Download or read book Astroball written by Ben Reiter and published by Crown. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The inside story of the Houston Astros, whose relentless innovation took them from the worst team in baseball to the World Series in 2017 and 2019 “Reiter’s superb narrative of how the team got there provides powerful insights into how organizations—not just baseball clubs—work best.”—The Wall Street Journal Astroball picks up where Michael Lewis’s acclaimed Moneyball leaves off, telling the thrilling story of a championship team that pushed both the sport and business of baseball to the next level. In 2014, the Astros were the worst baseball team in half a century, but just three years later they defied critics to win a stunning World Series. In this book, Ben Reiter shows how the Astros built a system that avoided the stats-versus-scouts divide by giving the human factor a key role in their decision-making. Sitting at the nexus of sports, business, and innovation, Astroball is the story of the next wave of thinking in baseball and beyond, at once a remarkable underdog tale and a fascinating look at the cutting edge of evaluating and optimizing human potential.
Download or read book Cheated written by Andy Martino and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A baseball book that reads like a spy novel—a story about cheaters and the cheated that has the power to forever change how we feel about the game.” —Brian Williams, MSNBC anchor and host of The 11th Hour The definitive insider story of one of the biggest cheating scandals to ever rock Major League Baseball, bringing down high-profile coaches and players, and exposing a long-rumored "sign-stealing" dark side of baseball By the fall of 2019, most teams in Major League Baseball suspected that the Houston Astros, winners of the 2017 World Series, had been stealing signs for several years. Deconstructing exactly what happened in this explosive story, award-winning sports reporter and analyst Andy Martino reveals how otherwise good people like Astros manager A. J. Hinch, bench coach Alex Cora, and veteran leader Carlos Beltrán found themselves on the wrong side of clear ethical lines. Along the way, Martino explores the colorful history of cheating in baseball, from notorious episodes like the 1919 “Black Sox” fiasco all the way to the modern steroid era. But as Martino deftly shows, the Astros scandal became one of the most significant that the game has ever seen—its fallout ensnaring many other teams, as victims, alleged cheaters, or both. Like a riveting true sports whodunit, Cheated is an electrifying, behind-the-scenes look into the heart of a scandal that shocked the baseball world.
Download or read book The MVP Machine written by Ben Lindbergh and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Move over, Moneyball -- this New York Times bestseller examines major league baseball's next cutting-edge revolution: the high-tech quest to build better players. As bestselling authors Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik reveal in The MVP Machine, the Moneyball era is over. Fifteen years after Michael Lewis brought the Oakland Athletics' groundbreaking team-building strategies to light, every front office takes a data-driven approach to evaluating players, and the league's smarter teams no longer have a huge advantage in valuing past performance. Lindbergh and Sawchik's behind-the-scenes reporting reveals: How undersized afterthoughts José Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential.
Download or read book Mind Gym written by Gary Mack and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2002-06-24 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Praise for Mind Gym "Believing in yourself is paramount to success for any athlete. Gary's lessons and David's writing provide examples of the importance of the mental game." --Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters champion and former Ryder Cup captain "Mind Gym hits a home run. If you want to build mental muscle for the major leagues, read this book." --Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball MVP "I read Mind Gym on my way to the Sydney Olympics and really got a lot out of it. Gary has important lessons to teach, and you'll find the exercises fun and beneficial." --Jason Kidd, NBA All-Star and Olympic gold-medal winner In Mind Gym, noted sports psychology consultant Gary Mack explains how your mind influences your performance on the field or on the court as much as your physical skill does, if not more so. Through forty accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes from prominent athletes--many of whom he has worked with--you will learn the same techniques and exercises Mack uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." Mind Gym will give you the "head edge" over the competition.
Download or read book The Curious Case of Sidd Finch written by George Plimpton and published by Jove Books. This book was released on 1988 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plimpton continues the astounding and (almost) true story of baseball's craziest legend--Sidd Finch, a name every sports fan will remember from Sports Illustrated's 1985 April Fool's issue. Sidd Finch cannot hit, field or steal bases, but with a 168-mph fastball, he's the best pitcher in the sport.
Download or read book The Inside Game written by Keith Law and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking book, Keith Law, baseball writer for The Athletic and author of the acclaimed Smart Baseball, offers an era-spanning dissection of some of the best and worst decisions in modern baseball, explaining what motivated them, what can be learned from them, and how their legacy has shaped the game. For years, Daniel Kahneman’s iconic work of behavioral science Thinking Fast and Slow has been required reading in front offices across Major League Baseball. In this smart, incisive, and eye-opening book, Keith Law applies Kahneman’s ideas about decision making to the game itself. Baseball is a sport of decisions. Some are so small and routine they become the building blocks of the game itself—what pitch to throw or when to swing away. Others are so huge they dictate the future of franchises—when to make a strategic trade for a chance to win now, or when to offer a millions and a multi-year contract for a twenty-eight-year-old star. These decisions have long shaped the behavior of players, managers, and entire franchises. But as those choices have become more complex and data-driven, knowing what’s behind them has become key to understanding the sport. This fascinating, revelatory work explores as never before the essential question: What were they thinking? Combining behavioral science and interviews with executives, managers, and players, Keith Law analyzes baseball’s biggest decision making successes and failures, looking at how gambles and calculated risks of all sizes and scales have shaped the sport, and how the game’s ongoing data revolution is rewriting decades of accepted decision making. In the process, he explores questions that have long been debated, from whether throwing harder really increases a player’s risk of serious injury to whether teams actually “overvalue” trade prospects. Bringing his analytical and combative style to some of baseball’s longest running debates, Law deepens our knowledge of the sport in this entertaining work that is both fun and deeply informative.
Download or read book 42 Today written by MichaeL G Long and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2021-02-09 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores Jackie Robinson’s compelling and complicated legacy Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him. Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status. Featuring piercing essays from a range of distinguished sportswriters, cultural critics, and scholars, this book explores Robinson’s perspectives and legacies on civil rights, sports, faith, youth, and nonviolence, while providing rare glimpses into the struggles and strength of one of the nation’s most athletically gifted and politically significant citizens. Featuring a foreword by celebrated directors and producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, this volume recasts Jackie Robinson’s legacy and establishes how he set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.
Download or read book Dear Baseball Gods A Memoir written by Dan Blewett and published by Dan Blewett. This book was released on 2019-04-08 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dear Baseball Gods, Why didn't you look out for him? Didn't he deserve better? He hustled, competed, and played the game the right way. What happened wasn't fair. A Second Comeback Dan sat by a tree, staring at the ground trying to decide what he would do next. The doctor had just explained that everything he worked for was now ruined. A second Tommy John surgery? Does anyone come back from that? Is my career over? Is this it? A Winding Road to the Top As a walk-on in college, Dan had to earn everything. He pitched on three hours sleep, lived in the clubhouse, played for a team that collapsed mid-season, and endured more arm pain than any kid should. A Way to Move On When finally forced to hang up his cleats, Dan looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the man peering back. If no longer a ballplayer...what would he do? What had been the point of it all? Who was he? The Deeper Side of Life as an Athlete In this philosophical memoir, written as a series of letters, you'll learn that the pinstripes don't wash off so easily.
Download or read book The Easter Storybook written by Laura Richie and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Starting with Jesus’ time in the temple as a boy and ending with His appearances after the resurrection, The Easter Storybook invites readers into the big picture of God’s love. Each of the 40 full-color, beautifully illustrated stories includes a Bible passage and a conversational question to guide families through the Easter season together. Unlike other children’s Easter books, The Easter Storybook focuses not just on Jesus’ last days but on the journey of His whole life leading to the joy of Easter morning. Every story will give children a glimpse into Jesus’ identity—as Teacher, Good Shepherd, Savior, and King—making this a rich book to read throughout the year. The Easter Storybook explains who Jesus is, what He did, and why His death and resurrection matter, in a simple way that children ages 4–8 can understand and remember. As a fitting companion to the bestselling The Advent Storybook, this book is a wonderful way to discover as a family why Jesus came to earth as Rescuer, Redeemer, and Friend.
Download or read book Kerouac at Bat written by Isaac Gewirtz and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sports Law written by Patrick K. Thornton and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. This book was released on 2010-09-15 with total page 837 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The business of sports has become a multi-million dollar industry with legalities in sports leading the way. Sports Law looks at major court cases, statutes, and regulations that explore a variety of legal issues in the sports industry. The early chapters provide an overview of sports law in general terms and explore its impact on race, politics, r
Download or read book Out of the Ballpark written by Alex Rodriguez and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-12-07 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before he hit 400 home runs... Before he was named American League MVP... Before he was AROD to millions of fans... He was Alex. Just a kid who wanted to play baseball more than anything else in the world. Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez has drawn on his own childhood experiences to create this exciting picture book. It's the story of a boy named Alex who knows what it's like to swing at a wild pitch or have a ball bounce right between his legs. Alex is determined not to let his mistakes set him back—even if it means getting up at the crack of dawn to work on his hitting and fielding before school each day! Full of the spirit of determination and joy in the game that put AROD in a league of his own, Out of the Ballpark is a gift from a great sports hero to every young player who dreams of becoming a star.
Download or read book Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball written by Donald Hall and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of America's finest poets joins forces with one of baseball's most outrageous pitchers to paint a revealing portrait of our national game. Donald Hall's forceful, yet elegant, prose brings together all the elements of Dock Ellis's story into a seamless whole. The two of them, the pitcher and the poet, give us remarkable insight into the customs and culture of this closed clannish world. Dock's keen vision, filtered through Hall's extraordinary voice, shows us the hardships and problems of the thinking athlete in an unthinking world.
Download or read book The Champion s Mind written by Jim Afremow and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2015-05-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Even among the most elite performers, certain athletes stand out as a cut above the rest, able to outperform in clutch, game-deciding moments. These athletes prove that raw athletic ability doesn't necessarily translate to a superior on-field experience—its the mental game that matters most. Sports participation—from the recreational to the collegiate Division I level—is at an all-time high. While the caliber of their games may differ, athletes at every level have one thing in common: the desire to excel. In The Champion's Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including: • How to get in a "zone," thrive on a team, and stay humble • How to progress within a sport and sustain long-term excellence • Customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is dropped With hundreds of useful tips, breakthrough science, and cutting-edge workouts from the world's top trainers, The Champion's Mind will help you shape your body to ensure a longer, healthier, happier lifetime.
Download or read book The New York Times Index written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 2092 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Book written by and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2007 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball "by The Book."
Download or read book This Ain t Brain Surgery written by Larry Dierker and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2005-02-14 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly everyone in major-league baseball was surprised when longtime Houston Astros player and then broadcaster Larry Dierker was hired to manage the Astros following the 1996 season without previous managerial experience at any level of the game. In the five years that followed, however, Dierker confounded the experts and led the team to four National League Central division titles and four playoff appearances, and was named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998. Adroitly handling every sort of distraction and disaster than can befall a team—including suffering a nearly catastrophic seizure during a game—Dierker excelled like no other manager in Astros history, until resigning at the end of the 2001 season. In This Ain’t Brain Surgery, Larry Dierker draws on his vast experience of nearly four decades in baseball to reflect on his tenure as Astros manager, telling the reader along the way that the game isn’t so simple, that personalities clash, and that intuition isn’t everything. Woven into the narrative of this book are thoughtful and humorous anecdotes from his playing days.
