Advertisement
batting practice at fenway: Murder at Fenway Park: Troy Soos, 2012-04-25 A Red Sox rookie is accused of murder in the first Mickey Rawlings historical mystery “that will leave readers eager for subsequent innings” (Publishers Weekly). Boston, 1912. Fenway has just opened, Ty Cobb is a nationwide sensation, and rookie Mickey Rawlings has finally made it to the majors. But just when he sets foot inside the confines of the green monster, his all-star dreams come crashing down—Rawlings is fingered for the monstrous murder of his teammate Red Corriden. Sure, someone decided to use Red for batting practice. But just because Rawlings has fouled off a lot of balls in his time doesn’t mean the cops have to be as blind as a rookie ump when it comes to his innocence. With no one watching his back, Rawlings has no choice but to switch his baseball cap for a sleuthing hat to clear his name. Otherwise, it’s going to be a short season in the majors and a long one behind bars . . . “Equal parts baseball and mystery are the perfect proportion.” —Robert Parker “Soos’ delightful debut, mixing suspense, period detail and such legendary baseball greats as Cobb, Walter Johnson, Smokey Joe Wood and Tris Speaker, is a four-bagger.” —Publishers Weekly |
batting practice at fenway: The Fenway Foul-Up David A. Kelly, 2011-02-22 Thanks to Kate's mom, a sports reporter, cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins have tickets to the Red Sox game and All Access passes to Fenway Park. But as they're watching batting practice before the game, the lucky bat of Red Sox star slugger Big D |
batting practice at fenway: Faithful Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King, 2005-09-06 Now in paperback, two fiercely avid Red Sox fans document one of the most eagerly anticipated baseball seasons of all time. From devoted fans O'Nan and King comes this unique chronicle of one baseball team's journey from spring training to post-season play. |
batting practice at fenway: Fenway 1912 Glenn Stout, 2011 A narrative of the first Red Sox season at Fenway Park, this book for fans coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the park. |
batting practice at fenway: Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu John Updike, 2014-12 |
batting practice at fenway: Ballpark Mysteries #18: The Atlanta Alibi David A. Kelly, 2022-02-01 Batter up! Baseball action and exciting whodunits star in this chapter book series! Next up is Atlanta! The A-team takes A-Town! Mike and Kate are in Atlanta, where Hammerin' Hank hit his legendary 715th home run. But Hank's historic bat and ball, which he used to break Babe Ruth's record, have been stolen! Good thing Mike and Kate are sleuthing pros. Can the cousins track down Hank Aaron's missing treasure . . . before it's gone forever? Ballpark Mysteries are the all-star matchup of fun sleuthing and baseball action, perfect for readers of Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries and Matt Christopher's sports books, and younger siblings of Mike Lupica fans. Each Ballpark Mystery also features Dugout Notes with more amazing baseball facts. |
batting practice at fenway: Don't Let Us Win Tonight Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin, 2014-04-01 Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Boston Red Sox’ unprecedented championship run in the fall of 2004, this guide takes fans behind the scenes and inside the dugout, bullpen, and clubhouse to reveal to baseball fans how it happened, as it happened. The book highlights how, during a span of just 76 hours, the Red Sox won four do-or-die games against their archrivals, the New York Yankees, to qualify for the World Series and complete the greatest comeback in baseball history. Then the Red Sox steamrolled through the World Series, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, capturing their first championship since 1918. Don’t Let Us Win Tonight is brimming with revealing quotes from Boston’s front office personnel, coaches, medical staff, and players, including Kevin Millar talking about his infectious optimism and the team’s pregame ritual of drinking whiskey, Dave Roberts revealing how he prepared to steal the most famous base of his career, and Dr. William Morgan describing the radical surgery he performed on Curt Schilling’s right ankle. The ultimate keepsake for any Red Sox fan, this is the 2004 team in their own words. |
batting practice at fenway: The Ultimate Metallica , 2010-07-01 Over 250 photos of the band by their top photographer—plus reminiscences by managers, music writers, and members of Metallica themselves. Legendary music photographer Ross Halfin has documented Metallica from their beginnings as a scrappy, furious garage band to their current status as the heaviest and most popular metal band in the world. The Ultimate Metallica collects the best of Halfin’s amazing images, taken over the years with access granted exclusively to him as the band’s main lensman. His candid photographs—taken on stage, backstage, on and off tour—are supplemented by text from many people close to the band, including managers and music writers, plus some colorful personal observations from Halfin himself. “Ross Halfin’s mark is often imprinted when I access the Metallica memory bank, located deep in the bowels of my thick Danish skull.” —Lars Ulrich |
batting practice at fenway: A Season in the Sun Randy Roberts, Johnny Smith, 2018-03-27 The story of Mickey Mantle's magnificent 1956 season Mickey Mantle was the ideal batter for the atomic age, capable of hitting a baseball harder and farther than any other player in history. He was also the perfect idol for postwar America, a wholesome hero from the heartland. In A Season in the Sun, acclaimed historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith recount the defining moment of Mantle's legendary career: 1956, when he overcame a host of injuries and critics to become the most celebrated athlete of his time. Taking us from the action on the diamond to Mantle's off-the-field exploits, Roberts and Smith depict Mantle not as an ideal role model or a bitter alcoholic, but a complex man whose faults were smoothed over by sportswriters eager to keep the truth about sports heroes at bay. An incisive portrait of an American icon, A Season in the Sun is an essential work for baseball fans and anyone interested in the 1950s. |
batting practice at fenway: The Baseball Codes Jason Turbow, Michael Duca, 2011-03-22 An insider’s look at baseball’s unwritten rules, explained with examples from the game’s most fascinating characters and wildest historical moments. Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. All aspects of baseball—hitting, pitching, and baserunning—are affected by the Code, a set of unwritten rules that governs the Major League game. Some of these rules are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), while others are known only to a minority of players (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box). In The Baseball Codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed—and least known—traditions. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining. At the heart of this book are incredible and often hilarious stories involving national heroes (like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays) and notorious headhunters (like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale) in a century-long series of confrontations over respect, honor, and the soul of the game. With The Baseball Codes, we see for the first time the game as it’s actually played, through the eyes of the players on the field. With rollicking stories from the past and new perspectives on baseball’s informal rulebook, The Baseball Codes is a must for every fan. |
batting practice at fenway: The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2002 William M. Simons, 2015-09-18 This is an anthology of 24 papers that were presented at the Fourteenth Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held in June 2002, and co-sponsored by the State University of New York at Oneonta and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Subsequent to initial presentation, papers were revised and edited for publication. The anthology is divided into five parts: Timebend: Baseball as History; The Business of Baseball; Race: Soul of the Game; Baseball Media: Literature, Journalism, and Cinema; and Baseball Culture: Age, Sexuality, and Religion. Timebend: Baseball as History ruminates on the lingering resonance of the game's past. The Business of Baseball examines sport from a commercial perspective. Race: Soul of the Game chronicles the African-American experience in baseball. Baseball Media: Literature , Journalism, and Cinema analyzes depictions of the game in the popular arts. Baseball Culture: Age, Sexuality, and Religion explores the social fabric of sport. Each part contains multiple essays related by theme and topic. A guide to the paper follows. |
batting practice at fenway: My Most Excellent Year Steve Kluger, 2009-02-19 Best friends and unofficial brothers since they were six, ninth-graders T.C. and Augie have got the world figured out. But that all changes when both friends fall in love for the first time. Enter Al‚. She's pretty, sassy, and on her way to Harvard. T.C. falls hard, but Al‚ is playing hard to get. Meanwhile, Augie realizes that he's got a crush on a boy. It's not so clear to him, but to his family and friends, it's totally obvious! Told in alternating perspectives, this is the hilarious and touching story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover love, themselves, and how a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way. |
batting practice at fenway: The Teammates David Halberstam, 2003-04-02 More than 6 years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his ground-breaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves. The Teammates is the profoundly moving story of four great baseball players who have made the passage from sports icons--when they were young and seemingly indestructible--to men dealing with the vulnerabilities of growing older. At the core of the book is the friendship of these four very different men--Boston Red Sox teammates Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Ted Williams--who remained close for more than sixty years. The book starts out in early October 2001, when Dominic DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky begin a 1,300-mile trip by car to visit their beloved friend Ted Williams, whom they know is dying. Bobby Doerr, the fourth member of this close group--my guys, Williams used to call them--is unable to join them.This is a book--filled with historical details and first-hand accounts--about baseball and about something more: the richness of friendship. |
batting practice at fenway: Fenway Park John Powers, Ron Driscoll, 2012-03-06 Fenway Park. The name evokes a team and a sport that have become more synonymous with a city's identity than any stadium or arena in the country. Since opening in the same week of 1912 that the Titanic sank, the park's instantly recognizable confines have seen some of the most dramatic happenings in baseball history, including Carlton Fisk's Is it fair? home run in the 1975 World Series and Ted Williams's perfectly scripted long ball in his final at-bat. For 100 years, the Fenway faithful have been tested. They have known triumph and heartbreak, miracles and curses -- well, one curse in particular -- to such a degree that an entire nation of fans heaved a collective sigh of relief when Dave Roberts stole a base by a fingertip in 2004, triggering the most amazing comeback in the game's annals. To sit and watch a game at Fenway is to recognize that the pitcher is standing on the same mound where Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Babe Ruth pitched, that a hitter is in the same batter's box where Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron and Shoeless Joe Jackson dug in to take their swings. This is a ballpark that has embraced its odd construction quirks, including the bizarre triangle out in center field and the Green Monster that looms above the left fielder, and today -- for better and for worse -- it remains largely unchanged from the day it opened. In its long history, Fenway has hosted football, hockey, soccer, boxing, and so much more. It has provided a backdrop to hundreds of historic events having nothing to do with sports, including concerts, religious gatherings, and political rallies. It was the site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's final campaign address, as well as visits by music luminaries from Stevie Wonder to Bruce Springsteen to the Rolling Stones. Through it all, the Boston Globe has been the consistent, respected chronicler of every important moment in park history. In fact, the newspaper played a remarkable role in Fenway's creation and evolution: the Taylor family -- founders and longtime owners of the Globe -- owned the ballclub in 1912, helped finance the new stadium, and renamed the team the Red Sox. It is the Globe's insider perspective, combined with more than a century of exemplary journalism, that makes this book the definitive narrative history of both park and team, and a centennial collectors' item unlike any other. Its pages offer a level of detail that is unmatched, with exceptional writing and hundreds of rarely seen photographs and illustrations. This is Fenway Park, the complete story, unfiltered and expertly told. |
batting practice at fenway: The Selling of the Babe Glenn Stout, 2016-03-08 WINNER of the Society for American Baseball Research's (SABR) 2017 Larry Ritter Awardfor best baseball book of the Deadball Era The complete story surrounding the most famous and significant player transaction in professional sports The sale of Babe Ruth by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1919 is one of the pivotal moments in baseball history, changing the fortunes of two of baseball's most storied franchises, and helping to create the legend of the greatest player the game has ever known. More than a simple transaction, the sale resulted in a deal that created the Yankee dynasty, turned Boston into an also-ran, helped save baseball after the Black Sox scandal and led the public to fall in love with Ruth. Award-winning baseball historian Glenn Stout reveals brand-new information about Babe and the unique political situation surrounding his sale, including: -Prohibition and the lifting of Blue Laws in New York affected Yankees owner and beer baron Jacob Ruppert -Previously unexplored documents reveal that the mortgage of Fenway Park did not factor into the Ruth sale - Ruth's disruptive influence on the Red Sox in 1918 and 1919, including sabermetrics showing his negative impact on the team as he went from pitcher to outfielder The Selling of the Babe is the first book to focus on the ramifications of the sale and captures the central moment of Ruth's evolution from player to icon, and will appeal to fans of The Kid and Pinstripe Empire. Babe's sale to New York and the subsequent selling of Ruth to America led baseball from the Deadball Era and sparked a new era in the game, one revolved around the long ball and one man, The Babe. |
batting practice at fenway: Born to Play Dustin Pedroia, 2009-07-14 The inspirational story of Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia—a giant talent in a small package—who defied his critics to become one of the greatest players in the game today. Dustin Pedroia, at five feet seven inches and 170 pounds, is not the biggest, the strongest, or the fastest player in the game of baseball, but in just two years of major-league play he was named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and helped the Boston Red Sox win a World Championship. At a time when steroid scandals dominate media coverage of America’s beloved pastime, Pedroia has proven to the world that a good baseball player is more than size and statistics. His success comes from the heart. In Born to Play, Pedroia shares the story of his difficult and uplifting journey to prove himself at every turn. More than anything, his love of the game and desire to win, not just for himself but for his teammates, defines Pedroia as an athlete—but his dedication, his perseverance, and of course, his monster swing have made him a beloved new symbol of baseball and offer hope for the future of America’s favorite game. |
batting practice at fenway: The Baseball Zack Hample, 2011-03-08 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. |
batting practice at fenway: Island Fever Charles Pflueger, 2011-04-19 Island Fever chronicles a lifetime of adventure from a casual South Florida of the early 1930s to a Bahamian Island retirement almost eighty years later, with exciting and amusing stops along the way. Charlie Pfluger describes his life journey, including his stint in the US Air Force in the Far East and North Africa during the Korean War. After his tour of duty, he assumed station manager duties for Pan American Airways in the Caribbean and South America, moved on to hotel management in the Bahamian Out Islands, and had other assorted misadventures, professional and otherwise. His has been an incredible life. Sometimes it was fun; sometimes it was disappointingbut all in all, it was an amazing ride! |
batting practice at fenway: Knuckleball Lew Freedman, 2015-03-17 “It took me a day to learn [the knuckleball] and a lifetime to learn how to throw it for a strike.” This quote, by pitcher and coach Charlie Hough, is the best way to understand baseball’s most baffling and mysterious pitch. Not even the best practitioners of the art of throwing a knuckleball know where it is going most of the time. As a pitch that floats and comes into the plate in what appears to be slow motion, it is miraculous that those who employ the pitch don’t get creamed all over the park by batters who seem to know that it’s coming. Including interviews with Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, former All-Stars Wilbur Wood and Tim Wakefield, as well as other famed knuckleballers, Lew Freedman (Clouds over the Goalpost, A Summer to Remember), breaks down the history of this infamous pitch, which it seems can be traced back to Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Cicotte, as well as its effect on baseball as a whole. With pitcher R. A. Dickey, who rejuvenated his career from castoff to 2011 Cy Young Award winner, the knuckleball is still a topic of conversation in the sport, and it continues to be one of the many marvels of our national pastime. 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. |
batting practice at fenway: Waiting for Teddy Williams Howard Frank Mosher, 2004 On the eighth birthday of Ethan E.A. Allen, who lives with his mother and Gran in a Vermont town decades behind the rest of New England, a drifter named Teddy comes into their world, teaching E.A. how to play ball and the secrets of baseball. |
batting practice at fenway: Baseball Nicholas Dawidoff, 2002 Includes stories, memoirs, poems, news reports, and insider accounts about all aspects of baseball from its pastoral nineteenth-century beginnings to now. |
batting practice at fenway: How the Red Sox Explain New England Jon Chattman, Allie Tarantino, 2013-04 An examination of the unique affinity New Englanders have for their Red Sox, this work illustrates how the storied history of the franchise mirrors that of New England itself. Founded in 1901 and playing in front of sold out crowds at Fenway Park for more than a century, the Boston Red Sox are far and away New England's most beloved franchise, and this work features topics such as the team's relationship to the Kennedys, the comparison of fans' treatment of Bill Buckner to the Salem Witch Trials, the fans inside an Irish pub in one of Boston's toughest neighborhoods, and travels to a miniature replica of Fenway Park in a small Vermont town. Entertaining and informative, How the Red Sox Explain New England is sure to be popular among one of sports' most passionate and dedicated fan bases. |
batting practice at fenway: The Amazing Baseball Adventure Josh Pahigian, 2017-02-01 A visually stunning road trip through pro baseball’s wacky, wondrous, and revered ballpark attractions Exploding scoreboards, treetop seats, and neon skylines are just three of the more than 100 ballpark design features, field eccentricities, historic displays, traditions, concession items, and even super-fans and mascots profiled in this armchair baseball journey. Combining engaging storytelling with fun sidebars and beautiful color photos, author Josh Pahigian captures the essence of each ballpark treasure—from the retractable lighthouse at the Portland Sea Dogs’ Hadlock Field to the Sausage Race at the Brewers’ Miller Park to Fenway Park’s Green Monster and even to the delicious biscuits served by the aptly named Montgomery Biscuits. From the Rookie Leagues to the Majors, there are more than 250 professional baseball parks in the United States where fans partake in special game-day rituals, eat unique foods, laugh along with the zany mascot, marvel at the park’s special features, and revel in a communal experience that removes them for a few hours from life’s daily grind. The Amazing Baseball Adventure brings to life the very best of these cherished ballpark features, the ones that motivate fans to return again and again to baseball cathedrals large and small. |
batting practice at fenway: The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, 2nd Josh Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell, 2012-03-27 The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan’s dream road trip—including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition—revised and completely updated! |
batting practice at fenway: Before Brooklyn Ted Reinstein, 2021-11-01 In the April of 1945, exactly two years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, liberal Boston City Councilman Izzy Muchnick persuaded the Red Sox to try out three black players in return for a favorable vote to allow the team to play on Sundays. The Red Sox got the councilman’s much-needed vote, but the tryout was a sham; the three players would get no closer to the major leagues. It was a lost battle in a war that was ultimately won by Robinson in 1947. This book tells the story of the little-known heroes who fought segregation in baseball, from communist newspaper reporters to the Pullman car porters who saw to it that black newspapers espousing integration in professional sports reached the homes of blacks throughout the country. It also reminds us that the first black player in professional baseball was not Jackie Robinson but Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, and that for a time integrated teams were not that unusual. And then, as segregation throughout the country hardened, the exclusion of blacks in baseball quietly became the norm, and the battle for integration began anew. |
batting practice at fenway: Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-up David A. Kelly, 2011-02-22 Now leading off the line-up—book #1 in a brand-new early chapter book mystery series where each book is set in a different American ballpark! Thanks to Kate's mom, a sports reporter, cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins have tickets to the Red Sox game and All Access passes to Fenway Park. But as they're watching batting practice before the game, the lucky bat of Red Sox star slugger Big D is stolen . . . right in front of dozens of people. Without the bat, Big D can't seem to hit a thing. Can Kate and Mike figure out who pinched the bat before Big D and the Sox chalk up a loss? The Fenway Foul-Up includes a fun fact page about Boston's Fenway Park. Cross Ron Roy's mystery series with Matt Christopher's sports books and you get the Ballpark Mysteries: fun, puzzling whodunnits aimed right at beginning readers. |
batting practice at fenway: The Kid Ben Bradlee Jr., 2013-12-03 From acclaimed journalist Ben Bradlee Jr. comes the epic biography of Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams that baseball fans have been waiting for. Williams was the best hitter in baseball history. His batting average of .406 in 1941 has not been topped since, and no player who has hit more than 500 home runs has a higher career batting average. Those totals would have been even higher if Williams had not left baseball for nearly five years in the prime of his career to serve as a Marine pilot in WWII and Korea. He hit home runs farther than any player before him -- and traveled a long way himself, as Ben Bradlee, Jr.'s grand biography reveals. Born in 1918 in San Diego, Ted would spend most of his life disguising his Mexican heritage. During his 22 years with the Boston Red Sox, Williams electrified crowds across America -- and shocked them, too: His notorious clashes with the press and fans threatened his reputation. Yet while he was a God in the batter's box, he was profoundly human once he stepped away from the plate. His ferocity came to define his troubled domestic life. While baseball might have been straightforward for Ted Williams, life was not. The Kid is biography of the highest literary order, a thrilling and honest account of a legend in all his glory and human complexity. In his final at-bat, Williams hit a home run. Bradlee's marvelous book clears the fences, too. |
batting practice at fenway: Broadcast Rites and Sites Joe Castiglione, Douglas B. Lyons, 2006 Veteran broadcaster Joe Castiglione combines the story of his baseball adventures with the Cleveland Indians; the Milwaukee Brewers; and for twenty years, the Boston Red Sox, with a travelogue of major American cities. |
batting practice at fenway: A Day of Light and Shadows Jonathan Schwartz, 2003-09 A vivid and affecting memoir, by a popular die-hard Red Sox fan, about the game of his life, and life since the game. |
batting practice at fenway: 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out Josh Pahigian, 2015-02-10 A brand new edition of the finalist for the 2008 Casey Award, presented annually to the best baseball book, 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out profiles America’s greatest baseball museums, shrines, sports bars, pop culture landmarks and ballpark sites. From sandlots and skyboxes to TV rooms and sports bars, America’s love for baseball has inspired countless memories, discussions, and tributes. Josh Pahigian takes us across America to explore the places where the game’s history, culture, and lore come to life. Whether we travel by car or sit in the comfort of our favorite armchair, the book guides us to 101 amazing baseball places—including Ted Williams’ boyhood home, the Field of Dreams movie site, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Chicago bar where the Cubs’ “Curse of the Billy Goat” was born, Babe Ruth’s grave, and scores of other captivating landmarks and curios. Replacing the now-extinct sites from the previous edition, updating entries for attractions that have moved, re-assigning coveted chapters to more inspiring baseball venues that have since opened, and including stunning color photos for nearly all of them, Josh Pahigian has created the perfect gift for any baseball fan. |
batting practice at fenway: The MVP Machine Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik, 2019-06-04 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. |
batting practice at fenway: 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die Matthew Silverman, 2016-05-01 With trivia boxes, records, and team lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every Mets fan should know. It contains crucial information such as important dates, player nicknames, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by singular players. This guide to all things New York Mets covers Robin Ventura's 1999 Grand-Slam single, the 1969 shoe polish incident, and the history behind the names and numbers on the left-field wall. Updated for 2015, this new edition features a new generation of Mets stars, including pitchers Jason deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard. |
batting practice at fenway: The Cubs Way Tom Verducci, 2018-04-03 The New York Times Bestseller With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions. It took 108 years, but it really happened. The Chicago Cubs are once again World Series champions. How did a team composed of unknown, young players and supposedly washed-up veterans come together to break the Curse of the Billy Goat? Tom Verducci, twice named National Sportswriter of the Year and co-writer of The Yankee Years with Joe Torre, will have full access to team president Theo Epstein, manager Joe Maddon, and the players to tell the story of the Cubs' transformation from perennial underachievers to the best team in baseball. Beginning with Epstein's first year with the team in 2011, Verducci will show how Epstein went beyond Moneyball thinking to turn around the franchise. Leading the organization with a manual called The Cubs Way, he focused on the mental side of the game as much as the physical, emphasizing chemistry as well as statistics. To accomplish his goal, Epstein needed manager Joe Maddon, an eccentric innovator, as his counterweight on the Cubs' bench. A man who encourages themed road trips and late-arrival game days to loosen up his team, Maddon mixed New Age thinking with Old School leadership to help his players find their edge. The Cubs Way takes readers behind the scenes, chronicling how key players like Rizzo, Russell, Lester, and Arrieta were deftly brought into the organization by Epstein and coached by Maddon to outperform expectations. Together, Epstein and Maddon proved that clubhouse culture is as important as on-base-percentage, and that intangible components like personality, vibe, and positive energy are necessary for a team to perform to their fullest potential. Verducci chronicles the playoff run that culminated in an instant classic Game Seven. He takes a broader look at the history of baseball in Chicago and the almost supernatural element to the team's repeated loses that kept fans suffering, but also served to strengthen their loyalty. The Cubs Way is a celebration of an iconic team and its journey to a World Championship that fans and readers will cherish for years to come. |
batting practice at fenway: Year of the Pitcher Sridhar Pappu, 2017-10-03 The story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season. “Seldom does an era, and do sports personalities, come alive so vividly, and so unforgettably.” —The Boston Globe In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation’s hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet at the World Series. Gibson set a major league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. Together, the two have come to stand as iconic symbols, giving the fans “The Year of the Pitcher” and changing the game. Evoking a nostalgic season and its incredible characters, this is the story of one of the great rivalries in sports and an indelible portrait of the national pastime during a turbulent year—and the two men who electrified fans from all walks of life. “Explores so much more than the battle between two pitchers and their teams . . . A fine history of a vital period in the history of not only baseball, but America.” —Kirkus Reviews “A compelling tale of all that America was in the turbulent year of 1968, told through a (mostly) baseball prism.” —New York Post |
batting practice at fenway: Watching Baseball Jerry Remy, Corey Sandler, 2008-05-01 The Boston Globe’s number-one bestseller is back, revised and updated for the 2008 season and presented in a new trim size. Jerry Remy’s name and face are already known to millions of fans. During baseball season 400,000 or more households tune in to listen to his broadcast of Red Sox games. But many learned to love him years ago when he was traded to the Sox, earning a trip to the 1978 All-Star Game in his first year with the team. Remy hit .278, scored eighty-seven runs, and stole thirty bases that season. Injured in 1984, Remy never played another game. In 1988 he began his work as an announcer, working color commentary for Red Sox broadcasts on NESN, a basic cable channel available throughout New England and by satellite across the country. In Watching Baseball Remy explains America’s favorite sport by going inside the minds of coaches and players to reveal the game within the game. He takes readers around the diamond, pointing out the positioning of infielders, what’s really going on during batting practice, how catchers and pitchers call a game, the difference between high cheese and a knuckler, and much more. |
batting practice at fenway: Home of the Game Thom Loverro, 1999-03-01 Home of the Game celebrates the unique position Camden Yards holds as a symbol of the modern game and a prototype for new ballparks across the country. It reveals how this revolutionary ballpark has changed the face of baseball as a sport and a business. |
batting practice at fenway: The Juju Rules Hart Seely, 2012 Learn the secret of juju from Seely, a man who wins games for the Yankees by harnessing juju energy, in this hilarious, unforgettable fan confessional from an award-winning humorist. |
batting practice at fenway: Our Boston Andrew Blauner, 2013 An anthology of essays about Boston and what it means to the contributors, including Susan Orlean, Kevin Cullen, Mike Barnicle, Pico Iyer, and many more. |
batting practice at fenway: Shawn Thornton Shawn Thornton, Dale Arnold, 2021-11-16 A refreshing memoir of battles and self-belief from one of the NHL's most revered enforcers Shawn Thornton was an unlikely NHL success, to say the least. The Oshawa, Ontario native was picked late in the OHL and later thought he was being pranked when the Toronto Maple Leafs called him to say he'd been selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NHL draft. After years spent working and maturing in the AHL, Thornton would go on to play 14 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers, winning two Stanley Cups along the way. For the first time, in this candid memoir, Thornton opens up about his life in hockey and beyond, from his early days as an unrated prospect to the leadership lessons he learned in the minors, from the most difficult on-ice brawls to the ecstasy of reaching the sport's most celestial heights. Fans will not want to miss this story of perseverance and finding one's own path. |
batting practice at fenway: Who Is Derek Jeter? Gail Herman, Who HQ, 2015-08-18 When Derek Jeter was eight years old, he announced that he was going to play baseball for the New York Yankees. Jeter earned the attention of major league scouts in high school and was drafted to the New York Yankees in 1992. Named Rookie of the Year, he helped the Yankees win the World Series five times, and became team captain in 2003. With his good looks, easygoing personality, and sense of humor, Derek has always been a fan favorite. Retiring from baseball in 2014, Derek Jeter leaves behind a legacy. |
Batting (baseball) - Wikipedia
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.
10 Baseball Batting Tips To Hit Like the Pros - Baseball Training World
In this post, we will take a look at 10 baseball tips for hitting like the pros. 1. Choose the Right Batting Gloves and Bat. 2. Have Confidence at the Plate. What does it mean to have the right …
2025 MLB Player Hitting Stat Leaders
The official source for player hitting stats, MLB home run leaders, batting average, OPS and stat leaders
Batting Order Strategy In Baseball: Batting Line-Up Explained
Jun 14, 2024 · Mastering the batting order in baseball is a blend of art and science, determining the flow and potential success of a game. This post will explore strategies behind the lineup, …
Proper Batting Stance for Baseball (6-Step Guide) - Baseball …
Jun 16, 2020 · All good baseball hitters first learn the proper batting stance . While there are many variations, our six step guide will make sure you're ready for every pitch.
How To Take Batting Practice - The Ultimate Guide | JustBats
Sep 19, 2023 · Taking batting practice is an essential component of a baseball player's journey toward mastery. By preparing mentally and physically, choosing the right practice setup, …
How to Swing a Baseball Bat: 13 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Nov 1, 2024 · The pros on ESPN might make it look easy, but in reality baseball is a difficult sport that requires a lot of conditioning, muscle memory, and hand-eye coordination. However, …
BATTING | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
BATTING definition: 1. the act of trying to hit the ball, especially in baseball or cricket: 2. in cricket, the part…. Learn more.
Baseball Batting Rules and Other Baseball Rules to Know
May 20, 2023 · Discover the art of batting in baseball with our comprehensive guide. Learn the rules, types of batters, and scoring strategies. Explore the infield fly rule, fair and foul balls, …
Good Batting Average Explained – Baseball Mode
Feb 22, 2024 · Baseball uses batting averages to compare batters' success across different eras and determine the batting champion in a season. However, it's important to note that this stat …
Batting (baseball) - Wikipedia
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.
10 Baseball Batting Tips To Hit Like the Pros - Baseball Training World
In this post, we will take a look at 10 baseball tips for hitting like the pros. 1. Choose the Right Batting Gloves and Bat. 2. Have Confidence at the Plate. What does it mean to have the right …
2025 MLB Player Hitting Stat Leaders
The official source for player hitting stats, MLB home run leaders, batting average, OPS and stat leaders
Batting Order Strategy In Baseball: Batting Line-Up Explained
Jun 14, 2024 · Mastering the batting order in baseball is a blend of art and science, determining the flow and potential success of a game. This post will explore strategies behind the lineup, …
Proper Batting Stance for Baseball (6-Step Guide) - Baseball …
Jun 16, 2020 · All good baseball hitters first learn the proper batting stance . While there are many variations, our six step guide will make sure you're ready for every pitch.
How To Take Batting Practice - The Ultimate Guide | JustBats
Sep 19, 2023 · Taking batting practice is an essential component of a baseball player's journey toward mastery. By preparing mentally and physically, choosing the right practice setup, …
How to Swing a Baseball Bat: 13 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Nov 1, 2024 · The pros on ESPN might make it look easy, but in reality baseball is a difficult sport that requires a lot of conditioning, muscle memory, and hand-eye coordination. However, …
BATTING | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
BATTING definition: 1. the act of trying to hit the ball, especially in baseball or cricket: 2. in cricket, the part…. Learn more.
Baseball Batting Rules and Other Baseball Rules to Know
May 20, 2023 · Discover the art of batting in baseball with our comprehensive guide. Learn the rules, types of batters, and scoring strategies. Explore the infield fly rule, fair and foul balls, …
Good Batting Average Explained – Baseball Mode
Feb 22, 2024 · Baseball uses batting averages to compare batters' success across different eras and determine the batting champion in a season. However, it's important to note that this stat …