Download or read book A Baseball Career That Ended in a Split Second written by Jerry Guibor and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jim Aldredge was a phenomenal baseball player and signed a professional contract at age 17. In his second season, he was hit in the left eye by a thrown ball. He eventually lost sight in the eye, but he attempted two comebacks and was playing very well -- better than most players with two good eyes. But the politics of baseball and racism made him realize it was time to return to Fresno and get an education. He already had enrolled at Fresno City College and was graduated with an Associate of Arts degree. He continued at Fresno State where he received bachelors and master's degrees while working full time for the City of Fresno. He earned a Ph.D. from Golden Gate University and also studied at Oxford. At nights, he taught at Fresno City College, the University of San Francisco and eventually became a full professor at Fresno State -- all the while he was working full time as an assistant city manager. He was made interim city manager a few times when mayors and administrations would change, but an outsider always got the job. Then, at last, the city came to realize they had the right man all along. He left the city when changes were on the horizon and taught at Fresno State until he retired in 2008. He was named a professor emeritus. He then created a foundation to help aspiring students and athletes, and sports programs.

Download or read book In A Split Second written by Kyle N. Scott and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2021-12-06 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is it like to grow up with cerebral palsy? How does a child cope throughout life with a disability? What obstacles will they be faced with while trying to reach their goals and achieve their dreams? Kyle Scott was diagnosed with a mystery classification of cerebral palsy at the age of sixteen months, but that hasn’t stopped him from living his life to the fullest. Surrounded by the best family and friends one could ask for, he has strived for and achieved far more than doctors, specialists, and therapists claimed he would, ultimately proving that anything is possible. This is a story about how an entire life can change in a split second, but it’s what you do with your life from that day forward that creates a life worth living. “In life, you need certain qualities: courage, the ability to smile, determination, and a never-give-up attitude!” –Kyle N. Scott “The only disability in life is a bad attitude!” –Scott Hamilton “Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Already Taken!” –Anonymous

Download or read book Missed it by that Much written by Vic Debs and published by McFarland. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After hitting his then-record 60th home run of the 1927 season, Babe Ruth said, "Sixty, count 'em, sixty. Let's see some other son-of-a-bitch match that." Jimmie Foxx almost did, five years later, with an agonizingly close 58 four baggers. Here are the stories of Foxx's and 11 other near-record breaking performances: Bill Terry's 254 hits in 1930, three short of George Sisler's record 257; Elroy Face's 17 consecutive pitching victories, two short of Rube Marquard's record; and Willie Mays's 17 home runs in August of 1965, just one off Rudy York's mark for a single month, are three more of the performances detailed. Boxscores and statistical tables are provided.

Download or read book Batting Stance Guy written by Gar Ryness and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Batting Stance Guy never expected he would become a YouTube celebrity, racking up more than two million views, landing profiles in The New York Times and USA Today, and even scoring an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. But when a friend and neighbor started capturing this man’s unusual talents with a video camera, that’s what happened. With uncanny precision, Batting Stance Guy can mimic any baseball player he’s ever seen, and the results will take you back—to the game last night, or last year, or in 1980, or anywhere in-between.

Download or read book The Psychology of Baseball written by Mike Stadler and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-04-05 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get inside the minds of the stars of the diamond in this extraordinary tour of brain power, psyche, and sheer will. Yogi Berra once said, "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical." Even so, the Yankee great may have underestimated the brain power professional baseball players routinely draw on to perform such astounding feats of athleticism as hitting 98-mph fastballs and diving to catch line drives. In The Psychology of Baseball, Mike Stadler goes beneath the surface of the game to explore the psychology behind the actions of the game’s greats--and breaks down legendary moments from baseball history, such as Willie Mays’s full-sprint over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. Stadler begins with the mind’s role in the game’s basic skills, explaining the anticipatory thinking that can make a hitter see a "rising fastball," the complex muscular coordination required to throw a major league heater, and the intense spatial calculations the brain must perform in a split second in order for a fielder to catch a struck ball. Stadler then discusses the hidden nature of streaks and slumps, explaining why a "hot" hitter is most likely just getting lucky and why there’s no such thing as a clutch hitter, and also looks at the psychological basis of the so-called "sophomore slump" and the effect that a big-money contract has on a player’s performance. He also examines the personality types that are best suited to baseball, and explains what traits are most associated with success at the highest levels. A revolutionary new look at America’s pastime that will appeal to the many fans of bestsellers like Moneyball and Three Nights in August, The Psychology of Baseball is a must-read book for the serious baseball fan.

Download or read book Mason Dixon Basketball Disasters written by Claudia Mills and published by Yearling. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here's the third entry in Claudia Mills's charming middle-grade series. Mason Dixon survived the school choir. He survived adopting his now-beloved dog named, uh, Dog. But now he faces his biggest challenge yet: joining the local basketball team. Not by choice, of course. Not only do his parents encourage it, but his dad even volunteers to be his coach. Now, with his best pal Brody and a team of misfits even worse at basketball than him (if that's possible), Mason must try to rally to beat his arch-rival, the school bully Dunk. Just another day-in-the-life of a disaster-prone fourth grader.

Download or read book The Team That Forever Changed Baseball and America written by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all the teams in the annals of baseball, only a select few can lay claim to historic significance. One of those teams is the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, the first racially integrated Major League team of the twentieth century. The addition of Jackie Robinson to its roster changed not only baseball but also the nation. Yet Robinson was just one member of that memorable club, which included Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, Duke Snider, Eddie Stanky, Arky Vaughan, and Dixie Walker. Also present was a quartet of baseball’s most unforgettable characters: co-owners Branch Rickey and Walter O’Malley, suspended manager Leo Durocher, and radio announcer Red Barber. This book is the first to offer biographies of everyone on that incomparable team as well as accounts of the moments and events that marked the Dodgers’ 1947 season: Commissioner Happy Chandler suspending Durocher, Rickey luring his old friend Burt Shotton out of retirement to replace Durocher, and brilliant outfielder Reiser being sidelined after running into a fence. In spite of all this, the Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant over the heavily favored St. Louis Cardinals. And of course, there is the biggest story of the season, where history and biography coalesce: Jackie Robinson, who overcame widespread hostility to become Rookie of the Year—and to help the Dodgers set single-game attendance records in cities around the National League.

Download or read book Ted Williams written by and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ted Williams (1918?2002) was a paradox. His cool, controlled, and patient attitude while at the plate was incongruous with his explosive, unpredictable temper out of the batter?s box. With a swing that was both admired and feared, Williams has been called the greatest hitter of the last half of the twentieth century and was perhaps the greatest left-handed hitter of all time. In this biography Michael Seidel explores the complexities of the mercurial personality and amazing career of the near-mythic ?Splendid Splinter.? ø With the death of Williams in the summer of 2002, baseball lost one of its true greats. Yet controversy continued to surround Williams in death as news of a bizarre family dispute over the fate of Williams?s body captivated the country. In a new foreword to this edition, the author discusses the odd events surrounding the ballplayer?s death and their significance to the legend of Ted Williams.

Download or read book The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All Time written by J.P. Hoornstra and published by Riverdale Avenue Books LLC. This book was released on 2015-05-28 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dodgers have played more than 10,000 games as a franchise. Their 50 greatest games span two coasts and three centuries worth of baseball. They include: • A doubleheader that lasted six and a half innings combined • A single game that featured three teams on the field • A game in which the Dodgers didn’t record a hit – and won • The games in which the single-season and career home run records were broken • Three perfect games and two no-hitters • The longest game in major league history • The first major league game ever televised • A game in which the Dodgers’ pitcher lost consciousness on the field • An exhibition game that drew 93,103 spectators • The first integrated game in major league history The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games features all the best players to don the uniform: Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Kirk Gibson, Zack Wheat, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Clayton Kershaw, Steve Garvey, Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese and more. It also features some of the unsung heroes of baseball history, like Cookie Lavagetto, Vic Davalillo, Sandy Amoros, Al Gionfriddo and Joe McGinnity. For the first time, their performances are laid side-by-side in this account of the greatest Dodgers games ever played. Which game ranks number one?

Download or read book Detroit Tigers 1984 written by Mark Pattison and published by SABR, Inc.. This book was released on 2012-12 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1984 Detroit tigers roared out of the gate, winning their first nine games of the season and compiling an eye-popping 35-5 record after the campaign’s first 40 games--still the best start ever for any team in major league history. The tigers led wire-to-wire in 1984, becoming only the third team in the modern era of the majors to have done so. And Detroit’s determination and tenacity resulted in a sweep of the Kansas City Royals in the AL playoffs and a five-game triumph over the San Diego Padres in the World Series. And Tigers fans will tell you that the bottom of the eighth inning in Game Five was the first time Kirk Gibson hit an iconic home run in the Fall Classic. Detroit Tigers 1984: What a Start! What a Finish!, an effort by the society of American Baseball research’s BioProject Committee, brings together biographical profiles of every Tiger from that magical season, plus those of field management, top executives, the broadcasters--even venerable Tiger Stadium and the city itself.

Download or read book Major League Baseball Players of the 1970s written by Bill Ballew and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-08-02 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1970s, after a decade of stagnant fan interest that seemed to signal the demise of Major League Baseball, the game saw growth and change. In 1972, the players became the first in professional sports to go on strike. Four years later, contractual changes allowed those with six years in the majors to become free agents, leading to an unprecedented increase in salaries. Developments in the play of the game included new ballparks with faster fields and artificial turf, and the introduction of the designated hitter in 1973. Eminent personalities emerged from the dugout, including many African Americans and Latinos. Focusing on the stars who debuted from 1970 through 1979, this book covers the highs and lows of more than 1,300 players who gave fans the most exciting decade baseball has ever seen.

Download or read book When Big Data Was Small written by Richard D. Cramer and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard D. Cramer has been doing baseball analytics for just about as long as anyone alive, even before the term “sabermetrics” existed. He started analyzing baseball statistics as a hobby in the mid-1960s, not long after graduating from Harvard and MIT. He was a research scientist for SmithKline and in his spare time used his work computer to test his theories about baseball statistics. One of his earliest discoveries was that clutch hitting—then one of the most sacred pieces of received wisdom in the game—didn’t really exist. In When Big Data Was Small Cramer recounts his life and remarkable contributions to baseball knowledge. In 1971 Cramer learned about the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and began working with Pete Palmer, whose statistical work is credited with providing the foundation on which SABR is built. Cramer cofounded STATS Inc. and began working with the Houston Astros, Oakland A’s, Yankees, and White Sox, with the help of his new Apple II computer. Yet for Cramer baseball was always a side interest, even if a very intense one for most of the last forty years. His main occupation, which involved other “big data” activities, was that of a chemist who pioneered the use of specialized analytics, often known as computer-aided drug discovery, to help guide the development of pharmaceutical drugs. After a decade-long hiatus, Cramer returned to baseball analytics in 2004 and has done important work with Retrosheet since then. When Big Data Was Small is the story of the earliest days of baseball analytics and computer-aided drug discovery.

Download or read book Indiana Born Major League Baseball Players written by Pete Cava and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-10-02 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Indiana boasts a rich baseball tradition, with 10 native sons enshrined in Cooperstown. This biographical dictionary provides a close look at the lives of all 364 Hoosier big leaguers, who include New York City's first baseball superstar; the first rookie pitcher to win three games in a World Series; the man who caught most of Cy Young's record 511 career wins; one of the game's first star relievers; the player who held the record for consecutive games played before Lou Gehrig; an obscure infielder mentioned in Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip; baseball's only one-legged pitcher; Indiana's first Mr. Basketball, who became one of baseball's greatest pinch-hitters; the first African American to play for the Cincinnati Reds; the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the World Series; the skipper of the 1969 "Miracle Mets"; the pitcher for whom a ground-breaking surgical procedure is named; and the only two men to have played in both the World Series and the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Download or read book Whitey Ford written by Miles Coverdale, Jr. and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2006-07-10 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Called the "Chairman of the Board" because of his remarkable control in big-money games, Eddie "Whitey" Ford still holds the record for World Series wins (10), and was Casey Stengel's ace during much of the Yankees' historic mid-century pennant streak. Off the mound, Whitey's carousing with Mickey Mantle was legendary, and he, in many ways, symbolizes the excesses and good fortunes of the Yankees during that era--living hard and winning often. This book delves into the life and baseball career of Whitey Ford, the Hall of Fame left-hander who helped the Yankees win 11 pennants and six world championships. After a childhood on the New York sandlots, he quickly worked his way through the Yankees farm system and, when called up in 1950, won nine straight in a pennant race and then won the final game of the World Series sweep of the Phillies. He would go on to pitch for 16 seasons--all of them with New York--and retire as the winningest pitcher in franchise history. His story is detailed here with a generous helping of play-by-play action and personal anecdotes. Seven appendices offer Ford's career statistics and compare him to other great pitchers, past and present.

Download or read book The Best Team Money Can Buy written by Molly Knight and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The inside-the-clubhouse story of two tumultuous years when the Los Angeles Dodgers were re-made from top to bottom, from the ownership of the team to management to the players on the field, becoming the most talked-about and most colorful team in baseball"--

Download or read book Baseball s Other All Stars written by William F. McNeil and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2000-03-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball is played in all corners of the world, so it is no surprise to learn that some of the greatest hardballers of all time never played on a U.S. major league diamond. Who knows what major league records would have been shattered had Sadaharu Oh of Japan, Josh Gibson of the Negro Leagues, Martin Dihigo of Cuba, Francisco Coimbre of Puerto Rico and Hector Espino of Mexico played in the United States. This work is a survey of the greatest baseball players who never played in the U.S. major leagues. The greatest players from the various professional leagues outside organized baseball in the United States are reviewed, and all-star teams are selected for each league. Finally, the author selects an "all-world all-star team" from the individual all-star teams from Japan, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Negro Leagues.

Download or read book Baseball s Comeback Players written by Rick Swaine and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-03-08 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book profiles forty major league ballplayers who engineered remarkable comebacks to salvage fading careers. Details of each comeback is provided along with a summary of the player's career. The comeback players range from Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Stan Musial; to near-greats like Tommy John and Luis Tiant; to journeyman performers like George McQuinn and Tony Cuccinello. In the absence of statistical standards to evaluate or even define comebacks, the selection of the top comeback players was based on the following criteria: historical significance, uniqueness, dramatic content, degree of difficulty, and the player's overall reputation and standing.