Download or read book Out of My League written by Dirk Hayhurst and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Bullpen Gospels. “A humorous, candid and insightful memoir . . . Grade: Home Run.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer After six years in the minors, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst hopes 2008 is the year he breaks into the big leagues. But every time Dirk looks up, the bases are loaded with challenges—a wedding balancing on a blind hope, a family in chaos, and paychecks that beg Dirk to ask, “How long can I afford to keep doing this?” Then it finally happens—Dirk gets called up to the Majors, to play for the San Diego Padres. A dream comes true when he takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants, kicking off forty insane days and nights in the Bigs. Like the classic games of baseball’s history, Out of My League entertains from the first pitch to the last out, capturing the gritty realities of playing on the big stage, the comedy and camaraderie in the dugouts and locker rooms, and the hard-fought, personal journeys that drive our love of America’s favorite pastime. “A rare gem of a baseball book.”—Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated “Observant, insightful, human, and hilarious.”—Bob Costas “A fun read . . . This book shows why baseball is so often used as a metaphor for life.”—Keith Olbermann “Entertaining and engaging . . . reminiscent of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.”—Booklist “The book is a terrific read. If you loved Bullpen Gospels (I’d have a hard time believing you are a baseball fan if you didn’t) you will love Out of My League too.”—Bluebird Banter

Download or read book My Life in Baseball written by Ty Cobb and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Highly successful in knitting together this story of the life of a most remarkable and dedicated player--perhaps the most spirited baseball player ever to have graced the diamond."--Library Journal. "I find little comfort in the popular picture of Cobb as a spike-slashing demon of the diamond with a wide streak of cruelty in his nature. The fights and feuds I was in have been steadily slanted to put me in the wrong. . . . My critics have had their innings. I will have mine now."--Ty Cobb "Frank, bitter, trend-setting autobiography."--USA Today Baseball Weekly "One of the most remarkable sports books ever written."--Los Angeles Daily News "The old Tiger still spits and snarls off the pages."--Cooperstown Review "Of Ty Cobb let it be said simply that he was the world's greatest ballplayer."--New York Herald Tribune (1961 editorial on Cobb's death) This Bison Book edition of My Life in Baseball is introduced by Charles C. Alexander, a professor of history at Ohio University, Athens, and the author of a biogrpahy of Ty Cobb.

Download or read book Baseball I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life written by Richard Grossinger and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 1992 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes Donald Hall, Jack Kerouac, Robert Kelly, Bill Lee, Paul Metcalf, Anne Waldman, Tom Clark, and Bernadette Mayer. The quality of the work in this anthology varies widely, but the sheer unlikeliness of a volume of neo-beat baseball poetry and new-age-inflected essays cannot help but inspire generosity. The photography is remarkable, and the photo essays of baseball stars of the 1950s and 1960s have this awe-inspiring sense of the mundane about them.

Download or read book Slick written by Whitey Ford and published by Dell. This book was released on 1988-03 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1950s and early 1960s, Whitey Ford was the Yankee pitching ace at a time when the Yankees almost always won the pennant. With delightful warmth and humor, Ford recounts his exploits--both on the field and off. 16-page photo insert.

Download or read book Still a Kid at Heart written by Gary Carter and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his new book, Still a Kid at Heart, written with longtime New York baseball writer Phil Pepe, Carter writes of his love for the game, the personalities on and off the field who have enriched his life, and the years since his retirement. His experiences serve as a primer for all professional athletes who face the dilemma of what to do after the cheering subsided. Readers gain incisive insights into the game from the unique perspective of a catcher in this revealing and intimate portrayal of his life as a ballplayer and beyond.

Download or read book Catching Dreams written by Frazier Robinson and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 2000-12-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a rare memoir about the Negro Leagues and its celebrated players, Frazier "Slow" Robinson offers an inspiring and often entertaining view of the black baseball diamond through a catcher's mask. In 1939, at the age of 29—after playing professional baseball for twelve years—Frazier Robinson caught the legendary Satchel Paige in barnstorming games from New Orleans to Walla Walla. Robinson played several more seasons in the Negro Leagues before finishing his career in Canada. While his career was a solid one, it was less spectacular than that of his friend and Hall-of-Famer, Satchel Paige, and so more typical of the experience of most Negro Leaguers. Richly embroidered with the threads of black society and of life as a black athlete in a racially divided nation, Robinson recounts his long career with the skill and ease of a natural storyteller. He covers, in remarkable detail, the personal perspective of the men, the teams, and the times that shaped this uniquely American subculture. From playing catcher for obscure industrial teams to barnstorming with Satchel Paige, he chronologically traces his nationwide path through the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and early '50s. The Foreword by John "Buck" O'Neil and Introduction by Gerald Early place Robinson squarely in the world of sports, African American culture, and American history.

Download or read book Behind the Mask written by Dave Pallone and published by New Amer Library. This book was released on 1991 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gay umpire offers a candid inside view of professional baseball, discussing his career and relating anecdotes about incidents on and off the field

Download or read book Baseball Life Advice written by Stacey May Fowles and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National Bestseller A Globe and Mail Best Book A National Post Best Book of the Year A passionate ode to baseball, its culture, and its community, which both celebrates and challenges the game – and reminds us why it really matters. For Stacey May Fowles, the game of baseball is one of "long pauses punctuated by tiny miracles." In this entertaining and thoughtful book, Fowles gives us a refreshingly candid and personal perspective on subjects ranging from bat flips to bandwagoners, from the romance of spring training to the politics of booing, from the necessity of taking a hard look at players' injuries and mental health issues to finding solace at the ballpark. Fowles confronts head-on the stereotype that female fans lack real knowledge about the game, and also calls out the "boys will be boys" attitude and its implications both on and off the field. She also shares her reverence for the no-hitter, her memories of going to the ballpark with her dad, and the challenges of falling in love with someone who didn't like baseball. Throughout the book, she offers exhilarating snapshots of the Toronto Blue Jays' 2015 and 2016 seasons, and gathers a selection of inspiring "baseball life advice" quotes from players and others that provide unexpected insight into how we could all live better lives. With remarkable verve, intelligence, and an unabashed enthusiasm, Fowles explores how we can use the lens of baseball to examine who we are. And in this passionate ode to the game, its culture, and its community, she reminds us that although baseball can break your heart, it will always find a way to make it whole again.

Download or read book In Search of Millionaires The Life of a Baseball Gypsy written by Taylor Blake Ward and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2021-10-22 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bob Fontaine Jr. spent 48 plus years as a baseball scout, traveling the world to find the next superstars of the sport. From drafting a one-handed pitcher to building the foundation of a World Series roster, Fontaine's success of looking for projection on amateur players in near unmatched within the baseball scouting business. Scouting is not an exact science, and with the success also comes failure. Beginning his career with a team that showed no prosperity, Bob helped build an organization from the ground up. This became a common theme, as he would leave one team for another, and restart on the groundwork of building a championship roster, bringing new challenges each time around.

Download or read book The Phenomenon written by Rick Ankiel and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Rick Ankiel had the talent to be one of the best pitchers ever. Then, one day, he lost it. The Phenomenon is the story of how St. Louis Cardinals prodigy Rick Ankiel lost his once-in-a-generation ability to pitch--not due to an injury or a bolt of lightning, but a mysterious anxiety condition widely known as "the Yips." It came without warning, in the middle of a playoff game, with millions of people watching. And it has never gone away. Yet the true test of Ankiel's character came not on the mound, but in the long days and nights that followed as he searched for a way to get back in the game. For four and a half years, he fought the Yips with every arrow in his quiver: psychotherapy, medication, deep-breathing exercises, self-help books, and, eventually, vodka. And then, after reconsidering his whole life at the age of twenty-five, Ankiel made an amazing turnaround: returning to the Major Leagues as a hitter and playing seven successful seasons. This book is an incredible story about a universal experience--pressure--and what happened when a person on the brink had to make a choice about who he was going to be.

Download or read book The Baseball Filmography 1915 through 2001 2d ed written by Hal Erickson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-23 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the first baseball movie (Little Sunset) in 1915, Hollywood has had an on-again, off-again affair with the sport, releasing more than 100 films through 2001. This is a filmography of those films. Each entry contains full cast and credits, a synopsis, and a critique of the movie. Behind-the-scenes and background information is included, and two sections cover baseball shorts and depictions of the game in non-baseball films. An extensive bibliography completes the work.

Download or read book My Life with Charlie Brown written by Charles M. Schulz and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2010-03-12 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While best known as the creator of Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) was also a thoughtful and precise prose writer who knew how to explain his craft in clear and engaging ways. My Life with Charlie Brown brings together his major prose writings, many published here for the first time. Schulz's autobiographical articles, book introductions, magazine pieces, lectures, and commentary elucidate his life and his art, and clarify themes of modern life, philosophy, and religion that are interwoven into his beloved, groundbreaking comic strip. Edited and with an introduction by comics scholar M. Thomas Inge, this volume will serve as the touchstone for Schulz's thoughts and convictions and as a wide-ranging, unique autobiography in the absence of a traditional, extended memoir. Inge and the Schulz estate have chosen a number of illustrations to include. With the approval and cooperation of the Schulz family, Inge draws on the cartoonist's entire archives, papers, and correspondence to allow Schulz full voice to speak his mind. The project includes his comics criticism, his introductions to Peanuts volumes, his essays about philanthropy, his commentary on Christianity, his newspaper articles about the creation of his characters, and more. My Life with Charlie Brown will reveal new dimensions of this legendary cartoonist.

Download or read book My Life My War World War 2 written by Stanley B. Loomis and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2010 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wars are started by a person or persons and are usually a quest for power for a person or a group of people and they don't really care how many people are killed nor how many families are losing a father, mother or brothers or whole families and their relatives. Sometimes, it is necessary to start a war by a peaceful nation against countries tat are harming and have the publically displayed their intentions to extend their borders by taking land from established country's land and people. This I would consider declaring a war to be the only necessary solution to the problem----but still a war with people getting maimed and killed. In World War One---Germany was the problem----once again lust for power. I wasn't even thought of at that period of time----in fact, I hadn't even arrived on the scene at that point of time. But, think about it for a moment-----there's not one inch of land that has increased in size in those thousands of years of civilization and wars. I was a training in Camp Blanding in Florida---we could look in any direction and there was a sign posted in large letters------"Kill or Be Killed"----"Kill or Be Killed". We were just 18 or 19 year old kids--------think about it--------"Kill or Be Killed"-what an education-but necessary to imprint it inside our young brains. It gave us young kids a reason to become killers-----hesitate for a second and you're dead. Back then in training, we used to repeat over and over was that wars were necessary to "Decrease The Surplus Population"--------It is most certainly a true statement.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Baseball written by Lyle Spatz and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2012-12-21 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dating back to 1869 as an organized professional sport, the game of baseball is not only the oldest professional sport in North America, but also symbolizes much more. Walt Whitman described it as “our game, the American game,” and George Will compared calling baseball “just a game” to the Grand Canyon being “just a hole.” Countless others have called baseball “the most elegant game,” and to those who have played it, it’s life. The Historical Dictionary of Baseball is primarily devoted to the major leagues it also includes entries on the minor leagues, the Negro Leagues, women’s baseball, baseball in various other countries, and other non-major league related topics. It traces baseball, in general, and these topics individually, from their beginnings up to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on the roles of the players on the field—batters, pitchers, fielders—as well as non-playing personnel—general managers, managers, coaches, and umpires. There are also entries for individual teams and leagues, stadiums and ballparks, the role of the draft and reserve clause, and baseball’s rules, and statistical categories. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of baseball.

Download or read book Game of My Life South Carolina Gamecocks written by Rick Scoppe and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several prominent South Carolina football players of the past share their fondest single-game experience and memories. Some of these games are the greatest in school history, while others are ordinary save for significant personal meaning. In each case, it is the player who singles out the game, the moment in time that to him is the most defining of his Gamecock football career. Together these stories weave a tapestry of South Carolina Gamecock football history. Heisman Trophy-winner George Rogers, as well as other legends like ponytailed QB Steve Taneyhill; record-setting QB Todd Ellis; Dan Reaves, an eventual Super Bowl head coach; running back Brandon Bennett; and running back Rob DeBoer are profiled in this unique book. Game of My Life South Carolina Gamecocks takes readers down memory lane, while also providing an in-depth look into the men and games that helped shape and build the Gamecock football heritage.

Download or read book The Time of Their Lives written by Al Silverman and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively portrait of mid-twentieth-century American book publishing—“A wonderful book, filled with anecdotal treasures” (The New York Times). According to Al Silverman, former publisher of Viking Press and president of the Book-of-the-Month Club, the golden age of book publishing began after World War II and lasted into the early 1980s. In this entertaining and affectionate industry biography, Silverman captures the passionate spirit of legendary houses such as Knopf; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Grove Press; and Harper & Row, and profiles larger-than-life executives and editors, including Alfred and Blanche Knopf, Bennett Cerf, Roger Straus, Seymour Lawrence, and Cass Canfield. More than one hundred and twenty publishing insiders share their behind-the-scenes stories about how some of the most famous books in American literary history—from The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to The Silence of the Lambs—came into being and why they’re still being read today. A joyful tribute to the hard work and boundless energy of professionals who dedicate their careers to getting great books in front of enthusiastic readers, The Time of Their Lives will delight bibliophiles and anyone interested in this important and ever-evolving industry.

Download or read book Baseball The Movie written by Noah Gittell and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring Field of Dreams, The Bad News Bears, A League of Their Own, and more: a probing and entertaining work at the intersection of pop culture and sports Baseball has always been a symbol as much as a sport. With a blend of individual confrontation and team play, a luxurious pace, and an immaculate urban parkland setting, it offers a sunny rendering of the American Dream, both the hard work that underpins it and the rewards it promises. Film, America's other national pastime, which magnifies and mythologizes all it touches, has long been the ideal medium to canonize this aspirational idea. Baseball: The Movie is the first definitive history of this film genre that was born in 1915 and remains artistically and culturally vital more than a century later. Writer and critic Noah Gittell sheds light on well-known classics and overlooked gems, exploring how baseball cinema creates a stage upon which the American ideal is born, performed, and repeatedly redefined. Traversing history and mythmaking, cynicism and nostalgia, this thoroughly researched book takes readers on a multifaceted tour of baseball on film.