Download or read book Best MLB Catchers of All Time written by Bo Smolka and published by ABDO Publishing Company. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the stars change with each generation, the legends live on forever. This title introduces those legends, past and present, with colorful stories about their most memorable moments. With spotlight stats, info boxes, a glossary, additional resources, and more, this title is jam-packed with information fit for any baseball fan. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Download or read book Baseball Greatness written by David Kaiser and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent advances in baseball statistical analysis have made it possible to assess the totality of contribution each player makes to team success or failure. Using the metric Wins Above Average (WAA)--the number of wins that the 2016 Red Sox, for example, added because they had Mookie Betts in right field, instead of an average player--the author undertakes a fascinating review of major league baseball from 1901 through 2017. The great teams are analyzed, underscoring why they were successful. The great players of each generation are identified using simple, reliable metrics--from Ty Cobb through Mike Trout, and pitchers from Christy Mathewson to Clayton Kershaw. Surprises abound. The importance of pitching is found to be vastly exaggerated. Many Hall of Fame pitchers (and some hitters) achieved immortality almost entirely on the backs of their teammates, while a few over-qualified players still await induction. Focusing on today's rosters, the WAA assessment shows that the game is threatened by an unprecedented shortage of great players.
Download or read book Catching 101 written by Xan Barksdale and published by Author House. This book was released on 2011-07-28 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CATCHING-101: The Complete Guide for Baseball Catchers is the most comprehensive book ever written for baseball catchers. It contains tips, drills, and proper mechanics that will help every catcher or coach better understand the most difficult position on the field. This book contains information on EVERY aspect of catching that Coach Barksdale has learned through his years of experience from coaching nationally ranked NCAA teams, and playing at almost every level from Little League to professional baseball. A few of the topics covered in CATCHING-101 are: Receiving Blocking Catching Pop Flies Throwing Fielding Bunts Plays at Home Plate Drills Pitchouts Pass Balls/Wild Pitches Giving Signals And More! If you have been searching for a source with lots of high quality information about catching, this is the book for you! CATCHING-101 was written by Coach Xan Barksdale who is currently an NCAA Division I baseball coach and an ex-professional baseball player. Coach Barksdale played in the Atlanta Braves organization and has been a featured speaker at the prestigious ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) national convention.
Download or read book Behind the Plate written by Lawrence “Yogi” Berra and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life had not been kind to young Tommy Riggs—and even though he had all the natural playing ability to become a Major Leaguer, his anger at the world kept him from becoming the great player he could be. How Tommy Riggs learned not only to be a star catcher, but also to live with himself and his teammates, makes a suspenseful story filled with the true-to-life color of baseball from the Minor Leagues through the bitter competition of spring training camp to top flight baseball as it is played in the Major Leagues. It is a story every sports fan will enjoy. LAWRENCE “YOGI” BERRA was probably the one man best able to tell sports fans how to play BEHIND THE PLATE and how it feels to be a catcher. His unequaled career with the New York Yankees won him a place as one of the all-time greats. In the words of Casey Stengel, “Outside of DiMaggio, the man behind the plate, Berra, is the greatest player that I ever had to manage.” TIL FERDENZI had a completely rounded sports background that made him the perfect collaborator for “Yogi” on this book. A six-letter varsity baseball and football athlete at Boston College—a former high school coach of baseball and football—and for sportswriter for the New York Journal-American, he helped bring baseball alive for sports fans in BEHIND THE PLATE.
Download or read book The Greatest Catchers of All Time written by Donald Honig and published by Brown & Benchmark Pub. This book was released on 1991-01 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A one-of-a-kind book - a one-of-a-kind series. In this unique book, Donald Honig highlights the careers of the 15 greatest catchers of all time. The catcher is a ballplayer with few luxuries; he is also the one player whose most important contributions to his team's success go unnoticed by the public. Don examines the best players at this position; the men who view the field from the other way around, encased in archaic-looking equipment & are forced to spend most of their time in a squatting position. The remaining books in this series will examine the greatest players for all other positions. He includes players such as Roger Bresnahan, Johnny Kling, Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fish, Thurman Munson, & others. Richly illustrated with over 120 black & white photos. Honig has written over 30 books about baseball. Some of his classics include: BASEBALL WHEN THE GRASS WAS REAL, THE IMAGE OF THEIR GREATNESS (with Lawrence Ritter), & BASEBALL: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF AMERICA'S GAME.
Download or read book Long Shot written by Mike Piazza and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-02-18 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve-time All-Star catcher describes the inspiration he gleaned from his self-made father, his early career with the Dodgers, his memorable 2000 World Series with the Mets, and the controversies that have marked his career.
Download or read book Backstop written by William F. McNeil and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2005-12-13 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's often said that catcher is the most important, most demanding defensive position in baseball. This view explains why so many light-hitting catchers have enjoyed long--and by all accounts successful--major league careers. Yet arguments over the all-time greats invariably privilege offensive standouts, and even among these players batting statistics are more likely than fielding numbers to affect ranking. So what, historically, have been the expectations for major league catchers, and who stands as the greatest in a more balanced view of offensive and defensive contributions? In Part I of this book, the history of catching and catchers is discussed in detail, with attention to the most celebrated players of each era. In Part II, the author employs sabermetric formulas to rank the 50 greatest catchers since 1920, when changes to the rules, the parks, and the ball dramatically changed the way baseball was played. Also included is a chapter on catchers of the 19th century, deadball era, and Negro Leagues, whose career statistics are either incomplete, inaccurate, or produced under markedly different playing conditions and rules.
Download or read book Throwback written by Jason Kendall and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Structured to mirror the flow of a baseball game, THROWBACK covers everything that happens both in plain sight and behind the scenes (or sometime in whispered invective at the plate or in the bullpen), from the players' pre-game routines and the pitcher's warm-up tosses, to the hidden signs the catcher and pitcher use to communicate to outwit hitters; from infielders' often amusing conversations with men at first and third bases, to the specific positions outfielders often take based on the pitch they anticipate will next be thrown. Based on Kendall's15 years of professional MLB experience, THROWBACK weaves hilarious first-person anecdotes together with wonderfully illuminating "Oh, that's why they do that!" insights into professional baseball, how it's played, and the "why" behind everything you see happening on and off the field"--
Download or read book The Cy Young Catcher written by Doug Wedge and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-30 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During fifteen seasons in the major leagues, Charlie O’Brien was battery-mate to thirteen pitchers who won the Cy Young Award, presented each year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. To put that accomplishment in perspective, Hall of Fame catchers Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra each worked with only one Cy Young winner during their careers. Legendary hurlers caught by O’Brien include such greats as Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, and Steve Bedrosian. O’Brien’s The Cy Young Catcher, written with Doug Wedge, includes up-close views of the thirteen Cy Young Award–winning pitchers at their best . . . and occasionally at their worst. O’Brien shares an inside perspective on how catchers talk to umpires, what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a 90-mph fastball, and how it feels to be in a clutch situation when the World Series is on the line. This authentic, down-to-earth memoir will not only delight baseball fans of all stripes, it will also provide keen insights into what separates the game’s greatest competitors from the also-rans.
Download or read book The Cooperstown Casebook written by Jay Jaffe and published by Thomas Dunne Books. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cooperstown Casebook by Jay Jaffe provides a definitive guide to the greatest players in baseball history, and the Hall of Fame.
Download or read book Behind the Plate written by Javy Lopez and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Atlanta Braves catcher Javier “Javy” Lopez opens up in this autobiography to tell his amazing story, from learning to play baseball on a neighborhood basketball court to his record of 42 home runs in a season by a catcher. The product of a lower-middle-class background in Puerto Rico, Javy had to overcome numerous hardships—not the least of which was a language barrier—to fulfill his destiny as one of the most accomplished catchers of the modern era. He tells of bumps along the way to success, including why he overstated his signing bonus as well as the time in the minors when he cried during an all-night meltdown due to his struggles on the field. But he went on to be named MVP of the 1996 National League Championship Series, and played on 12 of the Atlanta Braves' unprecedented 14 straight division-winning teams of the 1990s and 2000s. From his relationship with great teammates such as Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, to his failed comeback attempt with the Braves in 2008, this autobiography tells all about the handsome, warm, engaging Lopez and how he became one of baseball's most popular players.
Download or read book The Fielding Bible written by John Dewan and published by . This book was released on 2006-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previously available exclusively to Major League Baseball teams, John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions reveal their revolutionary approach to fielding analysis. In the process, they will completely change the entire perception of fielding statistics in Major League Baseball.
Download or read book The Complete Handbook of Coaching Catchers written by Jerry Weinstein and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth, comprehensive book from one of the best catching instructors in baseball. Illustrated with nearly 400 photos many of Major League catchers the book covers everything coaches and catchers at every level need to know in regard to stances, receiving, blocking, and throwing, with innovative drills for each skill, plus sophisticated pitch calling and game management material. And the book isn t just for catchers it is an excellent resource for anyone in baseball, from coaches to pitchers to other position players interested in bettering their overall game. -- Amazon.
Download or read book The Baseball 100 written by Joe Posnanski and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year “An instant sports classic.” —New York Post * “Stellar.” —The Wall Street Journal * “A true masterwork…880 pages of sheer baseball bliss.” —BookPage (starred review) * “This is a remarkable achievement.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) A magnum opus from acclaimed baseball writer Joe Posnanski, The Baseball 100 is an audacious, singular, and masterly book that took a lifetime to write. The entire story of baseball rings through a countdown of the 100 greatest players in history, with a foreword by George Will. Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,? The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize–winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than two hundred years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?” Baseball’s legends come alive in these pages, which are not merely rankings but vibrant profiles of the game’s all-time greats. Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers, unfairly forgotten All-Stars, talents of today, and more. He doesn’t rely just on records and statistics—he lovingly retraces players’ origins, illuminates their characters, and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball’s past and present. Just how good a pitcher is Clayton Kershaw in the 21st-century game compared to Greg Maddux dueling with the juiced hitters of the nineties? How do the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth’s? Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history? No compendium of baseball’s legendary geniuses could be complete without the players of the segregated Negro Leagues, men whose extraordinary careers were largely overlooked by sportswriters at the time and unjustly lost to history. Posnanski writes about the efforts of former Negro Leaguers to restore sidelined Black athletes to their due honor and draws upon the deep troves of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and extensive interviews with the likes of Buck O’Neil to illuminate the accomplishments of players such as pitchers Satchel Paige and Smokey Joe Williams; outfielders Oscar Charleston, Monte Irvin, and Cool Papa Bell; first baseman Buck Leonard; shortstop Pop Lloyd; catcher Josh Gibson; and many, many more. The Baseball 100 treats readers to the whole rich pageant of baseball history in a single volume. Engrossing, surprising, and heartfelt, it is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who have played it.
Download or read book They Call Me Pudge written by Ivan Rodriguez and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With 14 All-Star appearances, 13 Gold Gloves, a Most Valuable Player Award, and, of course, a World Series ring, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has more than earned his spot in Cooperstown as one of the best Major League catchers of all time. In They Call Me Pudge, Rodriguez tells the story of his unforgettable baseball journey, from signing his first professional contract as a 16 year-old in Puerto Rico, to his years in Texas, Detroit, and beyond, to the World Series stage in Miami, and behind the doors of the Texas Rangers front office. Rodriguez's accomplishments, his teammates, and his biggest challenges all receive time in the spotlight in this refreshing memoir of a life and Hall-of-Fame career.
Download or read book Yogi Berra written by Allen Barra and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2009 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jacket.
Download or read book The Greatest Game Ever Pitched written by Jim Kaplan and published by Triumph Books (IL). This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intertwines the personal histories of baseball Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn with the events of their sixteen-inning pitching duel at San Francisco's Candlestick Park in the summer of 1963.
