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Book The Church of Baseball

Download or read book The Church of Baseball written by Ron Shelton and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2023-06-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LA TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning screenwriter and director of cult classic Bull Durham, the extremely entertaining behind-the-scenes story of the making of the film, and an insightful primer on the art and business of moviemaking. "This book tells you how to make a movie—the whole nine innings of it—out of nothing but sheer will.” —Tony Gilroy, writer/director of Michael Clayton and The Bourne Legacy "The only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the church of baseball."—Annie in Bull Durham Bull Durham, the breakthrough 1988 film about a minor league baseball team, is widely revered as the best sports movie of all time. But back in 1987, Ron Shelton was a first-time director and no one was willing to finance a movie about baseball—especially a story set in the minors. The jury was still out on Kevin Costner’s leading-man potential, while Susan Sarandon was already a has-been. There were doubts. But something miraculous happened, and The Church of Baseball attempts to capture why. From organizing a baseball camp for the actors and rewriting key scenes while on set, to dealing with a short production schedule and overcoming the challenge of filming the sport, Shelton brings to life the making of this beloved American movie. Shelton explains the rarely revealed ins and outs of moviemaking, from a film’s inception and financing, screenwriting, casting, the nuts and bolts of directing, the postproduction process, and even through its release. But this is also a book about baseball and its singular romance in the world of sports. Shelton spent six years in the minor leagues before making this film, and his experiences resonate throughout this book. Full of wry humor and insight, The Church of Baseball tells the remarkable story behind an iconic film.

Book Baseball as a Road to God

Download or read book Baseball as a Road to God written by John Sexton and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-03-07 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The president of New York University offers a love letter to America’s most beloved sport and a tribute to its underlying spirituality. For more than a decade, John Sexton has taught a wildly popular New York University course about two seemingly very different things: religion and baseball. Yet Sexton argues that one is actually a pathway to the other. Baseball as a Road to God is about touching that something that lies beyond logical understanding. Sexton illuminates the surprisingly large number of mutual concepts shared between baseball and religion: faith, doubt, conversion, miracles, and even sacredness among many others. Structured like a game and filled with riveting accounts of baseball’s most historic moments, Baseball as Road to God will enthrall baseball fans whatever their religious beliefs may be. In thought-provoking, beautifully rendered prose, Sexton elegantly demonstrates that baseball is more than a game, or even a national pastime: It can be a road to enlightenment.

Book The Church of Baseball

    Book Details:
  • Author : Jim Cryns
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2017-11-17
  • ISBN : 9781979853255
  • Pages : 232 pages

Download or read book The Church of Baseball written by Jim Cryns and published by . This book was released on 2017-11-17 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story behind the making of the most popular sports movie of all time. Released in 1988, Bull Durham was rejected by every studio in Hollywood--twice. The film defied odds as it became a sports movie that actually made money--a lot of money. It has also been credited with breathing new life into the minor leagues of baseball. Writer and director Ron Shelton played professional baseball at the AAA level for five years. He voluntarily left baseball to pursue a Master's degree. Later, he began writing articles, then covered scripts for legendary producer Ed Pressman. It was this experience that encouraged a young Shelton to write screenplays, including Under Fire starring Gene Hackman and Best of Times, starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. Shelton had an idea for a film that took place in the Carolina Leagues in the minors. It was a love story set in the decaying tobacco town of Durham, North Carolina. Bull Durham Producer Thom Mount, formerly head Universal Pictures, was from Durham. He instantly became enamored with the script and the story, which appeared destined to be told. The book includes interviews with Ron Shelton, Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Bob Costas, Robert Wuhl, George F. Will, Brian Anderson, William O'Leary and many others.

Book The Great American Novel

Download or read book The Great American Novel written by Philip Roth and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral—a richly imagined novel featuring America’s only homeless big-league baseball team in history delivers “shameless comic extravagance…. Roth gleefully exploits our readiness to let baseball stand for America itself" (The New York Times). Gil Gamesh, the only pitcher who ever literally tried to kill the umpire. The ex-con first baseman, John Baal, "The Babe Ruth of the Big House," who never hit a home run sober. If you've never heard of them—or of the homeless baseball team the Ruppert Mundys—it's because of the Communist plot, and the capitalist scandal, that expunged the entire Patriot League from baseball memory. In this ribald, wickedly satiric novel, Roth turns baseball's status as national pastime and myth into an occasion for unfettered picaresque farce, replete with heroism and perfidy, ebullient wordplay and a cast of characters that includes the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Book The Desperado who Stole Baseball

Download or read book The Desperado who Stole Baseball written by John H. Ritter and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1881, the scrappy, rough-and-tumble baseball team in a California mining town enlists the help of a quick-witted twelve-year-old orphan and the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid to win a big game against the National League Champion Chicago White Stockings. Prequel to: The boy who saved baseball.

Book Are We Winning

Download or read book Are We Winning written by Will Leitch and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2010-05-04 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hilarious tribute to baseball and to the fathers and sons who share the love of the game. Are We Winning? is built around a trip to Wrigley Field to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs--the "lovable losers" to most fans but the hated enemy to the Leitch men. Along for the ride are both Will's father, the gregarious but not-exactly demonstrative Midwestern titan who, despite being a die-hard Cards fan and living his whole life just 200 miles south of Chicago, had never been to Wrigley Field before this game, and Will's college friend, a lifelong Cubs fan. The Cardinals have recently fallen out of the pennant race, and the Cubs, as it turns out, are attempting to clinch the division on this Saturday afternoon in September. The pitchers are Ted Lilly for the Cubs and Joel Pineiro for the Cardinals. It's just a regular game. Play ball. The book unfolds in half-inning increments where Will gives one-of-a-kind insight on the past, present, and future of the game--from Pujols' unrivaled greatness to the myth that steroids have ruined baseball. Along the way, he shares memories of his father and growing up in the small town of Mattoon, including the year his dad coached his Little League team and nicknamed a scrawny kid "Bulldog," and an unlikely postgame episode involving a biker bar and Mr. Holland's Opus. And there is beer. Lots and lots of beer. Are We Winning? is a book about the indelible bond that links fathers and sons. For the Leitch men it's baseball that holds them together--not that either of them would ever be so weak as to admit it. No matter how far apart they are or what's going on in their lives, they'll always be able to talk about baseball. It's the story of being a fan, a story about fathers, sons, and legacies. And one perfect game.

Book Class A

    Book Details:
  • Author : Lucas Mann
  • Publisher : Vintage
  • Release : 2013-05-07
  • ISBN : 0307907554
  • Pages : 337 pages

Download or read book Class A written by Lucas Mann and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unforgettable chronicle of a year of minor-league baseball in a small Iowa town that follows not only the travails of the players of the Clinton LumberKings but also the lives of their dedicated fans and of the town itself. Award-winning essayist Lucas Mann delivers a powerful debut in his telling of the story of the 2010 season of the Clinton LumberKings. Along the Mississippi River, in a Depression-era stadium, young prospects from all over the world compete for a chance to move up through the baseball ranks to the major leagues. Their coaches, some of whom have spent nearly half a century in the game, watch from the dugout. In the bleachers, local fans call out from the same seats they’ve occupied year after year. And in the distance, smoke rises from the largest remaining factory in a town that once had more millionaires per capita than any other in America. Mann turns his eye on the players, the coaches, the fans, the radio announcer, the town, and finally on himself, a young man raised on baseball, driven to know what still draws him to the stadium. His voice is as fresh and funny as it is poignant, illuminating both the small triumphs and the harsh realities of minor-league ball. Part sports story, part cultural exploration, part memoir, Class A is a moving and unique study of why we play, why we watch, and why we remember.

Book Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball

Download or read book Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball written by Scott Simon and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2007-07-31 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An extraordinary book . . . invitingly written and brisk." --Chicago Tribune "Perhaps no one has ever told the tale [of Robinson's arrival in the major leagues] so well as [Simon] does in this extended essay." --The Washington Post Book World "Scott Simon tells a compelling story of risk and sacrifice, profound ugliness and profound grace, defiance and almost unimaginable courage. This is a meticulously researched, insightful, beautifully written book, one that should be read, reread, and remembered." --Laura Hillenbrand, author of the New York Times bestseller Seabiscuit The integration of baseball in 1947 had undeniable significance for the civil rights movement and American history. Thanks to Jackie Robinson, a barrier that had once been believed to be permanent was shattered--paving the way for scores of African Americans who wanted nothing more than to be granted the same rights as any other human being. In this book, renowned broadcaster Scott Simon reveals how Robinson's heroism brought the country face-to-face with the question of racial equality. From his days in the army to his ascent to the major leagues, Robinson battled bigotry at every turn. Simon deftly traces the journey of the rookie who became Rookie of the Year, recalling the taunts and threats, the stolen bases and the slides to home plate, the trials and triumphs. Robinson's number, 42, has been retired by every club in major league baseball--in homage to the man who had to hang his first Brooklyn Dodgers uniform on a hook rather than in a locker.

Book The Faith of Fifty Million

Download or read book The Faith of Fifty Million written by Christopher Hodge Evans and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume features essays by religion scholars who analyze the relation of baseball and theology in American culture. Topics include issues of national identity, baseball and civil religion, baseball as a metaphor and more.

Book Bible Baseball

Download or read book Bible Baseball written by Robert T Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1983-08 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now all the thrill and competitive action of baseball is packed into a Bible game as players hit and score runs for their team by answering challenging Bible questions.

Book Baseball and the Law

Download or read book Baseball and the Law written by Louis H. Schiff and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PLEASE NOTE: This book is available only as an ebook. Print copies are not available. Baseball and the Law: Cases and Materials explores the jurisprudence of baseball through 110 principal readings, 619 notes, and 26 photographs. After an introductory chapter that acquaints students with the sport and the role lawyers have played in its development, the authors proceed to examine a multitude of legal issues, from player salaries, franchise relocations, and steroids to fan safety, broadcast rights, and gambling. Special attention is paid to racial and sexual discrimination; tax planning, asset protection, and bankruptcy; and the burgeoning use of technology. A concluding chapter focuses on amateur and youth baseball. The book draws on a variety of materials--including court decisions, arbitration awards, law review articles, newspapers stories, and blog posts--to place baseball in three different contexts: cultural, historical, and legal. The exhaustive notes make numerous references to movies, TV shows, and videos to further demonstrate the connection between baseball and the law. In addition to being a fun read, this work will strengthen a student''s understanding of such core subjects as civil procedure, constitutional law, property, and torts while improving his or her ability to read contracts and parse statutes. The accompanying Teacher''s Manual provides invaluable tips for both new and experienced instructors. Baseball and the Law received the 2017 Baseball Research Award, awarded by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). "The authors have adopted a familiar casebook format, presenting edited opinions followed by notes providing legal and factual context. While this book''s format is traditional, the content is anything but. Chapters are designed to orient readers to the variety of legal issues involving commissioners, teams, stadiums, players, fans, and amateurs. Through the authors'' efforts to collect and organize these cases, Baseball and the Law illuminates how the law shapes the way baseball is played and enjoyed." -- The Harvard Law Review "[This book] is like no baseball book I''ve ever had the pleasure to pick up (or, at hardback and 1,040 pages, do curls with). [...] I''m neither a lawyer nor a reviewer of books, but I find Baseball and the Law to be a fun volume to have on the bookshelf. Gift givers looking for a baseball item for the fan who has everything have something unique to consider as a stocking stuffer. Because unless your fan is a student or a professor at a participating law school, (s)he doesn''t have this." -- Howard Cole, Forbes "I must confess that when I read Baseball and the Law, it was the first textbook I could remember that I actually enjoyed reading. It is not only a significant compilation of the cases that have provided the law relating to baseball, it is also a remarkable history of the sport and the business surrounding it. After a couple of essays in the introduction, the authors begin with a review of baseball cases dating back to the 1800s. While I am no expert in baseball law, I cannot conceive of any area of baseball law that is not covered by the book. I have to assert that Baseball and the Law is a phenomenal compilation of the law regarding most, if not all, facets of baseball litigation and law. It is truly an enjoyable read." -- Major B. Harding (former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court and shareholder with Ausley McMullen in Tallahassee), The Florida Bar Journal "For anyone who has a deep interest in the game of baseball and wants to understand its legal history, this is a fascinating book as well as a great reference tool." -- Vince Gennaro, President of Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) "[Schiff and Jarvis have] combined their work and play to create an innovative way to teach law--and perhaps expand the trivia repertoire of diehard fans. [Baseball and the Law] is a 1,040-page look at 110 of the game''s most intriguing or iconic legal disputes...The extensive and sometimes intriguing case notes span centuries. They reach from 1791, when a Massachusetts town passed an ordinance banning baseball from being played within 250 feet of a church (to protect its windows) to modern-day rulings reflecting the rise of performance drug use by professional athletes." -- Diane C. Lade, South Florida Sun-Sentinel "[This book] covers a slew of cases involving Baseball and the law...Readers can find litigation involving George Steinbrenner, Pete Rose, John Rocker and the Black Sox, along with cases about antitrust laws, fans, teams, comissioners, broadcast rights, gambling, owner conduct, competitive balance, baseball cards and even hot dogs being shot into the stands. Schiff and Jarvis spice up the book with informative and colorful notes that even a layman can understand. The scope of their research is breathtaking, drawing from books, magazines, broadcasts, scholarly works and newspapers." -- Bob D''Angelo, The Sports Bookie "As prolific baseball book reviewer Ron Kaplan has already written about this one: "The closest I''ll ever get to law school" is reading this. We agree. And we''d also encourage anyone who thinks they may have a shot at becoming the MLB Commissioner some day, start by lawyering up and investing knowledge here about how the game is still held together by the strings of historical court documents." -- Tom Hoffarth, Farther Off the Wall "The casebook''s coverage is comprehensive. Cases are organized from baseball''s point of view, rather than traditional categoies of legal subject areas. There are chapters on Commissioners, Teams, Stadiums, Players, Fans and Amateurs. I think this is a helpful approach: generally speaking, outside the walls of law schools and law firms, client''s legal problems are not organized into legal categoies, and the sooner students realize this, the better. [...]I wondered whether women would be missing entirely from such a casebook, but this isn''t true of Baseball and the Law and it feels like the authors made a deliberate effort to address this concern. In addition to a number of cases dealing with sex discrimination ... the Notes discuss MLB''s domestic violence policy and women''s history and future in professional baseball as players and umpires; a number of women are cited in the Notes, particularly in the Introduction; and there are photos of Justice Sonia Sotomayor (''''the woman who saved baseball'''' and the 1995 season) throwing out the first pitch at a Yankees game and of Little League World Series pitching phenom Mo''ne Davis. [...]the Notes are a goldmine of baseball facts and lore, and, more importantly, help to place the cases in their historical and social context. This brings the cases to life and made me want to read the next case which is exactly what law professors want their students to do, and should be the ultimate goal of any law school casebook." -- Gail Henderson, University of Alberta''s Faculty Blog "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball. So wrote French philosopher Jacques Barzum in a 1954 book, "God''s Country and Mind." Maybe he should have written that whoever wants to know about American law should learn baseball. That''s the approach taken by a Broward County judge and a Nova Southeastern law professor who have just published Baseball and the Law, a 1,040 page textbook intended to spark teaching the subject at law schools, and just maybe provide some entertaining and educational reading for the baseball-afflicted lawyers." -- Gary Blankenship, The Florida Bar News "When it comes to baseball and the courts ... Baseball and the Law spells out many of the cases that made Milwaukee famous in baseball jurisprudence--cases that helped shape the game as it is today." -- Chris Foran, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (from 11 new baseball books to add to your lineup) "Baseball and the Law offers a wealth of information for students and baseball fans alike... Schiff and Jarvis present cases and notes that help us appreciate, understand, and gain insight into some of the most important legal and social issues of the past and present... The abundance of information and wealth of knowledge that this text offers makes it an invaluable resource... [I]t is current, enthusiastic, well-researched, thorough, and full of fascinating, historical details (lots of interesting baseball trivia too)... One of the most enjoyable aspects of the text is the notes following the cases. The notes practically comprise a treatise on baseball law and lore in and of themselves." -- Russ VerSteeg, Marquette Sports Law Review "Baseball and the Law is intended to be a textbook for courses in this specialized area. It is probably ideal for its intended purpose, but it is also a remarkable reference tool for anyone interested in the topic. The greatest strength of the book is its level of detail. It is more than one thousand pages of big-picture overview, small details, and reference after reference. Every baseball-related legal case I have ever heard of, as well as hundreds that I knew nothing about, appears to be excerpted or described in the text. Further, the authors reference baseball historians, philosophers, political scientists, journalists, and bloggers who have written on the topic. These references are more than simply citations; rather, they are brief summations of the author''s points and sometimes a critique of that perspective. These references are more like an annotated bibliography than the traditional footnotes to which a sport historian might be used." --Sarah K. Field, Journal of Sport History "This is a book that every lawyer who is also a baseball fan (or any kind of sports fan) will enjoy reading and referencing... It is hard to write about baseball without, wel

Book Perfect  Once Removed

Download or read book Perfect Once Removed written by Phillip Hoose and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-05-26 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the winter of 1956, Phillip Hoose was a gawky, uncoordinated 9-year-old boy just moved to a new town-Speedway, Indiana-and trying to fit into a new school and circle of friends. Baseball was his passion, even though he was terrible at it and constantly shamed by his lack of ability. But he had one thing going for him that his classmates could never have-his second cousin was a pitcher for the New York Yankees. Don Larsen wasn't a star, but he was in the Yankees' rotation. And on October 8, 1956, he pitched perhaps the greatest game that has ever been pitched: a perfect game (27 batters up, 27 out) against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. It forever changed Phil's life. Perfect, Once Removed, recalls with pitch-perfect clarity the angst and jubilation of Phil Hoose's 9th year. To be published on the 50th anniversary of The Perfect Game, it will be one of the best baseball books of 2006.

Book The Universal Baseball Association  Inc   J  Henry Waugh  Prop

Download or read book The Universal Baseball Association Inc J Henry Waugh Prop written by Robert Coover and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1992-01 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Cardboard Gods

Download or read book Cardboard Gods written by Josh Wilker and published by Seven Footer Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wilker marks the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. He captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game.

Book Ahead of the Curve

Download or read book Ahead of the Curve written by Brian Kenny and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A delight for baseball lovers” (Kirkus Reviews) and “one of the most significant baseball books of the year” (Bob Costas) Ahead of the Curve uses stories from baseball’s present and past to examine why we sometimes choose ignorance over information, and how tradition can trump logic. Forget batting average. Kill the “Win.” Say goodbye to starting pitchers. And please, please stop bunting. MLB Network anchor and commentator Brian Kenny provides “an excellent, entertaining read for the all-around baseball fan” (Library Journal) and shows how baseball has been revolutionized—not destroyed—by analytical thinking. Most people who resist logical thought in baseball preach “tradition” and “respecting the game.” But many of baseball’s traditions go back to the nineteenth century, when the pitcher’s job was to provide the batter with a ball he could hit and fielders played without gloves. Instead of fearing change, Brian Kenny wants fans to think critically, reject outmoded groupthink, and embrace the changes that have come with the sabermetric era. In his entertaining and enlightening book, Kenny discusses why the pitching win-loss record, the Triple Crown, fielding errors, and so-called battling titles should be ignored. He also points out how fossilized sportswriters have been electing the wrong MVP’s and ignoring legitimate candidates for the Hall of Fame; why managers are hired based on their looks; and how the most important position in baseball may just be “Director of Decision Sciences.” “Prepare to have your brain and your assumptions challenged. Guided by data and a deep love of the game, Brian Kenny takes a cutting-edge look at where baseball is and where it is going” (Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated). Illustrated with unique anecdotes from those who have reshaped the game, Ahead of the Curve is “a great story about the game in the age of information and technology” (Billy Beane).

Book Baseball Karma and the Constitution Blues

Download or read book Baseball Karma and the Constitution Blues written by Ronnie Norpel and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "Baseball Karma and The Constitution Blues," Ronnie Norpel provides a play-by-play, behind-the-scenes account of a young woman's education in life, luck, love and superstition while working for her hometown major league baseball team. The book is steeped in authenticity from Norpel's days as a front office rep for the Philadelphia Phillies. Norpel's ficto-memoir brims with insider insight, detailing the fastballs, curve balls and errors experienced by main character Mary Katharine "Mick" Carmichael when she gets involved with a rookie on the Constitution Blues team. "Baseball Karma and The Constitution Blues" overflows with heart and humor, without glossing over the despair of karmic growing pains for both Mick and the Blues. Underneath it all, we discover how one woman's real-life curse changed destiny-until it was finally lifted for good. Norpel's rookie novel is must-read for all superstitious fans who worship at the Church of Baseball!

Book Out of Left Field

    Book Details:
  • Author : Rebecca Trachtenberg Alpert
  • Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
  • Release : 2016-07
  • ISBN : 9780190619138
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Out of Left Field written by Rebecca Trachtenberg Alpert and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2016-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Out of Left Field, Rebecca Alpert explores how Jewish sports entrepreneurs, political radicals, and a team of black Jews from Belleville, Virginia called the Belleville Grays--the only Jewish team in the history of black baseball--made their mark on the segregated world of the Negro Leagues. Through in-depth research, Alpert tells the stories of the Jewish businessmen who owned and promoted teams as they both acted out and fell victim to pervasive stereotypes of Jews as greedy middlemen and hucksters. Some Jewish owners produced a kind of comedy baseball, akin to basketball's Harlem Globetrotters--indeed, Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein was very active in black baseball--that reaped financial benefits for both owners and players but also played upon the worst stereotypes of African Americans and prevented these black "showmen" from being taken seriously by the major leagues. But Alpert also shows how Jewish entrepreneurs, motivated in part by the traditional Jewish commitment to social justice, helped grow the business of black baseball in the face of the oppressive Jim Crow restrictions, and how radical journalists writing for the Communist Daily Worker argued passionately for an end to baseball's segregation."--From publisher description.