Best Baseball History

Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era ( Liar's Poker , The New New Thing ), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes Moneyball an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. Lewis (Liar's Poker; The New New Thing) examines how in 2002 the Oakland Athletics achieved a spectacular winning record while having the smallest player payroll of any major league baseball team.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Lewis has somehow created a new genre - true stories of underdog's finding out something we all should have known and re-making the world as a result."
"Re-read Moneyball for the second time and it gets better the second time around."
"I don't know baseball well, but I really learned a ton about the scientific approach to the game and wonder how else we could bring this thinking in our life."
"Michael Lewis is a great author, and this book is another solid piece by him."
"Have watched the movie several times, wanted more information."
"It was great to see how the writer could clearly expose the baseball biases by allegedly honest men."
"I saw the movie, but after reading a couple of his other books, I thought the movie might be just the tip of the iceberg, and I was right!"
"Great read for baseball fans."

Halberstam’s classic #1 bestseller about the magical summer when baseball’s fiercest rivalry captured the nation’s imagination, and changed the sport forever. It was a season of great public and personal drama for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, with the conflict finally resolving itself in a Yankee pennant following a head-to-head showdown on the final day of the season. Each team was led by a star of the highest magnitude: Joe DiMaggio spurred the Yankees despite missing half the season with a foot injury; Ted Williams virtually carried the Sox on his back, missing an unprecedented third Triple Crown by mere decimal points on his batting average. This book is ostensibly about the pennant race between the Yankees and Red Sox that year and the "rivalry" between Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Any Yankees or Red Sox fan should enjoy this book thoroughly."
"(VERY MINOR): book was written MANY years ago and much has been changed in the game."
"The thing that immediately struck me was the grace, elegance and power with which he played his position. Halberstam's narritive is delivered with the same elegant grace and power."
"I really enjoy a well researched book and this is one of those special books about baseball."
"Near the end I almost put on my mother in law's Red Sox Hoodie."
"This book tells the stories of the great Yankees and RedSox players of the late 40's. The end of Joe's carrer and the rise of others in the Yankees organization are brought to life in a way that makes you feel that you are there."
"Great information, background and circumstances of a classic New York Yankee - Boston Red Sox battle to the end pennant race."
"I enjoyed reading this book very much brought back memories of my youth watching the old ballgames at Fenway Park!"

A fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb—“The best work ever written on this American sports legend: It’s a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades” ( The Boston Globe ). Setting the record straight, Charles Leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to Georgia and Detroit, and re-traced Cobb’s journey from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time to America’s first true sports celebrity. The grandson of one of the few courageous abolitionist politicians in Georgia, Cobb was among the first to applaud the breaking of the color barrier, and there seems to be no evidence of his racism. The myth of Cobb's supposedly violent play was largely based on a handful of very minor affairs, which all the principals agreed were overblown, coupled with his psychological style, which tended to scare opponents but not hurt them physically. (Ron Keurajian Sports Collectors Digest). “No matter what you think of Ty Cobb, you’ll want to read Charles Leerhsen’s fascinating biography, as he dispels rumors, exposes frauds, and challenges everything you thought you knew about the most controversial individual ever to play the great game of baseball.” (Kevin Baker, author of Sometimes You See It Coming ). "Not only the best work ever written on this American sports legend: It’s a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades." Leerhsen’s feat of research brings the real Cobb home at last.” (Roy Blount Jr., author of Alphabet Juice ). "Now Cobb has an advocate, one who's actually read all the old newspaper clippings (some of which flatly contradict common "knowledge"), visited the terrain, and interviewed as many relevant people as he could find. "Leerhsen's magisterial reexamination presents a detailed view of Cobb culled from actual research rather than hearsay. "Leerhsen wraps his penetrating profile of Cobb in gripping play-by-play rundowns and a colorful portrait of the anarchic 'dead-ball' era, when players played drunk and fans chased offending umpires from the field. "Charles Leerhsen has done baseball aficionados a great mercy by bringing to life Ty Cobb, the man and the ballplayer—warts and all, some might say. And even more, Leerhsen summons up the days when baseball was young and innocent and, one thinks, filled with a kind of raw vitality that is missing today. It showcases Cobb as a flawed and vulnerable human being who, after suffering a nervous breakdown his second season, came back to fearlessly embrace his talent in an era that was just discovering what it meant to love baseball."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I assumed he was simply a man of his time and place who could not overcome being born in the Deep South during segregation nor perhaps a natural inclination towards misanthropy. Largely thanks to scholarship that emerged only at the very end of Cobb’s life (and interestingly, at odds with evidence from much earlier periods) his reputation is that of a miserable, friendless, racist lout. Yet as Leerhsen notes this flies in the face of the simple fact that Cobb was not only in the very first Hall of Fame class, but received more votes than any other player including Babe Ruth, belying the notion that he was disliked by his contemporaries. Given how manifestly incorrect our current perception of Ty Cobb is, then, this may be the most important baseball history book to have been published in years."
"The low point in all of it was Ron Shelton's film "Cobb" (based on Stump's input) where Cobb was portrayed as a rapist, alcoholic, a murderer and drug addict who casually shot off guns in nightclubs without consequence when he wasn't being racist or fixing baseball games. Stump's reputation was destroyed a few years ago by revelations that he created large of fake Cobb items and forged documents when he sold to collectors. That somewhat set the stage for a reappraisal of Cobb's life going back to solid primary sources. Cobb's history, especially in retirement, is full of examples of him speaking in favor of integration in baseball. The book leaves the reader after somewhat with implicit questions about how far is too far in terms of competition and the literal will to win. The difference between the two books is that while Leerhsen acts almost as a defense attorney making a positive case for Cobb, Hornbaker in his book acts far more like a judge weighing facts impartially and carefully with regard to many of the famous incidents in Cobb's life."
Best Baseball Coaching

Mr. Colletti’s book might be even more groundbreaking [than Moneyball ] in some ways: It’s a nearly unprecedented opportunity to see what running a baseball franchise looks like through the eyeballs of an actual general manager. After reading this book, you will not only understand the job of a general manager better but also the game of baseball itself.”— Tom Verducci, author of The Cubs Way and co-author of The Yankee Years. An unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the career of famed former Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager (a position also known as “The Big Chair”), whose tenure spanned nine of the most exciting and turbulent years in the franchise’s history. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Colletti had the highest winning percentage of any general manager in the National League. In The Big Chair , he lets readers in on the real GM experience from his unique vantage point—sharing the inner workings of three of the top franchises in the sport, revealing the out-of-the-headlines machinations behind the trades, the hires and the deals; how the money really works; how the decision-making really works; how much power the players really have and why—the real brass tacks of some of the most pivotal decisions made in baseball history that led to great success along with heartbreak and failure on the field. Now, in The Big Chair , readers will hear the wisdom and perspective that helped the organization change its culture and reach levels never before accomplished.” — Brian Sabean, three-time World Series champion, Executive VP, Baseball Operations, San Francisco Giants. “Ned Colletti is the best kind of baseball lifer. “Ned Colletti's terrific account of the inner workings of a baseball team is engaging, honest, accurate and a great read. “Ned has been a baseball lifer since long before he climbed up his professional ladder that stretches from Chicago through San Francisco to Los Angeles. Sharing in his journey is a must for any baseball fan, including myself.” — Chris Berman, ESPN Sportscaster “Former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti saw the team through a sale, 14 playoff wins, and the acquisitions of Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig. I don't think I've ever read any baseball executive reveal his love and passion for baseball the way Colletti does here.” –John Schulian, winner of the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing "Hard to put down.” –Boston Globe “Part baseball handbook and part Cinderella story.” – Los Angeles Times “A fascinating behind-the-scenes account of his 35 years working in the front office of the Cubs, Giants and Dodgers....More than anything, Colletti shows how being a GM is a 24/7 thrill ride.” —Chicago Tribune “Highly recommended.” – San Francisco Chronicle.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Ned… is a natural born storyteller… and his rise from a hockey sportswriter to a General Manager on one of the most glorious sports team in history the Los Angeles (Brooklyn) Dodgers… is a combination of both… hard work… and the stars being aligned just right… when things looked the worse. As mentioned earlier… I (according to my Dad) have “ATE-SLEPT-AND-DRANK-BASEBALL” from the time I could walk and talk… so the behind the scenes “business” details that Ned divulges from his baseball travels working for the Chicago Cubs… San Francisco Giants… and Los Angeles Dodgers… are hypnotically interesting. It’s funny… Penny always came across as a self-centered… don’t give your heart and soul to the team and fans type of guy… and the author… makes it excruciatingly clear my impressions were spot-on! Though much of the “destroying” of the Dodger storied franchise by the ownership of the feuding McCourt’s was pretty well documented in the media… especially because of court documents filed during the divorce proceedings that broke records and shocked the public… Ned takes it a step further and ties it all together… by showing what it was like trying to keep the Dodgers competitive with his hands tied behind his back… his purse strings cut… the team in bankruptcy… and Major League Baseball overseeing the running of the team until it was sold. The fact that the McCourt’s wound up making a GIGANTIC profit… as an end result of their greed and debauchery… and the staining of the great Dodger name… is despicable and nauseating. I’d like to share one of the items listed in Colletti’s timeline: “November 14, 2011 – First baseman James Loney sideswipes three cars in the evening rush hour. Police then placed Loney in arm and leg restraints and medical personnel gave him an injection to calm him down.”. REPEAT… NO CHARGES WERE FILED!"
"Talk about "Inside Baseball" this is really it !!! Especially for LA Dodger fans and anyone else who loves baseball."
"Ned shares dozens of "inside baseball" stories, including the back stories for all of the major trades he made, his dealings with Frank McCourt, and a number of players."
"As someone who is just a major baseball fan..Learning how Ned Colletti became GM, His challenges with owner Frank McCourt and how he made some of the biggest trades in baseball, a very easy read...Almost felt like you could hear Colletti's voice..Dodgers fans will love it."
"As a Dodger fan for over 50 years, this was a fascinating and interesting story of the behind-the-scenes work of a General Manager as he strives to find a winning combination of excellent players for a quality team."
"And if you are a Dodger fan you can read about the turnaround Ned started when he took over as GM."
"Coletti keeps the story moving at a brisk pace."
"I have read a lot of books on sports but never one that had the day to day breakdown of what it was like to run a major sports franchise."
Best Baseball Biographies

A fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb—“The best work ever written on this American sports legend: It’s a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades” ( The Boston Globe ). Setting the record straight, Charles Leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to Georgia and Detroit, and re-traced Cobb’s journey from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time to America’s first true sports celebrity. The grandson of one of the few courageous abolitionist politicians in Georgia, Cobb was among the first to applaud the breaking of the color barrier, and there seems to be no evidence of his racism. The myth of Cobb's supposedly violent play was largely based on a handful of very minor affairs, which all the principals agreed were overblown, coupled with his psychological style, which tended to scare opponents but not hurt them physically. (Ron Keurajian Sports Collectors Digest). “No matter what you think of Ty Cobb, you’ll want to read Charles Leerhsen’s fascinating biography, as he dispels rumors, exposes frauds, and challenges everything you thought you knew about the most controversial individual ever to play the great game of baseball.” (Kevin Baker, author of Sometimes You See It Coming ). "Not only the best work ever written on this American sports legend: It’s a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades." Leerhsen’s feat of research brings the real Cobb home at last.” (Roy Blount Jr., author of Alphabet Juice ). "Now Cobb has an advocate, one who's actually read all the old newspaper clippings (some of which flatly contradict common "knowledge"), visited the terrain, and interviewed as many relevant people as he could find. "Leerhsen's magisterial reexamination presents a detailed view of Cobb culled from actual research rather than hearsay. "Leerhsen wraps his penetrating profile of Cobb in gripping play-by-play rundowns and a colorful portrait of the anarchic 'dead-ball' era, when players played drunk and fans chased offending umpires from the field. "Charles Leerhsen has done baseball aficionados a great mercy by bringing to life Ty Cobb, the man and the ballplayer—warts and all, some might say. And even more, Leerhsen summons up the days when baseball was young and innocent and, one thinks, filled with a kind of raw vitality that is missing today. It showcases Cobb as a flawed and vulnerable human being who, after suffering a nervous breakdown his second season, came back to fearlessly embrace his talent in an era that was just discovering what it meant to love baseball."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I assumed he was simply a man of his time and place who could not overcome being born in the Deep South during segregation nor perhaps a natural inclination towards misanthropy. Largely thanks to scholarship that emerged only at the very end of Cobb’s life (and interestingly, at odds with evidence from much earlier periods) his reputation is that of a miserable, friendless, racist lout. Yet as Leerhsen notes this flies in the face of the simple fact that Cobb was not only in the very first Hall of Fame class, but received more votes than any other player including Babe Ruth, belying the notion that he was disliked by his contemporaries. Given how manifestly incorrect our current perception of Ty Cobb is, then, this may be the most important baseball history book to have been published in years."
"The low point in all of it was Ron Shelton's film "Cobb" (based on Stump's input) where Cobb was portrayed as a rapist, alcoholic, a murderer and drug addict who casually shot off guns in nightclubs without consequence when he wasn't being racist or fixing baseball games. Stump's reputation was destroyed a few years ago by revelations that he created large of fake Cobb items and forged documents when he sold to collectors. That somewhat set the stage for a reappraisal of Cobb's life going back to solid primary sources. Cobb's history, especially in retirement, is full of examples of him speaking in favor of integration in baseball. The book leaves the reader after somewhat with implicit questions about how far is too far in terms of competition and the literal will to win. The difference between the two books is that while Leerhsen acts almost as a defense attorney making a positive case for Cobb, Hornbaker in his book acts far more like a judge weighing facts impartially and carefully with regard to many of the famous incidents in Cobb's life."
"Ty Cobb had his faults yet his life and outstanding achievements as a baseball player have long deserved an objective assessment, which author Charles Leerhsen has finely constructed."
Best Canadian Province & Local History eBooks

The author of the New York Times baseball bestseller The Extra 2% (Ballantine/ESPN Books), Keri is one of the new generation of high-profile sports writers equally facile with sabermetrics and traditional baseball reporting. He has interviewed everyone for this book (EVERYONE: including the ownership that allowed the team to be moved), and fans can expect to hear from just about every player and personality from the Expos' unforgettable 35 years in baseball. He has previously contributed to ESPN.com, SI.com, Baseball Prospectus , the New York Times , the Wall Street Journal , and wrote the flagship stock market column for Investor's Business Daily .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good but not great."
"I think my favorite story is this though (about a player, despite my being a Yankee fan, that I deeply admire) on pages 379-380: After winning the World Series in 2004, a microphone was thrust in Pedro Martinez's face. The baseball strike was probably the crippling blow to the Expos franchise, but a few other things also did them in: (1) a number of major Canadian businesses moved out of Montreal after the 1980 and 1995 failed votes to separate Quebec from Canada -- this took away a number of financial backers, advertisers and ticket buyers. (2) the Toronto Blue Jays took over radio and broadcast rights in Ontario and much of Canada, reducing the Expos from being the Canadian team to just a regional team. (3) the mass sell-off of players in 94 (Wetteland, Grissom, Hill and allowing Walker to leave as a free agent). (4) the trade of Pedro Martinez after 1997. (5) Olympic Stadium was not a good baseball venue for the non-hardcore fans and it was somewhat inaccessible and in a barren area. (6) Jeff Loria - it was interesting that Keri did not savage Loria. Loria did nothing to engender the people of Montreal to him and he made a number of questionable financial deals and short-sighted business moves. I am an ardent Tim Raines supporter and did not need the book to inform me how deserving of a HOF plague he is."
"Especially as the Expos attendance fell dramatically and single A teams were outdrawing a major league club."
"Good, long enjoyable read that really draws you into the history of a forgotten team."
"The author laments the loss of the Expos in Montreal which have now become the Washington Nationals.but holds out a slim hope that Montreal may once again become a major league team."
"But a very fun, and well-written book nonetheless."
"The story of the Expos tells us much about baseball, Canadian politics, and the business side of sports."
"If you have a special connection with the team I'd imagine it's a must read."
Best Sports & Entertainment Industry

From one of the co-founders of Pixar Animation Studios—the Academy Award–winning studio behind Coco, Inside Out, and Toy Story —comes an incisive book about creativity in business and leadership for readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Huffington Post • Financial Times • Success • Inc. • Library Journal “[ Creativity, Inc. ]. just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”— Fast Company Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.”. Praise for Creativity, Inc. “Over more than thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success.” —Jim Collins, co-author of Built to Last and author of Good to Great “Too often, we seek to keep the status quo working. “Just might be the best business book ever written.” — Forbes “Achieving enormous success while holding fast to the highest artistic standards is a nice trick—and Pixar, with its creative leadership and persistent commitment to innovation, has pulled it off. Any reader of Creativity, Inc., Catmull’s new book on the art of running creative companies, will have to agree. Catmull, president of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, has written what just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.” — Fast Company “It’s one thing to be creative; it’s entirely another—and much more rare—to build a great and creative culture. Over more than thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success. Catmull’s book is quickly becoming the latest bible for the show business crowd.” —The New York Times “The most practical and deep book ever written by a practitioner on the topic of innovation.” —Prof. [Catmull] uses Pixar’s triumphs and near-disasters to outline a system for managing people in creative businesses—one in which candid criticism is delivered sensitively, while individuality and autonomy are not strangled by a robotic corporate culture.” — Financial Times “A wonderful new book . An immensely readable and rewarding book that will challenge and inspire readers to make their workplaces hotbeds of creativity.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Punctuated with surprising tales of how the company’s films were developed and the company’s financial struggles, Catmull shares insights about harnessing talent, creating teams, protecting the creative process, candid communications, organizational structures, alignment, and the importance of storytelling. [ Creativity, Inc. ] will delight and inspire creative individuals and their managers, as well as anyone who wants to work ‘in an environment that fosters creativity and problem solving.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “For anyone managing anything, and particularly those trying to manage creative teams, Catmull is like a kind, smart godfather guiding us toward managing wisely, without losing our souls, and in a way that works toward greatness. What Ed Catmull shares instead is his astute experience that creativity isn’t strictly a well of ideas, but an alchemy of people. In Creativity, Inc. Ed reveals, with commonsense specificity and honesty, examples of how not to get in your own way and how to realize a creative coalescence of art, business, and innovation.” —George Lucas “This is the best book ever written on what it takes to build a creative organization. Ed Catmull is co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Managers, as well as anyone who wants to better understand how companies work and what elements are necessary to make and keep them successful, will appreciate Catmull’s insight on leadership, nurturing creative environment, and protecting it from invisible threats. After reading the book, I constantly find myself quoting the concepts and examples described there when talking to my husband or friends about their jobs or my own and discussing what works, what doesn’t, and why."
"Ed shared several amusing experiences creating these magnificent movies to illustrate management concepts."
"Mr. Catmull presents an impressive analysis of how corporate culture can negatively impact creativity, even when corporate leaders proclaim their support for creativity and truly believe they are doing everything they can to foster and support it."
"Whether you're just a Pixar fan, or you're looking for ways to improve your company, you can't go wrong with this book."
"It tells of how the company was formed and the various challenges and changes along the way as well as how the people in charge are constantly attempting to maintain Pixar as a separate entity from Disney after being purchased by the latter while fixing Disney's animation studios and making Disney a world class entity itself."
"The book is definitely about creativity and the creative process, but it's equally about business and management."
Best Baseball Statistics

Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era ( Liar's Poker , The New New Thing ), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes Moneyball an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. Lewis (Liar's Poker; The New New Thing) examines how in 2002 the Oakland Athletics achieved a spectacular winning record while having the smallest player payroll of any major league baseball team.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Lewis has somehow created a new genre - true stories of underdog's finding out something we all should have known and re-making the world as a result."
"Re-read Moneyball for the second time and it gets better the second time around."
"I don't know baseball well, but I really learned a ton about the scientific approach to the game and wonder how else we could bring this thinking in our life."
"Michael Lewis is a great author, and this book is another solid piece by him."
"Have watched the movie several times, wanted more information."
"It was great to see how the writer could clearly expose the baseball biases by allegedly honest men."
"I saw the movie, but after reading a couple of his other books, I thought the movie might be just the tip of the iceberg, and I was right!"
"Great read for baseball fans."
Best Baseball Essays & Writings

The Phenomenon is the story of how St. Louis Cardinals prodigy Rick Ankiel lost his once-in-a-generation ability to pitch--not due to an injury or a bolt of lightning, but a mysterious anxiety condition widely known as "the Yips." And then, after reconsidering his whole life at the age of twenty-five, Ankiel made an amazing turnaround: returning to the Major Leagues as a hitter and playing seven successful seasons. "Revealing, vulnerable, and triumphant, Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown provide a poignant reminder in this age of statistics- and computer-driven analysis that it is real people who play the game. --Jim Abbott , former MLB pitcher and bestselling author of Imperfect "Each year lots of baseball books roll off the presses. His book is a candid and powerful story of his pitching success, his cruel and dramatic career derailment, and his historic resurrection as a power-hitting outfielder. --Hall of Famer Joe Torre, four-time World Series Championship manager and MLB's chief baseball officer. "A great story of a young man's ability to persist in the face of complicated and difficult issues--I admire him for it and the success he eventually achieved." "A former Major League Baseball player offers an affecting account of his unique professional career and dramatic personal life. Born in 1979, Ankiel debuted with the Cardinals a month after his 20th birthday, and became the first major-league player since Babe Ruth to win at least 10 games as a pitcher and hit at least 50 home runs. With his wife, Lory, and sons Declan and Ryker, Ankiel lives in Jupiter, Fla. Tim Brown is an award-winning writer with 25 years' experience covering Major League Baseball at the Los Angeles Times, the Newark Star-Ledger, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Los Angeles Daily News and Yahoo!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You don't have to be a Cardinals fan to enjoy this book though."
"I'm enjoying this book very much."
"It was emotionally draining, however, as I felt his pain with each throw that went awry (I've experienced something like the yips myself, but in the field of music - not sports)."
"Since I have been a Cardinal fan for well over 50 years and am familiar with Ric's situation, I was interested to read his book."
"Great story of determination to beat the odds when adversity strikes."
"For Cardinal Fans, or an sports fan really, this is a must read."
"Good baseball book about today's game."
"Rick Ankiel you were an incredible athlete and an extremely brave man."