Star, a two-time MVP and Triple Crown award winner, and an inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 . . . all while serving his country in World War II and the Korean War. Far from a conventional biography, Facing Ted Williams aims to offer a different perspe...

1960: The Last Pure Season is the most complete work ever about one of baseball's most glorious campaigns. There was Pittsburgh's shocking World Series victory over the indomitable Yankees, Ted Williams's legendary final season, a classic homerun derby, the formation and ultimate disbanding of Branch Rickey's proposed Continental League, and the birth of baseball's Twins and Angels. This was the last season when the original National and American League teams were intact; the next year baseball...

So You Think You're a Chicago Cubs Fan? tests and expands your knowledge of Cubs baseball. Rather than merely posing questions and providing answers, you'll get details behind each stories that bring to life players and coaches, games and seasons. This book is divided into multiple parts, with progressively more difficult questions in each new section. Along the way, you'll learn more about Wrigley Field and the great Cub players and coaches of the past and present, from Billy Herman to Ernie B...

The 1983 American League West champion Chicago White Sox will forever be remembered by their trademark slogan "Winning Ugly." One of the stars of that colorful bunch that rocked old Comiskey Park was an unlikely hero, a twenty-five-year-old rookie from Northwest Indiana. Ron Kittle led the 1983 White Sox with 35 home runs, 100 RBIs, and Rookie of the Year honors. Now Kittle shares the adventures, struggles, and triumphs of his incredible journey. A one-of-a-kind collection of stories, anecdotes,...

Calling all Tribe fans! This massive collection captures the glory of Indians baseball both on the field and off with tales of Robbie Alomar, Len Barker, Rico Carty, Bob Feller, Ray Fosse, Ken Harrelson, Orel Hershiser, Phil Niekro, Satchel Paige, Gaylord Perry, and more. In this one-of-a-kind compendium of anecdotes from players, managers, and beat writers, Russell Schneider captures all the magic and passion of Cleveland Indians baseball. Amazing Tales from the Cleveland Indians Dugout is a c...

Games between the Dodgers and Giants are never just another day at the ballpark. Dating back to the late nineteenth century when the teams embodied the competitive spirit of rival metropolises of New York and Brooklyn the Giants-Dodgers rivalry gained intensity throughout the early twentieth century. The cheering and jeering continued unabated until 1957, when the clubs backed the moving vans up to the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, and took their rivalry to new venues in Los Angeles and San Fra...

The New York Yankees don't call themselves the "Bronx Bombers" for nothing. And though Babe Ruth did not invent the home run, he did indeed popularize it and make it seem less vulgar. New York Yankees Home Run Almanac presents a month-by-month tally of historic, important, unusual, or titanic home runs, hit mostly by Yankees (or players who hit them at Yankees ballparks). It covers everyone from Ruth to Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Aaron...

Since their founding in 1969, the Kansas City Royals have provided memorable moments to generations of fans in America's heartland and beyond. Miracle Moments in Kansas City Royals History is the ultimate tribute book for die-hard fans of the team from the City of Fountains. Jeff Deters recounts the most memorable moments in Royals history, including: Steve Busby's throwing two no-hitters in each of his first two season, a first for a big-leaguer; George Brett's hitting .333 to win his fir...

Sports fans in New York will always remember the incredible events of 1969. It was the year that two of the city's underdog teams would rise above all expectations to be crowned world champions. On January 12, 1969, the underdog New York Jets faced the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Up to this point, no former AFL team had ever won a Super Bowl. Leading the Colts were future Hall of Fame coach Don Shula and quarterback Johnny Unitas (also a future Hall of Famer).The team loo...

For the first decade of the 21st century, the Baltimore Orioles were perpetual cellar dwellers, with losing seasons from 1998 2011 fourteen straight years. They were the worst team in baseball when two-time American League Manager of the Year Buck Showalter took over as manager in August 2010, but they went 34-23 in the last two months of the season, and that set the tone for everything to follow. Buck, along with Andy MacPhail (president of baseball operations) and Dan Duquette (general manage...