Baseball Books

Book SynopsisIn this candid, revealing, and entertaining memoir, the beloved New York Yankee legend looks back over his nearly fifty-year career as a player and a manager, sharing insights and stories about some of his most memorable moments and some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball.For nearly five decades, Lou Piniella has been a fixture in Major League Baseball, as an outfielder with the legendary New York Yankees of the 1970s, and as a manager for five teams in both the American and National leagues. With respected veteran sportswriter Bill Madden, Piniella now reflects on his storied career, offering fans a glimpse of life on the field, in the dugout, and inside the clubhouse.Piniella speaks from the heart about his teams and his players, offering a detailed, up-close portrait of the Bronx Zoo’s raucous personalities such as Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, as well as his close friendship with Thurman Munson and his unusual relationship with George Steinbrenner. He also delves deep into his post-Yankee experiences, from winning a World Series for the controversial owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Marge Schott, to transforming the perennial cellar-dwelling Seattle Mariners into one of the league’s best teams. Some of the game’s brightest stars are here: Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez, Piniella’s supremely talented and controversial protégé. Throughout his time in the majors, Piniella has witnessed MLB grow into a multi-billion-dollar business. Piniella reflects on those changes, voicing his highly critical opinions on a range of controversial subjects, including steroids. Hilarious and uproarious, filled with eight pages of photos, Lou brings into focus a man whose deeply rooted passion for baseball has defined his life.

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Book SynopsisTable of Contents1. An appreciation of baseball and its mathematics 2. Is baseball still the national pastime? 3. Baseball before steroids 4. Bill James and the genesis of sabermetrics 5. Rattling the sabermetrics 6. The annihilation of records: Where have you gone, Babe Ruth? 7. Steroids, etc. 8. Scandal scarred: A discussion of our national pastime’s controversial history 9. The last inning 10. Epilogue: Where have we been? Where do we go from here? A final word from the editor

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees icon, winner of 13 World Series championships, and the most-quoted player in baseball history

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Book SynopsisThe definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players, by acclaimed journalist Ron Rapoport.

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Book SynopsisUsing various (and completely subjective) criteria including lifetime statistics, personal and professional contributions to the game at large, sportsmanship, character, popularity with the fans, and more, sports writer Derek Gentile ranks the best players of all time from 1 to 1,000. The selection spans the generations from Edward Cocky Collins (1906-1930) to Miguel Cabrera (2003-present). Dozens of Negro league players are also included, as well as sidebars on the greatest Japanese players, women players, and pre-historic players from the time before stats and other information was formally recorded. Each entry includes the player''s name, positions played, teams played for, and years played, as well as lifetime stats and a biography of the player including his great (and not-so-great) moments and little-known facts. Baseball''s Best 1,000 is sure to spark controversy and debate among fans.

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Book Synopsis In this nostalgic memoir, a son provides a unique perspective on his legendary father–the baseball star, Yogi Berra. Yogi Berra was the backbone of the New York Yankees through ten World Series Championships. In My Dad, Yogi is Dale Berra chronicles his unshakeable bond with his father, going back to his suburban New Jersey upbringing, his parents’ enduring relationship, and his Dad’s formidable career. Following in his Dad’s footsteps, Dale came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates, contributing to their 1979 championship season and emerging as one of baseball's most talented young players before eventually uniting with his Dad in the Yankee dugout. Yogi supported his son throughout his highs of his careers and lows of a drug addiction, eventually staging an intervention that would save Dale's life, and draw the entire family even closer. My Dad, Yogi is Dale's tribute to hi

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Book SynopsisOf the many storylines to the Chicago Cubs incredible 2016 season was the late career renaissance of David Ross, the 39-year-old journeyman player affectionately known to his Cubs teammates as Grandpa Rossy. Ross became the unlikely heart and soul of the championship team, who finally broke the near 100-year Cubs curse. At the end of the Cubs victorious game seven--in which Ross entered the game in the 5th inning and proceeded to hit a crucial home run (becoming the oldest player to homer in World Series History), he was carried off the field by his teammates. Ross''s late career blossoming and role as a Cubs mentor has been one of the defining sports stories of 2016, inspiring a write-in campaign for him for the All Star game, an endless series of feature stories and becoming the nightly talk of TV analysts and sports radio. This book would be memoir of Ross'' career -- written with veteran collaborator Don Yaeger -- with the championship run at Wrigley this year as the cap

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Book Synopsis'Maybe the good Lord was just waiting for me to put on the pinstripes.'When Joe Torre was fired as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1995, he thought his career in baseball was over. After more than three decades and4,200 games as a player and manager, one thing had always eluded him--winning a World Series.  He had all but given up his dream when the New York Yankees made him an offer to manage their 1996 club.  Encouraged by his wife and others, he accepted, and so began one of the greatest seasons in the fabled history of the New York Yankee franchise and one of the most inspiring, heartwarming stories in all ofbaseball.  Here is the ultimate insider's record of that unforgettable season by the man whose personal struggles captured the hearts and imaginations of fanseverywhere. Tough, gritty, but always fair and honest, Torre vividly reveals how he turned a potentially volatile mix of talented youngsters such as A

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisRHYTHMS OF THE GAME: THE LINK BETWEEN MUSICAL ARTISTRY AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

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Book SynopsisBaseball has had its fair share of one-and-out champions, but few clubs have dominated the sport for any great length of time. Given the level of competition and the expansive length of the season, it is a remarkable accomplishment for a team to make multiple World Series appearances in a short timespan. From the Baltimore Orioles of the 1800s who would go to any length to winincluding physically accosting opponentsto the 1934 Cardinals known as the Gashouse Gang for their rough tactics and determination, and on to George Steinbrenner's dominant Yankees of the late twentieth century, baseball's greatest teams somehow found a way to win year after year. Spanning three centuries of the game, Baseball's Dynasties and the Players Who Built Them examines twenty-two of baseball's most iconic teams. Each chapter not only chronicles the club's era of supremacy, but also provides an in-depth look at the players who helped make their teams great. Nearly two hundred player profiles are included, Trade ReviewWeeks quickly engages the reader by taking a controversial stand, redefining what is considered a baseball dynasty and calling the 1996–2000 Yankee squads the 'last bona fide dynasty.' This makes for spirited debate, particularly since his criteria exclude the 2010–2014 San Francisco Giants teams that won three World Series championships in a five-year span but include the Atlanta Braves teams of the early to mid-1990s (his guidelines include 'the presence of several Hall of Fame–caliber players' and 'a relatively stable lineup during the period of dominance'). After this initial confusion and some overdrawn player bios, Weeks gets to the crux of a comprehensive book that’s laid out so well it suits the novice fan as well as the diehard who still reads box scores. Weeks nicely encapsulates lots of data in practical prose, capturing the swashbuckling mood of baseball’s early years with clever phrases ('ill-fated Roanoke Magicians who disappeared from the Virginia league'). Weeks avoids the peril of catering strictly to trivia fans, but his book can still serve as a quick reference, filled with a long list of notable players rarely mentioned outside their local team lore. * Publishers Weekly *In Baseball’s Dynasties and the Players Who Built Them, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) member, author, and baseball enthusiast Jonathan Weeks provides a detailed yet approachable look at some of the most successful teams in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) history.... Baseball’s Dynasties and the Players Who Built Them is well researched, packed with interesting stories, and written in highly accessible prose. * Journal of Sport History *The history of the major leagues is writ largely by its greatest teams, and Jon Weeks is a tour guide with a time machine. -- Rob Neyer, author of Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball LegendsAn enjoyable and entertaining insight into baseball’s greatest dynasties. Jonathan Weeks’ easy-to-read study of the teams, from the boardroom to the ballfield, is a fascinating look at the game and its many colorful characters. -- Gary Bedingfield, founder and editor, Baseball in WartimeTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Baltimore Orioles: 1894–1897 Chapter 2: Pittsburgh Pirates: 1901–1903 Chapter 3 Chicago Cubs: 1906–1910 Chapter 4 Philadelphia Athletics: 1910–1914 Chapter 5 Boston Red Sox: 1915–1918 Chapter 6: New York Giants: 1921–1924 Chapter 7: New York Yankees: 1926–1928 Chapter 8: Philadelphia Athletics: 1929–1931 Chapter 9: St. Louis Cardinals: 1930–1934 Chapter 10: New York Yankees: 1936–1939 Chapter 11: New York Yankees: 1949–1953 Chapter 12: Brooklyn Dodgers: 1952–1956 Chapter 13: Los Angeles Dodgers: 1963–1966 Chapter 14: St. Louis Cardinals: 1964–1968 Chapter 15: Baltimore Orioles: 1966–1971 Chapter 16: Oakland Athletics: 1972–1974 Chapter 17: Cincinnati Reds: 1972–1976 Chapter 18: New York Yankees: 1976–1978 Chapter 19: Oakland Athletics: 1988–1990 Chapter 20: Toronto Blue Jays: 1991–1993 Chapter 21: Atlanta Braves: 1991–1996 Chapter 22: New York Yankees: 1996–2000 Chapter 23: Honorable Mentions Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisOn a chilly Sunday, December 7, 1941, major league baseball's owners gathered in Chicago for their annual winter meetings, just two months after one of baseball's greatest seasons. For the owners, the attack on Pearl Harbor that morning was also an attack on baseball. They feared a complete shutdown of the coming 1942 season and worried about players they might lose to military service. But with the support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the national pastime continued.The Nats and the Grays: How Baseball in the Nation's Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever examines the impact of the war on the two teams in Washington, DCthe Nationals of the American League and the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leaguesas well as the impact of the war on major league baseball as a whole. Each chapter is devoted to a wartime year, beginning with 1941 and ending with the return of peacetime in 1946, including the exciting American League pennant races of 1942-1945. This account details hTrade ReviewThe Nats are breeding a new generation of homegrown supporters. . . .In their new book, David E. Hubler and Joshua H. Drazen chronicle the history of baseball in the capital during World War II. . .I did learn a few things from this book. Franklin Roosevelt, for example, was a great baseball fan who managed the team at Groton School and helped raise the American flag at Griffith Stadium on opening day in 1917. * The Washington Post *Anyone who thinks Major League baseball during the Second World War was dull, amateurish and devoid of truly exceptional play because most of the stars were off fighting the war should pick up a copy of The Nats and the Grays, How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever to be disabused of such erroneous notions. . . . This extraordinary history by David E. Hubler and Joshua H. Drazen is filled with colorful stories and previously unknown anecdotes that can fuel a hot stove league for weeks, if not months. . . .[The] anecdotes . . . are told in sharp, unadorned prose devoid of sports jargon and a plethora of statistics, but often with insight and humor as befitting such an outstanding sports history. It belongs on the library shelves of all baseball fans and World War II history buffs. * East Orlando Post *History buffs and baseball fans get a lesson in an often overshadowed story of how World War II affected America’s favorite pastime. Readers get a look at the relationship FDR had with the game, the missions players took on during the war and the Negro League’s struggle for equality. * Northern Virginia Magazine *A compelling examination of the impact of the war on Washington, DC's two baseball teams as well as on major league baseball as a whole. * University of New Hampshire Magazine *With co-author David E. Hubler, Drazen gives a beautifully detailed look at the Nationals of the American League and the Homestead Grays of the Negro League baseball teams during World War II in Washington. * Medill Magazine *The Nats and the Grays: How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever examines the impact of the war on the two teams in Washington, DC—the Nationals of the American League and the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues—as well as the impact of the war on major league baseball as a whole. This account details how the strong friendship between FDR and Nationals team owner Clark Griffith kept the game alive throughout the war; the constant uncertainties the game faced each season as the military draft, federal mandates, national rationing, and other wartime regulations affected the sport; and the Negro Leagues’ struggle for recognition, solvency, and integration. The Nats and the Grays also details crucial events on the home front, such as the creation of the GI Bill, the internment of Japanese Americans, labor strikes, and the fight for racial equality. World War II buffs, Negro League historians, baseball enthusiasts, and fans of the present-day Washington Nationals will all find this book on wartime baseball a fascinating and informative read. * DeWitt Clinton Alumni Association *Whether you are a Baby Boomer whose mom threw out your baseball cards, or a DC area Millennials with interest sky high for the current Washington Nationals with its heaps of young talent and scurrying around the bases, larger than life-sized Presidents, there is a new book for you. . . .Based upon a recent rich, lively, deeply enthralling interview, Hubler’s book is no dry history or ribald fiction. It is a special book about rarely written events from a key time now fading from us. * DC Metro Theater Arts *The story of how Major League Baseball survived World War II is often little more than an interruption in the historical narrative, but David Hubler and Joshua Drazen provide a compelling tale of two Washington teams—the Homestead Grays and the Washington Nationals—set skillfully against the backdrop of wartime DC. Baseball provided not only much needed entertainment but its own unlikely heroes fighting for victory. This story is one that needed telling and it makes great reading. -- Ted Leavengood, managing editor of seamheads.comAn important contribution to baseball, Washington Senators, and American history. With clarity and insight, Hubler and Drazen provide the full story of baseball's role in the nation's capital during a critical period in the twentieth century. -- Richard Zamoff, director of the Jackie Robinson ProjectBaseball remains our national pastime because it is the only sport that honors its past. A significant part of that past—the years of World War II in Washington, DC—are brought to life in vivid prose by David Hubler and Joshua Drazen in The Nats and the Grays. The authors seamlessly weave together the stories of those troubled seasons with the events and mood of the war years and the first steps toward the racial integration of the major leagues. A powerful performance. -- Stanley Cohen, award-winning newspaper and magazine journalist, author of The Game They Played and A Magic Summer: The Amazin’ Story of the 1969 New York MetsA meticulously researched and wonderfully written account of a tumultuous time in baseball and America. This book makes a great addition to every serious fan's baseball library. -- Hal Bock, retired Associated Press columnistDavid E. Hubler and Joshua H. Drazen’s The Nats and the Grays is a colorful and most satisfying history of modern baseball in Washington, DC. This book is both richly detailed and genuinely insightful—a perfect combination for those of us who love reading about our favorite game. -- Paul Dickson, author of Bill Veek: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick and The Dickson Baseball DictionaryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface Chapter One 1941: BP – Before Pearl Harbor Chapter Two 1942: Changing Uniforms Chapter Three 1943: Coming Up Just Short Chapter Four 1944: Meet Me in St. Louie, Bluege Chapter Five 1945: Rounding Third and Heading Home Afterword 1946: Extra Innings Notes Index About The Authors

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Book SynopsisIn celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, this book honors the life of Effa Manley, the trailblazing female co-owner of baseball’s Newark Eagles. The first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, there was no one like Effa Manley in the sports world of the 1930s and 1940s. She was a sophisticated woman who owned a baseball team. She never shrank from going head to head with men, who dominated the ranks of sports executives. That her life story remained unchronicled for so long can only be attributed to one thing: her team, the Newark Eagles, belonged to the Negro Leagues.In Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, Negro Leagues Centennial Edition, James Overmyer brings to light new details regarding Effa Manley’s fascinating story, including previously-unknown information about her childhood and family. Overmyer wonderfully portrays Effa Manley’s trailblazing life, her championship baseball team, and a thriving black community in Newark that took the Eagles into their hearts. In addition, this book contains updates regarding the Negro Leagues, its talented rank of players, and Manley’s induction into the Hall of Fame.This important work shines the spotlight on a previously unsung segment of baseball history. Drawing extensively from Eagle team records and Manley’s scrapbook, Queen of the Negro Leagues is the definitive biography of a groundbreaking female sports executive.

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Book SynopsisIn Whispers of the Gods, bestselling author Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves. Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times, this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends, pulled from hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the author. Roy Campanella talks about life in the Negro Leagues before coming up to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ted Williams recounts why he believes Shoeless Joe Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame. Tom Sturdivant provides vivid memories of Casey Stengel, Mickey Mantle, and other Yankee icons. Other voices include Phil Rizzuto, Jim Bouton, Monte Irvin, Stan Musial, Ron Santo, Rex Barney, Ellis Clary, Roger Maris, Ed Froelich, Marty Marion, Jim Brosnan, Gene Conley, and Kirby Higbe.The players interviewed were All-Stars, Hall of Famers, and heroes to many, and their impact on the national pastime is still seen to this day. Baseball history comes alive through the stories shared in Whispers of the Gods, offering a fascinating account of the golden age of baseball. Table of ContentsForeword, by John ThornPrefaceChapter 1: Jim BoutonChapter 2: Ed FroelichChapter 3: Marty MarionChapter 4: Rex BarneyChapter 5: Stan MusialChapter 6: Tom SturdivantChapter 7: Jim BrosnanChapter 8: Ted WilliamsChapter 9: Gene ConleyChapter 10: Kirby HigbeChapter 11: Phil RizzutoChapter 12: Ron SantoChapter 13: Ellis ClaryChapter 14: Roy CampanellaChapter 15: Roger MarisChapter 16: Monte IrvinChapter 17: Jim BoutonAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisThe candid autobiography of all-star pitcher “Sudden Sam” McDowell, whose alcohol-fueled life quickly and famously spiraled out of control, and his ultimate redemption as a counselor for other athletes suffering from addiction. Sam McDowell seemed to have it all. Considered by many to be the next Sandy Koufax when he signed with the Cleveland Indians, Sam boasted one of the fastest arms in major league baseball. But on the inside, he was playing in an alcoholic fog, beset by addiction, depression, narcissism, and thoughts of suicide. The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell is the fascinating autobiography of the six-time American League all-star pitcher and self-admitted “worst drunk in baseball.” Sam holds nothing back, sharing the pressures he felt as a young baseball phenom, his frustrations over a lack of coaching to help develop his talent, the pitfalls of his dangerous alcoholic lifestyle, and his attempted suicide. When “Sudden Sam” finally hit rock bottom, certain he had been defeated by alcoholism, he instead found hope, rehabilitation, and sobriety. After extensive education and training, he emerged as the first successful counselor in major league baseball. Sam helped to turn around the lives of players who, just like him, had fallen into the abyss of addiction or faced psychological and emotional problems that were destroying their careers. With details of his own severe battles with depression and addiction told alongside the struggles of players who came to him for help, The Saga of Sudden Sam offers special insight into the longstanding addiction issues that plague Major League Baseball. It also provides understanding and hope to anyone struggling with addiction and shows that recovery is attainable.Trade ReviewI've known Sam since 1962 when I was a 17 year old assistant clubhouse manager for the Angels. Of all the players I've known throughout the years I've respected Sam the most. He has been a very close friend, mentor and literally saved my life. To know him and see him turn his life around and save so many hundreds of players’ lives is truly a miracle -- Bob Case, business manager for Casey Stengel and Mickey Rooney

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Book SynopsisNo one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the "shot and beer" town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon over 19 seasons in Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Anaheim has become one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century: taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball one year to the World Series the next and leading the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.Like his teams, Maddon defies convention. He is part strategist, part philosopher, part sports psychologist, and part motivational coach. In THE BOOK OF JOE, Maddon gives readers unique insights into the game, including the tension between art and data, the changing role of managers as front offices gain power, why the honeymoon with the Cubs did not last, and what it's like to manage the modern player, including stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish, and Kris Bryant.But you expect even more from a manager who meditates daily, admires Twain, and has only one rule when it comes to a team dress code: "If you think you look hot, wear it!" And Maddon delivers. Built on-old school values and new-school methods, his wisdom applies beyond the dugout. His mantras about leadership, mentorship, team building, and communication are meditations on life, not just baseball. Among those mantras are: "Do simple better." "Try not to suck." "Don't ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure." "See it with first-time eyes." "Tell me what you think, not what you've heard."THE BOOK OF JOE is Maddon at his uniquely holistic best. It is a memoir of a fascinating baseball journey, an insider's look at a changing game, and a guidebook on leadership and life.

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Book Synopsis"Steroids are ruining the game of baseball. It has faced no more serious threat since gamblers gained control of the World Series in 1919." Or are we overreacting? The problem of steroids, recreational drugs, and other performance enhancers is one of the fundamental issues facing not only baseball but all of sports and society. With pundits pointing fingers and former players naming names, a drug-induced McCarthyism is tarring some of the greatest players ever to take the field. In The Juice, Will Carroll, an acknowledged authority on baseball conditioning and injuries, calls for a scientific, reasoned approach to the steroids problem. He first explains the science of steroids and other drugs, describes how athletes are tested, considers the scientific evidence of effects and side effects, and, most important, analyzes whether and how these drugs impact the game. He explores the grey area of legal supplements, covers the BALCO story, and speculates on the next generation of performance enhancers. And he profiles the motivations and experiences of professional players, student athletes, and baseball trainers. Carroll has interviewed hundreds of players, executives, owners, and experts. His information from players who have used steroids will surprise everyone with the reasons why players cheat. His exclusive conversation with the creator of some of baseball's most abused substances will make The Juice the season's most widely discussed baseball book. For readers who want to understand why baseball has a drug problem, how the drugs work, and how they have affected the game, Carroll provides the answers. They are surprising—and should lead to new and better questions.Trade ReviewHe explains the science...and, most importantly, analyzes whether and how these drugs affect the game. * Newswise.com *The answers are here in Carroll's well-researched, fact-filled book. * The San Diego Union-Tribune *An indispensable guide to today's controversies. * Newsweek *Carroll lays out a small wealth of data, compressed into simple enough terms, to inform the reader what steroids are [and] what they are not. -- Jeff KallmanAnyone who knows Will Carroll, or who has read his writings for Baseball Prospectus, knows he cares deeply about the game of baseball. It is the very reason he has authored The Juice. Will’s book will help those in the game, and the fans who follow the game, understand the issues of a problem that needs to be faced before it can disappear. -- Fred Claire, former L.A. Dodger Executive VP and author of Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger BlueWill Carroll does a simple, brilliant thing in this book: He asks questions...and he goes about answering them, in a deliberate, curious, and rational way. His prose is clean and his aim is true, and in one fell swoop he’s raised the level of debate about steroids in this country. ...From now on, if a person wants to pontificate on the question, he’d better have read The Juice first. And if a person hopes to speak intelligently about how performance-enhancing drugs affect the games we play and the sports we follow, she will have certainly read The Juice. -- Eric Neel, ESPNThe Juice is a great resource for information on the history and presence of banned and illegal performance enhancers in sports. Will Carroll’s work really is a baseball book (on steroids)! -- Tom HouseIt's brimming with cold-eyed analysis, digestible science and shoe-leather journalism. No histrionics, no agenda; just an exhaustive look at steroids and what they mean for the game. It’s the most important work of its kind. -- Dayn Perry, FOX SportsEye opening! This is an important book for everyone who influences young athletes. The Juice is an objective look at the world of performance enhancement drugs today and tomorrow. -- Karl KuehlEveryone talks about steroids, but no one knows anything about them. Will Carroll’s The Juice is the first step in our education. -- Allen Barra * The Wall Street Journal *There’s a difference between thinking critically and criticizing, and Will Carroll demonstrates that throughout the text. The Juice is a must-read for legislators, sports administrators, educators, lawyers, doctors, journalists, athletes of all levels, and fans. -- Will Weiss, Senior Editor, YESNetwork.comStop! Don’t say another word about steroids until you’ve read The Juice. -- Rob Neyer, ESPNWill Carroll’s The Juice fills the yawning educational gap that exists in discussions on the topic. Are steroids in baseball a real problem? Absolutely, but if you want to have an intelligent conversation about them, make sure you first read The Juice. -- Jeff Erickson, RotowireA good job of showing why the situation involving performance enhancing drugs is more complicated than you might think. -- Ben Adler * New Republic *A fascinating new book. * ESPN the Magazine *Our education has begun.... Carroll...sifts through facts and myths and helps understand the layers of performance enhancements. -- Peter Gammons * ESPN the Magazine *Riveting...tremendously important: spelling out the complex arguments and issues regarding baseball and drug use.... A blessedly blather–free book. -- Daniel Brown * Mercury News *A professional and insightful approach to defining the ramifications of steroid usage as it applies to playing the sport of baseball. -- Bernie Gilmer * Sports Ramblings *Intriguing detail. -- Art Thiel * Seattle Post-Intelligencer *A dose of enlightenment. -- Brandon Wilson * Baseballmuse.Com *A must for any involved in the sport's finer issues. * Bookwatch *This book...is a great example of how to objectively examine a subject. -- Greg Hack * Kansas City Star *Riveting. -- Leo Roth * Democrat & Chronicle *Engaging reading. -- Russ Smith * New York Sun *One of the more important baseball and sports books written this decade. * Royalsreview.Com *

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Book SynopsisThe story of baseball in America begins not with the fabled Abner Doubleday but with a generation of mid-nineteenth-century Americans who moved from the countryside to the cities and brought a cherished but delightfully informal game with them. But Didn't We Have Fun? will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about baseball's origins. Peter Morris, author of the prizewinning A Game of Inches, takes a fresh look at the early amateur years of the game. Mr. Morris retrieves a lost era and a lost way of life. Offering a challenging new perspective on baseball's earliest years, and conveying the sense of delight that once pervaded the game and its players, Mr. Morris supplants old myths with a story just as marvelous-but one that really happened. With 25 rare photographs and drawings.Trade ReviewI first heard about Peter Morris because he was one of America’s preeminent Scrabble players. Now he has achieved an even greater distinction: one of America’s preeminent baseball historians. But Didn’t We Have Fun? is exhaustively researched and artfully written—an invaluable contribution to the early history of our sport and our country. -- Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players and WildIf you think baseball’s rich history begins with the American League in 1901, or with the National League in 1876, or even with the National Association in 1871, think again. Thanks to Peter Morris, now we know that the game’s pioneer days—the nearly four decades prior to the first professional ‘league’—might have been the richest of them all. -- Rob NeyerPeter Morris takes us on a fascinating and highly entertaining journey through the earliest—the very earliest—days of our National Pastime. To read this book is to see Baseball emerging from its womb and blinking its eyes and stretching its arms as it begins to take shape and through trial and error grows into its remarkable and compelling existence. -- Donald HonigAbner Doubleday just struck out. If you ever wondered where baseball came from—really came from—this story is for you. It’s the real story of how America’s game is much more about America than it is about a game. Entertaining and informative, I think Morris is headed for another medal. -- Will CarrollIn this title, which is sure to be popular, prolific baseball historian Morris engagingly describes the poorly appreciated early years of the game as it evolved to adopt a consistent set of rules. The well-known but much-misunderstood contributions of the New York Knickerbocker Club are reviewed fully, together with the fascinating depictions of the development of umpiring, professionalism, and sportsmanship. A fine addition to all collections. * Library Journal *Morris, a baseball scholar and historian, shows us around the ancient, pre-professional era of baseball with charming familiarity and dense, nuanced detail. -- Abe Lebovic * am New York *Entertaining and informative. -- Jonathan Yardley * The Review of Higher Education *Morris is very clear: The pioneers did have fun. * Book Digest *An entertaining, enlightening journey. For fans and non-fans alike, Morris’s book serves as an interesting window into the leisure culture of the nation leading up to and following directly after the Civil War. -- Wilson McBee * Popmatters *Morris’s study of baseball’s evolution during its pre-professional years is a model of careful scholarship, use of original sources, and elegant writing. * CHOICE *As the pages turn, professional baseball comes together before our eyes, and a bunch of diverse tributaries of proto-baseball flow, year by year, into the mighty, formalized, commercial river that we know today as the National Pastime. -- Ted Anthony * Associated Press *Dedicated statistics geeks will revel in the seemingly inexhaustible supply of arcane facts and figures…. A useful reference for diehard baseball historians. * Kirkus *The text is an intriguing study for students of baseball history curious about how aspects of the game developed. * Publishers Weekly *Concise, clear, and colorful, this book is a delight to mind and spirit. * The Boston Sunday Globe *[T]horoughly researched, entirely engaging…Morris achieves his main purpose, and more. He traces the game's westward advance-often along canal and railroad routes-and its evolution toward competitiveness and standardized rules. As he does, he takes the reader deep into the culture of 19th-century America, as revolutions in transportation and mass communication pushed everything, even casual pastimes, toward professionalization and commercialization. * Providence Journal *Morris's love of baseball is palpable throughout the book…. His enthusiasm adds to the charm with which he tells his story. * The Historian *[Scholars] may find that Porter's challenging, almost taunting tone inspires them to express their own beliefs and conclusions more forcefully, in keeping or at odds with what they will read in his essay. * Journal of Genocide Research *

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Book SynopsisWas Abner Doubleday the architect of baseball? What exactly did it mean to be a professional baseball player in the 1870s? What goes on in the front office? What exactly is the Eephus pitch? What are the tools of ignorance ? Readers will find the answers to these questions ä and many others ä in the pages of this remarkable baseball reference that's essential reading for fans of the game.ÞPart history book part instructional guide and part reference manual ÊBaseball FAQÊ covers all the bases ä from the rules of the game to the ballparks of yesterday and today from the minors to the major league from the stats to the food. This engaging compulsively readable tome offers baseball fans of all ages a wealth of fun facts and anecdotes on America's favorite pastime including sections on the All-American Girls Professional Ball League the Negro Leagues the basic skills of baseball baseball in the movies the scandals and the Hall of Famers.

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Book Synopsis

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