How Baseball Happened

How Baseball Happened
Author: Thomas W. Gilbert
Publisher: Godine+ORM
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1567926886

The untold story of baseball’s nineteenth-century origins: “a delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was love from the first crack of the bat” (Paul Dickson, The Wall Street Journal). You may have heard that Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright invented baseball. Neither did. You may have been told that a club called the Knickerbockers played the first baseball game in 1846. They didn’t. Perhaps you’ve read that baseball’s color line was first crossed by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Nope. Baseball’s true founders don’t have plaques in Cooperstown. They were hundreds of uncredited, ordinary people who played without gloves, facemasks, or performance incentives. Unlike today’s pro athletes, they lived full lives outside of sports. They worked, built businesses, and fought against the South in the Civil War. In this myth-busting history, Thomas W. Gilbert reveals the true beginnings of baseball. Through newspaper accounts, diaries, and other accounts, he explains how it evolved through the mid-nineteenth century into a modern sport of championships, media coverage, and famous stars—all before the first professional league was formed in 1871. Winner of the Casey Award: Best Baseball Book of the Year

Facing Ted Williams

Facing Ted Williams
Author: Dave Heller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1613217986

“The Splendid Splinter,” “Teddy Ballgame,” “The Kid”—no matter the nickname, Ted Williams was one of the most accomplished hitters in baseball history. He was the last man to hit .400 in a single season, a nineteen-time All-Star, a two-time MVP and Triple Crown award winner, and an inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 . . . all while serving his country in World War II and the Korean War. Far from a conventional biography, Facing Ted Williams aims to offer a different perspective with testimonials from teammates and opponents alike on how Williams was regarded among his peers. See Ted Williams through the eyes of pitchers struggling to put a fastball past his bat, the infielders and outfielders adjusting their positions in the hopes that they can fill the hole where a frozen rope might land, and the catchers as they strategize a Williams at-bat, pitch-by-pitch. Facing Ted Williams provides riveting insights from many baseball legends, including: Bob Feller Mudcat Grant Bobby Richardson Don Larsen Bob Friend And many more! Whether you’re a Red Sox fanatic, a casual baseball fan, or perhaps just an admirer of the fabled war hero and slugger, this book is sure to be a fresh and compelling look at this classic baseball icon. Much like Williams himself, Facing Ted Williams is sure to be a home run for all walks of baseball fandom, so don’t swing and miss! Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Ted Williams

Ted Williams
Author: Leigh Montville
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2005-03-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0767913205

The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death? Still a gangly teenager when he stepped into a Boston Red Sox uniform in 1939, Williams’s boisterous personality and penchant for towering home runs earned him adoring admirers and venomous critics. In 1941, the entire country followed Williams's stunning .406 season, a record that has not been touched in over six decades. Then at the pinnacle of his prime, Williams left Boston to train and serve as a fighter pilot in World War II, missing three full years of baseball, making his achievements all the more remarkable. Ted Willams's personal life was equally colorful. His attraction to women (and their attraction to him) was a constant. He was married and divorced three times and he fathered two daughters and a son. He was one of corporate America's first modern spokesmen, and he remained, nearly into his eighties, a fiercely devoted fisherman. With his son, John Henry Williams, he devoted his final years to the sports memorabilia business, even as illness overtook him. And in death, controversy and public outcry followed Williams and the disagreements between his children over the decision to have his body preserved for future resuscitation in a cryonics facility--a fate, many argue, Williams never wanted. With unmatched verve and passion, and drawing upon hundreds of interviews, acclaimed best-selling author Leigh Montville brings to life Ted Williams's superb triumphs, lonely tragedies, and intensely colorful personality, in a biography that is fitting of an American hero and legend.

There Goes Ted Williams

There Goes Ted Williams
Author: Matt Tavares
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0763627895

Profiles the iconic baseball hitter, including his rigorous practice schedule as a youth, military service in two wars, and stellar career that led to an unmatched season in 1941.

Big Sexy

Big Sexy
Author: Bartolo Colón
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2020-05-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1683358007

The All-Star pitcher tells his incredible life story from picking coffee in the Dominican Republic to reaching MLB icon status in America. Legendary baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón—also known as Big Sexy—is one of the most beloved athletes to ever play the game. Honored with the Cy Young Award in 2005, Colón has won more games than any other Latin American–born pitcher. But more importantly, Big Sexy has captured the hearts of fans as well as the elite competitors he has played against. In Big Sexy: In His Own Words, he opens up as never before, telling the story of his life and his decades-long career. The result is a touching and deeply personal story of a truly unique baseball life.

On Air: Untold Stories from Caldecott Hill

On Air: Untold Stories from Caldecott Hill
Author: Various
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd
Total Pages: 934
Release: 2019-06-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9814868116

This collection of 51 essays contains rich memories of Singapore’s broadcasting pioneers based in their station atop Caldecott Hill. ON AIR captures the breadth and depth of their experiences over 82 years on the Hill; from the founding in 1936 of the British Malayan Broadcasting Corporation, to Radio and Television Singapore (RTS), to Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), and finally to what is today, Mediacorp. In this book, the writrers have recorded eight decades worth of work experiences and have shared untold stories from the Japanese Occupation of Caldecott Hill, to the fascinating behind-the-scenes happenings that cast light and well known and well loved shows. Illustrated with rare, archival photographs, many not seen before, this publication is the first of its kind that gives an insight into the development of broadcasting in Singapore.

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
Author: Tyler Kepner
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0385541023

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From The New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than three hundred people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today. The baseball is an amazing plaything. We can grip it and hold it so many different ways, and even the slightest calibration can turn an ordinary pitch into a weapon to thwart the greatest hitters in the world. Each pitch has its own history, evolving through the decades as the masters pass it down to the next generation. From the earliest days of the game, when Candy Cummings dreamed up the curveball while flinging clamshells on a Brooklyn beach, pitchers have never stopped innovating. In K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, Tyler Kepner traces the colorful stories and fascinating folklore behind the ten major pitches. Each chapter highlights a different pitch, from the blazing fastball to the fluttering knuckleball to the slippery spitball. Infusing every page with infectious passion for the game, Kepner brings readers inside the minds of combatants sixty feet, six inches apart. Filled with priceless insights from many of the best pitchers in baseball history--from Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan to Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and Clayton Kershaw--K will be the definitive book on pitching and join such works as The Glory of Their Times and Moneyball as a classic of the genre.

My Turn at Bat

My Turn at Bat
Author: Ted Williams
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1988-03-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0671634232

Ted Williams tells of his childhood, his military experience, and his baseball career.

The Cup of Coffee Club

The Cup of Coffee Club
Author: Jacob Kornhauser
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2020-02-27
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1538130823

“This is one of the very best baseball books in years.” Booklist, Starred Review Reaching the major leagues is a pipe dream for most young baseball players in America. Very few ever get to live it out. A select number of those players face the elation and frustration of getting to play in just one major league game. The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and Their Brush with Baseball History tells the unique stories of eleven of these players. It details their struggles to reach the major leagues, their one moment in the limelight, and their struggles to get back. They include a former Major League Baseball manager, the son of a Baseball Hall of Famer, and two different brothers of Hall of Famers. Exclusive interviews with each of the players provide insight into what that single seminal moment meant and how they dealt with the blow of never making another major league appearance again. Spanning half a century of baseball, each player’s journey to Major League Baseball is distinct, as is each of their responses to having played in just a single game. The Cup of Coffee Club shares their unique perspectives, providing a better understanding of just how special each major league game can be.

Wrigley Field Year by Year

Wrigley Field Year by Year
Author: Sam Pathy
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 1118
Release: 2019-05-07
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1683582977

More than just a lavishly illustrated and highly readable book, Wrigley Field Year by Year, originally published in 2014 and updated through the 2018 season, is the result of a quarter century of meticulous research. Written by a baseball historian and recognized authority on the “Friendly Confines,” this is the first book to detail each year of the storied park’s existence. The book covers not only the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Federal League baseball teams in detail, it touches on the Chicago Bears football team, basketball, hockey, high school sports, track and field, and political rallies. It references activities and changes throughout the park and in its neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. In addition to pertinent Cubs statistics, the author’s year-by-year coverage includes: A “game of the year” A description of unusual and interesting happenings in the ballpark A quote from the year that best captures its essence Supplementing the year-by-year approach are nine chapters that divide Wrigley Field’s rich history into nine “innings” along with informative appendixes that will delight every Cubs fan, from the casual to the obsessed. The book’s easy-to-use format and wealth of information make it a resource that readers will turn to again and again.