Download or read book Foul Ball written by Jim Bouton and published by RosettaBooks. This book was released on 2014-01-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rollicking and “compelling” true story of baseball, big money, and small-town politics by the author of the classic Ball Four (Publishers Weekly). Host to organized baseball since 1892, Pittsfield, Massachusetts’s Wahconah Park was soon to be abandoned by the owner of the Pittsfield Mets, who would move his team to a new stadium in another town—an all too familiar story. Enter former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton and his partner with the best deal ever offered to a community: a locally owned professional baseball team and a privately restored city-owned ballpark at no cost to the taxpayers. The only people who didn’t like Bouton's plan were the mayor, the mayor's hand-picked Parks Commissioners, a majority of the City Council, the only daily newspaper, the city’s largest bank, its most powerful law firm, and a guy from General Electric. Everyone else—or approximately 98% of the citizens of Pittsfield—loved it. But the “good old boys” hated Bouton’s plan because it would put a stake in the heart of a proposed $18.5 million baseball stadium—a new stadium that the citizens of Pittsfield had voted against three different times. In this riveting account, Bouton unmasks a mayor who brags that “the fix is in,” a newspaper that lies to its readers, and a government that operates out of a bar. But maybe the most incredible story is what happened after Foul Ball was published—a story in itself. Invited back by a new mayor, Bouton and his partner raise $1.2 million, help discover a document dating Pittsfield’s baseball origins to 1791, and stage a vintage game that’s broadcast live by ESPN-TV. Who could have guessed what would happen next? And that this time it would involve the Massachusetts Attorney General? “An irresistible story whose outcome remains in doubt until the very end. Not just a funny book, but a patriotic one.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Bouton proves that a badly run city government can be just as dangerous—and just as hilarious—as a badly run baseball team.”—Keith Olbermann

Download or read book Death at the Ballpark written by Robert M. Gorman and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-10-13 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When we think of baseball, we think of sunny days and leisurely outings at the ballpark--rarely do thoughts of death come to mind. Yet during the game's history, hundreds of players, coaches and spectators have died while playing or watching the National Pastime. In its second edition, this ground-breaking study provides the known details for 150 years of game-related deaths, identifies contributing factors and discusses resulting changes to game rules, protective equipment, crowd control and stadium structures and grounds. Topics covered include pitched and batted-ball fatalities, weather and field condition accidents, structural failures, fatalities from violent or risky behavior and deaths from natural causes.

Download or read book Foul or Fair written by Larry Atkins and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-02-23 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's more to sports than what occurs during games. Check your social media, listen to sports talk radio, or watch ESPN--there are daily stories of social issues in sports regarding concussions, playing hurt, gambling, Olympics and politics, athletes as social activists, paying college athletes, recruiting violations, academics, youth sports, diversity and gender issues, hazing, athletes' mental health, disabled athletes' rights, sportsmanship, and media coverage. How do these issues affect athletes, fans, and society? Written equally for casual and hardcore fans, this book analyzes social and ethical issues in sports in a lively, journalistic manner, combining quotes from writers, broadcasters, athletes, coaches and others with the author's observations. It shows pros and cons of how sports affect our daily lives and society. While sports inspire and excite us and lead to social change like the civil rights movement, Title IX, and rights of disabled people, controversies surrounding sports can be divisive even as sports work as a uniting factor in society.

Download or read book The Baseball written by Zack Hample and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011-03-08 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Baseball is a salute to the ball, filled with insider trivia, anecdotes, and generations of ball-induced insanity—from Zack Hample, the bestselling author of Watching Baseball Smarter • Which Hall of Famer once caught a ball dropped from an airplane? • Why do balls get stamped with invisible ink? • What’s the best ticket to buy for catching a foul ball? • Which part of the ball once came from dog food companies? • How could a 10,000-year-old glacier help a pitcher grip the ball? In this enlightening, entertaining, and often wildly funny book, Zack Hample shares ballpark legends and lore, explores the history of the baseball souvenir craze, and also details the evolution of the ball. Finally, Hample—who has snagged more than 4,600 balls from 48 different major league stadiums—offers up his secret methods for snagging your own ball from major league games. Features a ballhawk glossary, profiles of legendary ballhawks, top 10 lists, and black-and-white photos throughout.

Download or read book Zachary s Ball written by Matt Tavares and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2012-02-14 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dad takes Zachary to his first Boston Red Sox game, where they catch a ball and something magical happens.

Download or read book Small Ball written by Craig Martin Barnes and published by Aspect Books. This book was released on 2016-04-07 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicknamed “America’s Pastime,” baseball is a favorite sport for many people. With little leagues, school teams, community recreation clubs, farm teams, and Major League Baseball, it is no wonder the game is so popular. When Craig Barnes and his friends broke a window in their neighborhood as a result of their lively game of baseball, the group of youngsters invented miniature baseball. This breakthrough version of their favorite game could be played in a smaller space and utilized a ball that wouldn’t break any windows! Small Ball: The Blessings of Miniature Baseball introduces you to the game of miniature baseball and provides you with a complete set of rules and instructions for how to play the game. Unlike traditional baseball, the unique scoring system of miniature baseball allows you to play the game with as few as two people. And with handicaps for advanced players, both young and old rookies can enjoy playing alongside those with more experience, thus mentoring and sharing the love of baseball with all generations, including those who live with handicaps.

Download or read book Foul Ball written by Haven Hadley and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-11-06 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Declan Armitage. The right fielder Espen got in a trade. A powerful hitter, a hard throw, and an unmatched stolen base percentage. Not expecting to be traded, he was happy to learn where he was headed. If only he didn't need to find a new place to live. One phone call from his brother and the plan was put into motion. Brock Richmond was loyal to a fault. When his best friend called and asked if his brother could stay with him, Brock didn't hesitate. Declan didn't have a home in Espen and Brock had a spare room. Brock retired from professional football at the end of last season. All he wanted was peace and quiet, a chance to relax. He pushed his body far enough. A break was needed. And he wanted someone to spend his time with. He also had to get up the courage to tell everyone the one secret he kept his entire football career-Brock was gay. Declan had wanted Brock since he was a teenager. Not that it was a possibility with a straight man. Except, Brock wasn't so straight after all. Being true to yourself was a tough road. The fear of rejection was very real. The chance that not everyone would accept the decisions you made. The ball was high in the sky. The line of in or out wasn't far. Declan had to decide to let it fall foul or make a dive for it.

Download or read book Constitution and Playing Rules of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs written by National League of Professional Baseball Clubs and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Foul Ball Frame up at Wrigley Field written by David Aretha and published by Enslow Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The baseball geeks are back at it again in this second installment from David Aretha. When Omar's dad takes the boys to Wrigley Field to see a Chicago Cubs game, the geeks find themselves in a big mess when Omar gets blamed for something he didn't do. Is Omar going to be the newest curse in the Cubs' history, or will Kevin and Joe save their best friend from having to hide forever?

Download or read book Spalding s Base Ball Guide and Official League Book for written by and published by . This book was released on 1882 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball 2d ed written by Jonathan Fraser Light and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-25 with total page 1112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than any other sport, baseball has developed its own niche in America’s culture and psyche. Some researchers spend years on detailed statistical analyses of minute parts of the game, while others wax poetic about its players and plays. Many trace the beginnings of the civil rights movement in part to the Major Leagues’ decision to integrate, and the words and phrases of the game (for example, pinch-hitter and out in left field) have become common in our everyday language. From AARON, HENRY onward, this book covers all of what might be called the cultural aspects of baseball (as opposed to the number-rich statistical information so widely available elsewhere). Biographical sketches of all Hall of Fame players, owners, executives and umpires, as well as many of the sportswriters and broadcasters who have won the Spink and Frick awards, join entries for teams, owners, commissioners and league presidents. Advertising, agents, drafts, illegal substances, minor leagues, oldest players, perfect games, retired uniform numbers, superstitions, tripleheaders, and youngest players are among the thousands of entries herein. Most entries open with a topical quote and conclude with a brief bibliography of sources for further research. The whole work is exhaustively indexed and includes 119 photographs.

Download or read book Orator O Rourke written by Mike Roer and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2006-01-13 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a player, manager, team captain, umpire, owner and league president, Hall of Famer Jim O'Rourke (1851-1918) spoke for the players in the emerging game of baseball. O'Rourke's career paralleled the rise of the game from a regional sport with few strategies to the national pastime. Nicknamed "Orator" for his booming voice and his championing of the rights of professional athletes, he was a driving force in making the sport a profession, bringing respectability to the role of professional baseball player. From contemporary sources, O'Rourke's own correspondence, and player files available through the National Baseball Library, a rounded portrait of Jim O'Rourke emerges. Quick to speak his mind, the outfielder played on nine pennant-winning teams, but his playing career was overshadowed by his work in organizing baseball's first union. After his playing days ended, O'Rourke attempted to establish the Connecticut League, becoming the circuit's president, secretary, and treasury. Though the league failed to fully materialize, his Bridgeport Victors did play several games and were one of the few racially integrated teams--a fact emblematic of O'Rourke's efforts to change the national pastime. In those efforts, he attempted to wrest control of the game from the owners and empower the players. A carefully researched account of O'Rourke's life and career, this biography also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the growth of the national pastime from the Civil War through the deadball era.

Download or read book Ball Four written by Jim Bouton and published by Rosetta Books. This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 50th Anniversary edition of “the book that changed baseball” (NPR), chosen by Time magazine as one of the “100 Greatest Non-Fiction” books. When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold, and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four. Fans liked discovering that athletes were real people—often wildly funny people. David Halberstam, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on Vietnam, wrote a piece in Harper’s that said of Bouton: “He has written . . . a book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact that it is by no means a sports book.” Today Ball Four has taken on another role—as a time capsule of life in the sixties. “It is not just a diary of Bouton’s 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros,” says sportswriter Jim Caple. “It’s a vibrant, funny, telling history of an era that seems even further away than four decades. To call it simply a ‘tell all book’ is like describing The Grapes of Wrath as a book about harvesting peaches in California.” Includes a new foreword by Jim Bouton's wife, Paula Kurman “An irreverent, best-selling book that angered baseball’s hierarchy and changed the way journalists and fans viewed the sports world.” —The Washington Post

Download or read book Why Is The Foul Pole Fair written by Vince Staten and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-04-30 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chicken soup for the baseball lover's soul -- the inimitable Vince Staten takes you out to the ol' ballgame and answers all the baseball questions your dad hoped you wouldn't ask.

Download or read book Why is the Foul Pole Fair Or Answers to the Baseball Questions Your Dad Hoped You d Never Ask written by Vince Staten and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2003 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The All-American game is highlighted in a collection of offbeat baseball lore, from player's tales and statistical delights to crazy groundskeepers and famous onlookers, humorously recounted by author during a day at the ballpark with his son.

Download or read book Foul Trouble written by John Feinstein and published by Ember. This book was released on 2014-08-05 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the big money and back-room deals that pervade college-basketball recruiting in this fast-break young adult novel. Terrell Jamerson is the #1 high school basketball player in the country. His team is poised to win State, top colleges are lining up to give him scholarships, and everyone says he could play in the NBA tomorrow. But it only takes one false step to lose everything. Danny Wilcox is Terrell’s best friend and teammate, and a top prospect himself, but these days it seems like everyone wants to get close to Terrell: the sneaker guys, the money managers, the college boosters. They show up offering fast cars, hot girls, and cold, hard cash. They say they just want to help, but their kind of help could get Terrell disqualified. Danny and Terrell better keep their eyes on the ball if they hope to last the season. John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel. “Thorough and suspenseful; a must-read for those interested in basketball and the dealings surrounding the sport.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

Download or read book Foul Ball written by Alison Gordon and published by New York : Dodd, Mead. This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alison Gordon recalls her five years spent as a sports writer covering the American League players.