Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out
Author: Matt McCarthy
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2009
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9780670020706

Matt McCarthy never expected to get drafted by a Major League Baseball team. A biophysics major at Yale, he was a decent left-handed starter for a dismal college team. But good southpaws are hard to find, and when the Anaheim Angels selected him in the 21

A Year in the Minors

A Year in the Minors
Author: Richard B. Lyttle
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Total Pages: 242
Release: 1975-01-01
Genre: Minor league baseball
ISBN: 9780385083324

Using the 1973 season of the San Jose Bees as an example, examines the organization, management, and daily struggles of a minor league team.

Stolen Season

Stolen Season
Author: David Lamb
Publisher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1626812772

"A pennant-winning look at baseball at its purest." —Atlanta Journal & Constitution On the field with baseball classics like Men at Work and The Boys of Summer, David Lamb travels the backroads of America to draw a stirring portrait of minor league baseball that will enchant every fan who has ever sat in the bleachers and waited for the crack of the bat. A sixteen-thousand mile journey across America…. A travelogue of minor league teams and the towns that support them… A chronicle of hopes and dreams… Correspondent David Lamb embarks on a trek that captures the triumphs and defeats as thousands of players do all they can to reach the big leagues. In watching the games and riding the roads, Lamb also discovers a nation that breathes baseball, and towns that wrap their own dreams around their teams. Stolen Season is full of unforgettable characters, none more so than Lamb himself, a journalist who has written about and lived baseball his entire life, telling tales with humor and with warmth of a sport that reveals as much about Americans as it does about long summer days and nine glorious innings. "Part love letter, part snapshot, part history, and all-American...this book should be read by anyone who has yet to savor the sounds and delights of a minor-league baseball game." —New York Times Book Review "Thoroughly engaging." —Sporting News "An absorbing, delightful chronicle...at once nostaglic, sharp-eyed, and beautifully crafted." —San Francisco Chronicle

Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Where Nobody Knows Your Name
Author: John Feinstein
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0307949583

Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.

Out of My League:

Out of My League:
Author: Dirk Hayhurst
Publisher: Citadel Press
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0806536667

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

Brushing Back Jim Crow

Brushing Back Jim Crow
Author: Bruce Adelson
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780813918846

Adelson interviews dozens of athletes, managers, and sportswriters to chronicle the social plight of the presence of African-American ballplayers in the minor leagues. 20 illustrations.

The Minors

The Minors
Author: Chris Ludovici
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2017-06-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9781947021006

"The Minors" tells the story of introverted sixteen-year-old Samantha Heller and her friendship/unrequited crush on the contractor fixing up her family's house. Sam's world is thrown into turmoil when her beloved father abruptly announces that his job is transferring him to Chicago effective immediately and the whole family will join him when the school year is out. Until then, Sam is stuck at home with her mother, who she clashes with frequently. Heartbroken at having to move, but intrigued with the freedom that comes with knowing she's leaving, Sam explores the upsides of living in a world with no tomorrow. The contractor (and equally important co-protagonist) is Nick Masters; he's twenty-eight, a former minor league ball player, and misanthrope. Rootless and restless, Nick lives with his Aunt, drinks too much, mistreats the (young) women who date him, and generally is not that pleasant to be around. Frankly, he's an ass. But he's cute and a little smarter than you'd think so he's managing to get away with it. Barely. Nick finds himself useful at the Heller residence, playing the role of driving instructor for Sam, but as time goes on and he becomes more enmeshed with Sam and her mom: he becomes friend, therapist, and surrogate father/husband. But his involvement with the family changes when he sleeps with Sam's mom and he finds himself in well over his head with a self-destructing family and a young girl who suddenly hates him, but won't let him just walk away.