Book Description
Emily loves to play on her Little League baseball team. She visits the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and learns about the Negro Leagues that were formed when black players were banned from major league teams. Emily's report includes information about the early players, the greatest superstars, and the story of Jackie Robinson, who broke the "color line" in 1947. This title captures all the fun and excitement of baseball, while also exploring the serious issue of segregation in America. ... Read more

Book Description
Continuing in the tradition of Sports Illustrateds 50th Anniversary Book and The Football Book comes a spectacular celebration of baseball that will be treasured by fans of the National Pastime.With the same kind of unforgettable photographs and award-winning writing that propelled The Football Book to surpass the sales of the 50th Anniversary Book, a New York Times best-seller, this lavish coffee-table volume brings to life the legendary players, the classic action and the great traditions of the Summer Game.In 294 oversized pages, The Baseball Book commemorates the epic teams and characters, the crucial plays and classic games, the personalities and performances and artifacts that have kept baseball at the heart of American sports for more than a century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Let's Play Ball!
I have Sports Illustrated's 50th Anniversary Book and The Football Book, so I decided to get this spectacular celebration of baseball. If you enjoy watching baseball, seeing how the game has changed over the years and reading about the players' lives, you'll love Sports Illustrated's Baseball Book. Great sportswriting from past eras are reproduced here with plenty of lose-ups that bring back memories, charts and trivia. Whenever company comes over, this is the book everyone seems to pick up and can't put down. If you love a team--any team--you'll love this!

Great pictures, wonderful stories
I am 100% baseball fan. Since being a kid I was moved by the great players achievements. I enjoyed this bokk throughly. It's a work very well done and a prize for sports book's collectors. The only thing I regret isthat, for unknown reasons, some of baseball hall of fame players pictures were not included, namely Harmon Killebrew.

Great gift!
I got this as a birthday gift for my boyfriend last October (he's 22 and loves baseball).He loved it and still uses it for reference all the time.

Baseball Book review
My son loved this book from Sports Illustrated. He's keeping it away from other baseball players on his college baseball team.

Sports Illustrated: The Baseball Book
This book is great!I loved the Football book and decided to get the Baseball book and we love it! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

A question
Anyone out there know if this book is scheduled to be updated or reissued?Some of the stats are no longer current or consistent with what's in other reference books and I'd sure appreciate it if they were.Otherwise this book is blue ribbon all the way even if I wish it gave more on Va.'s only major league team ever.

A Beauty in Every Way
The baseball element in this book is only part of its charm.The author, with help from the publisher, has also assembled an aesthetic treat for the reader.As the cover suggests, the book is an artful prose and pictorialrendering of an early epoch in our National Pastime.A must I would thinkfor every even mildly serious collector--and that is how I'd describemyself.I'm very glad to have found it and added it to my shelf.

Great photos and stories
I just discovered this book.In 1995 when it first appeared it was probably state of the art, but now some of the stats need to be updatedbecause they don't match what's in the new edition of Total Baseball, etc. Otherwise this book is terrific.

The definitive work on baseball in the 1880s and early '90s
The slew of rarely seen photos alone make this book a treasure.The captions accompanying the photos are so dense with insights and new information that they are really invaluable sidebars.The author's proseand story-telling ability is a full two or three cuts above that of mostbaseball historians, even the very top ones.Put all that together and itmakes you just wish the American Association had lasted 20 years instead often so this book would have had to be "double the pleasure, double thefun."

Nemec and Rucker bring a long dead baseball league to life
Many a baseball fan, frustrated by conniving team owners and spoiled multimillionaire players, must have wished that someone would start a new baseball league.In 1882, someone did--and the resulting American Association provided stiff competition for the then dominant National League for the following ten years.

The League, to be sure, quickly coopted the Association in some ways.The two circuits agreed to honor each others' player contracts--including the "reserve clause" which bound players to their teams even after their contracts expired--and the league champions met in a postseason playoff which foreshadowed the Twentieth Century World Series.The leagues competed for fans, however, with entirely salutary results--lower admission prices, Sunday baseball, and better umpiring and administration.

Most A.A. players have receded into the mists of time.The only player in "The Beer and Whisky League" whom most readers will recognize will be ! Charlie Comiskey, the player-manager of the St. Louis Browns who subsequently founded the Chicago White Sox.Nemec and Rucker, however, do an outstanding job of bringing the lost players to life and involving the reader in long forgotten pennant races and controversies.Any fan with an interest in baseball history can enjoy this book.

"The Beer and Whisky League" features a large number of photographs accompanied by captions illuminating interesting anecdotes about A.A. players and teams.The pictures, however, are not well integrated with the text.

The brief presence of African American players in the American Association--sixty years before Jackie Robinson--is bound to intrigue contemporary readers.Nemec and Rucker, perhaps hindered by a lack of documentary evidence, unfortunately devote only a couple of paragraphs to this aspect of Association history.

In 1890, the National League--but not the Association--attempted to impose a salary cap on its players! , who rebelled and formed yet a third major league.The th! ree leagues drove each other toward bankruptcy.The resulting financial squeeze led the League and the Association to raid each others' players and franchises, and the better heeled National League eventually prevailed.Four American Association teams defected to the National League in 1892.The Association itself folded and faded into obscurity, from which Nemec and Rucker have rescued it in this enjoyable book. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (10)

Skillfully done
I had the pleasure of hearing Rob Fitts give a presentation on his book recently, and it helps answer Brian Maitland's question about the relative lack of Japanese players. Why are there fewer? It's just plain hard to make the connections over such a long distance and then surmount the language barrier.

We should be glad there are as many players represented as there are. The breadth of decades is impressive, and the material is woven together very smoothly from the interviews. This is no easy task, and the individual personalities do shine through to a great extent. There are plenty of historical nuggets and cultural insights too. I most certainly was not disappointed.

Both entertaining and educational.Very well done.
"As a longtime fan of Japanese baseball, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Rob Fitts's new book and was not disappointed.The accounts of these great and often colorful players are fascinating to read.The fact that the accounts are presented in the player's own words add tremendously to the book's validity and substance. Though any reader will appreciate the breadth and depth of this book, those of us who are particularly interested in the subject are very grateful for this contribution that expands on a chapter of baseball of which too little has been written.Well planned and well executed."

been done better
Not to bemoan a point but where are the Japanese ballplayers' perspective since about the 1960s? I mean, how about some of the more post-'60s players like Furuta, Akiyama, Fukudome, Kuwata, Kiyohara...even Ishige, Nakahata, etc.Even the Japanese MLBers like Nomo, Ichiro et al takes on J-ball would be great to throw in there.

Sure these are all interesting snapshots BUT why the focus so much on the import players from the '60s onwards? It skews the book way too much towards the same-old tired "gaikokujin (foreigner)" viewpoint. Frankly, if you are going to do a book about Japanese baseball and the import quota in their leagues is so low, why not have a better balance between the J-view and the "foreigners' " view?

Very disappointing, if you follow J-ball at all. I'll wait for Volume 2 and hope we get a big more updated version.

EXTREMELY ENTERTAINING, DELIGHTFUL INTERVIEWS!!!
Bought two books, gave one to friend and we enjoyed it so much that we laughed and talked about the contents for Hours. Great book, buy two to share with a friend!

arigato, Fitts-san
This is a very welcome addition to the growing literature on Japanese baseball. Oral history is hard work, but unlike the daily quotes of player pablum that fill newspaper game reports, reflections over long careers are often informative and moving (even if occasionally self-serving). The real virtues of this collection are the range of baseball people that Fitts was able to get to open up (from outstanding stars to working stiffs, from players to coaches, managers, and executives) and the range over time (with representative stories from six decades of Japanese professional baseball). Some of the most powerful chapters evoke the difficulties of Japanese-American players in the 1950s. Such range is extraordinarily valuable in demonstrating the surprising breadth of baseball experiences. It's a collection that instructs both the devotee and the neophyte to Japanese baseball lore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A good book, but......
This is a good book, but something that reviewer RUBE WADDELL wrote stood out.James's belief that he is the only person that should determine who should and should not be in the Hall of Fame, does stick out and displays itself with a rather ugly glare.I found James to be a little over the top with his brutally candid opinions of players, but I suppose that is what makes the book a good read.The statistics are solid and make for interesting reading.I would have to agree further that James does have political aspirations within the game of baseball.The good thing is that the right people are running the HOF, and James is not amongst them.

Good fastball, fabulous breaking stuff
Bill James is the best at what he does because he makes the statistical side of the game interesting.He never forgets that the game is played by human beings with human strengths and weaknesses. His perspective on players' rankings and his ability to tell a good story are what keep me coming back for more. As for the comments of the reviewer who thinks Bill is obsessed with Joe Jackson: Get over it!Sounds like you're just a bit obsessed yourself.Why would you pick on this one thing and use it as the basis for a review of the entire book? For everyone else: Read anything Bill James writes about baseball.

The Best Baseball Book in My Library
As a baseball author myself, I'm pretty picky when it comes to reading about the game. The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract is the best book in my baseball library, which now approaches 200+ titles. [Somebody] complained about James's opinions, but for me, that's why I read Bill James: for his opinions! James doesn't present opinion as fact; he presents opinion as opinion, fact as fact, and then tries to persuade you that he's right. His work has influenced a number of modern baseball writers, including Rob Neyer of ESPN..., as well as myself. I read James's yearly Abstracts in the 1980s, but it's this book that really got me interested in learning more about baseball.

Apparently, a new edition of the Historical Abstract is due for publication in summer 2001. Buy it!

Fundamental Problems With Bill James
I have owned for many years, and read this particular book over and over again. Although it is very informative, the one hashing item that just sticks in your throat like a jagged stick, is James pre-occupation with truly believing he is the only authority as to who should and who should not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I will use his "little" speech about Joe Jackson in the book, as a primary example of why I have stated that James is pre-occupied and borderline obsessed.The fact that the man even dedicated another book to his view of the HOF is yet more proof, but that is for another review of that book, and certainly not this one.

Outside of "my opinion" (of which I am entitled), I do like the book a great deal, for statistical value alone.It is one of most informative in terms of interest and statistical detail.Is James the best baseball writer?Not even close in my opinion. Until he can get over his obsession with the HOF, my review stands, like it or not.

Bill James is a genius, period.
I have the yearly Abstracts from '83 to the end in '88 and have reread each many, many times and I reread the Historical Abstract at least once a year.Simply great books for anyone who loves the national pastime. ... Read more

Book Description

Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why?

Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders.

· Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series?

· What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal?

· Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant?

· How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"?

· How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really?

· Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst?

· Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps?

· What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime?

· Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking?

These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Good Baseball Stuff
Some really good baseball stuff in this book. Some of the blunders are questionable and I think he wanted to write about them and made it fit into the book. I would recommend it just for the baseball stories and lore.

A baseball fan's delight
Rob Neyer's book of baseball blunders is sure to please any baseball fan with a sense of history. Neyer analyzes 50 trades and decisions from 1917 through 2003.They range from well-known events such as Grady Little's decision to lift Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of the 2003 American League Championship series and the trade of Roger Maris from the Kansas City Athletics to the New York Yankees in 1959 to lesser-known events such as the sale of Pee Wee Reese from the Boston Red Sox to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 and the Kansas City Royals' signing of pitchers Mark and Storm Davisin 1989.

Neyer astutely analyzes these events, challenging long held opinions and impressions by looking at the facts.Neyer is a keen observer of baseball history and his analyses are interesting and sound.His sidebars in the margins of chapters are irresistible.Baseball fans can open this book to any chapter and start reading.

A Little too Comprehensive for Me
While I did enjoy this book, I have to admit that many of the events are too far in the past for me to truly appreciate them. I can't knock Neyer for not going into elaborate detail, because that's not really what this book is about. It isn't his job to build the social climate of the time, clubhouse pressures, etc. It is an interesting read that truly highlights the "hindsight is 20/20" cliche. I'd love to read the next version of this book 50 or 60 years from now so that I can read "Blunder: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Oliver Perez and Roberto Hernandez to Mets for Xavier Nady."

A fun book any baseball fan can enjoy
In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders, Neyer examines around fifty of the biggest baseball blunders in the history of the sport.The list (blunders of his own choosing) includes bad trades, poor personnel decisions and poor player performance.Neyer covers the entire history of baseball, yet focuses on modern day times.This book can be enjoyed by the casual fan. It is full of atecdotes and doesn't rely too much on a bunch of boring stats. Each chapter is a few pages long, allowing you to read bits and pieces at time or to skip parts you don't find interesting.This is a fun book for a baseball fan and would also make a great gift.

This Isn't A Baseball Blunder At All
Rob Neyer is a heck of a baseball book writer.What he writes about is interesting, informative, and innovative, in the sense that he makes "Big Book of Baseball Blunders" a very good read.Why is that, you ask?(Or more likely, "What do ya mean by that, Bunny?!!!")Well, I'll tell you this: everyone has their own opinion on what the biggest baseball blunders are.People can easily identify the top 4 or 5, most can figure outnext few, they can split on the several after that, and to finish off the top 25 blunders, it's everyone for themselves.There have been a LOT of blunders in baseball, almost all of which seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out bad for any number of reasons.Therefore, you'll never get a unanimous opinion on the top 25-50 biggest blunders in baseball.But, while I may not agree with Neyer's list in totality of the worst blunders in baseball, on each one he offers compelling evidence of why it should be considered one of the worst blunders, in ways that perhaps I hadn't considered before.That's what makes this book interesting, and informative - and innovative in the way the facts are presented to show why each was a bad, bad blunder.And that's why Neyer ranks up there in my list of baseball writers - he gives you something new to look at and think about. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

What a Fun Book
I just received a copy of this book a few days ago and I've really enjoyed looking at all of the colorful pictures and reading the interesting and sometimes funny essays.Some of the sites I'll visit (like the Field of Dreams Movie Site), others I think I'll skip (like the courthouse where Joe Jackson couldn't say it wasn't so) but it's fun learning about them all.Good book for a snowy day. ... Read more

Amazon.com
No single volume sings the epic saga of the game with quite the rhythms of The Baseball Encyclopedia. Now in its 10th edition, the granddaddy of all sports reference books is, at just over eight pounds and 3000 pages, the National Pastime's weightiest tome. As all-seeing as Homer and Milton, as all-knowing as Shakespeare and Yeats, the encyclopedia finds its poetry in the rhythms of baseball's numbers. Every player--regardless of significance--is present, with all the essential statistics of his career. There are, no doubt, some soulless creatures who may open the encyclopedia and just see page after page of dry, meaningless, numbing data; the rest of us know better: 755, 714, 61, 511, .406, 1.12, and 4,256 are all self-contained dramas filled with tension, and inspiring awe. It is in these stats, and thousands more, that the mysteries of the game begin to reveal themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Baseball Encyclopedia
Are you an avid baseball enthusiast. Do you have every available statistic at the tip of your tongue?If so, this book is for you. It consists of a plethora of baseball statistics from 1871
onward to the present day. Key statistics pertaining to starting pitchers, saves, stolen bases, Hall of Famers and hometown heroes are listed in this encyclopedia for ease of reference.
This work would be very helpful for a class project on the subject of baseball. It is a solid value for the price charged.

First of its kind... but now out of date
Historically, this was the first book that attempted to compile statistical data for all-time players so the MacMillan Encyclopedia will always have its place.Today, other volumes (Total Baseball, STATS All-Time Major League Handbook, www.baseball-reference.com) are better resources.Acknowlegde that this book was important 20 years ago, but buy a different book today.

As good as a reference work can get
Given that _no_ book of baseball statistics can possibly be without errors (or controversies!), this book surpasses all its competition. My most recent edition of this is the eighth edition (complete through the 1989 season). I wanted to buy the latest version, but given that this copy only goes through 1995 (and the supplement through 1996), you can imagine my disappointment. Nevertheless...

This book is remarkable, especially for the scope of what it attempts. Most baseball references only have lifetime records and statistics for the American and National Leagues. This book has complete statistics for all _six_ major leagues throughout history, team lineups, standings, and season records for each of those leagues, managers' records, every trade made in baseball, every postseason series, every All Star game, a National Association register, and an admirable (albeit understandably incomplete) register of Negro League players.

Finally, I can think of only one reason a baseball fan might be disappointed with The Baseball Encyclopedia. As a book of statistics, this is a reference work, and not a collection of colorful stories. There are scores of great baseball books out there to enjoy. However, one of the great joys of baseball is that whether you're looking at this year's stars or those from the 19th century, statistics can paint a very vivid picture of anyone. The Baseball Encyclopedia displays that picture better than any other work. Reading about Babe Ruth's mighty swing is one thing, but seeing the numbers in black and white is staggering.

Especially when you realize he had 94 pitching wins as well. Whew!

Best Reference EVER!
I'm awaiting the next edition.I believe (hope) they're waiting for the last Century to "offically" end (Rumor) before the next edition.FYI: the first day of the 21st Century is 1/1/2001.

The Baseball Encyclopedia
I have used this tome as my bible for years. I have run into formerbaseball players who swear they were players for a major league team butare not listed. I still have not figured out how often it is revised. ... Read more

Book Description
From the authority on baseball

research and statistics comes a vast

and fascinating compendium of unique

baseball lists and records.

The SABR Baseball List & Record Book is an expansive collection of pitching, hitting, fielding, home run, team, and rookie records not available online or in any other book. This is a treasure trove of baseball history for statistically minded baseball fans that's also packed with intriguing marginalia. For instance, on July 25, 1967, Chicago's Ken Berry ended Game Two of a doubleheader against Cleveland with a home run in the bottom of the sixteenth inning -- Chicago's second game-winning homer of the day. The comprehensive lists include Most Career Home Runs by Two Brothers (Tommie and Hank Aaron have 768), Most Seasons with 15 or More Wins (Cy Young and Greg Maddux each have 18), and Highest On Base Percentage in a Season by a Rookie (listing every rookie above .400).

Unlike other record books that only list the record holders -- say, most RBI by a rookie, held by Ted Williams with 145 -- SABR details every rookie to reach 100 RBI. Other record books might note the last pitcher in each league to steal home; here SABR has included every pitcher to do it. The book also includes a number of idiosyncratic features, such as a rundown of every player who has hit a triple and then stolen home, or every reliever who has won two games in one day. Many of the lists include a comments column for key historical notes and entertaining trivia (Bob Horner hit four home runs in a 1986 game, but his team lost). This is a must-have for every fan's library.

Edited by Lyle Spatz, Chairman of the Baseball Records Committee for SABR

... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Talk about cool statistics!
For those who are figure filberts and love strange statistics, this book is for you!

This is a book produced by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).This is, as the book says (page vii), "intended to fill what we in SABR feel is a void in the reference publications that fans and media depend upon."It is not intended to replace standard sources of statistics, The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia.It provides other lists, not appearing in standard references.For instance, the Introduction remarks that some reference sources include records for most RBIs by a rookie, this volume lists "every rookie who batted in at least 100 runs."

The book covers the time frame 1876-2006.And comparing statistics across these periods is extraordinarily difficult!

Records are listed in numerical order from 001 to 740 (thus, there are 740 records examined).001 is Most career games played (Pete Rose is # 1 with 3562); 740 is "Families with 3 or more brothers who played in the major leagues" (the Delahanty's are # 1 with 5 brothers playing in the bigs).By the way, both records are in the The Baseball Encyclopedia, if memory serves.But what records are included in between!

Some random picks: Worst fielding average by a first baseman since 1946.One player dominates with 3 of the 4 crummiest fielding averages.Any guess?Dr. Strangeglove--Dick Stuart (1961, 1963, 1964).Here's something exotic: Pinch-hit home run and one other home run in a game:This has happened 26 times (all with 1), the most recent beingJeff Salazar (Chicago White Sox) in 2006.What about most homers in a season without winning the home run title?Sammy Sosa, of course, with 66 in 1998.

Another intriguing hitting record: Most career RBIs without a 100 RBI season.Pete Rose ranks # 1 here.Others in the top 10 include Eddie Collins, Craig Biggio, Sam Rice, and Julio Franco. And how's this?Game-ending extra-inning home runs (16th inning and later)?The most recent is Ramon Martinez in 2006; the earliest was Charley ("Old Hoss") Radbourne, in 1886.

One last tidbit.Best stolen base duo in a season?With 246 steals, Arlie Latham (129) and Charlie ("Old Roman") Comiskey (117) in 1887.From1898 to the present?Vince Coleman (110) and Willie McGee (56), for a total of166 in 1985.

Anyhow, this book is a hoot for those who like offbeat statistics.Despite the book's claim, you will find some of these statistics elsewhere.But there are some interesting off-the-beaten-path stats.

Loved it
Spectacular labor of love for the truly crazy baseball fan.

I do have to say I've noticed a mistake - Andres Galarraga of Colorado was hit by a pitch twice in the seventh inning on July 12, 1996 -- and that this is the kind of book that's immediately out of date when each baseball season is completed -- but so what?It's a ton of fun.

The unsurpassable baseball trvia book
I have become "King of the Universe" at my gym andpool with my handy SABR baseball record book. Where else can I find the baseball facts that just confound and stupefy my pals ??
The book is a guarantee of hours of baseball heaven for the true fans of the game.

Statistics you can learn from
Deep inside this book is a list of home-road disparities in home runs.One of the top seasons of all time, for the more unusual situation where the home park disfavored the hitter, was Alex Rodriguez in 2000, his only full season at Safeco Field.Here was a stat that, in ways the media never really covered, explained as much as anything why he fled for free agency.This book is filled with stats like this.

A great thing you learn, for instance, is that for some statistics, left handed pitchers or right handed batters have far less impressive stats than those who bat or pitch the other way.The career stats of left-handed closers, for instance, are pretty pathetic compared to right-handers.

And then there are the categories where a single individual just blows the competition away.Strikeouts per nine-innings in a season?Randy Johnson is simply God.Frank Thomas has some very impressive on-base stats.Great stuff.

My only complaint is that the fielding stats are pretty boring and useless.Errors are not a good measure of a fielder's prowess, and there are endless stats about errors and fielding percentage.Waste of good space, in my opinion.

But it's a fun book, good bathroom reading, recommended.

add this to the list
Not quite the browser's delight that other baseball reference works are -- the endless lists can get to be kind of numbing -- but then again I'm not a true seamhead. Nonetheless a worthy addition to any baseball reference library, just because it does offer something different from all the other reference works out there.
And like all good reference works, there's probably a lot of stuff in here that I have yet to discover, another bottomless well. I was hoping to see few more obscure records, such as biggest comebacks in a single game or in a season. ... Read more

Book Description
An incredible collection of rare newspaper chart baseball's history from its beginnings in the mid-1800's to the 1999 World Series.Nowhere else could such a collection of diverse papers from all over the county be seen, including the Ball Player's Chronicle, the first publication devoted exclusively to baseball.This volume leaves no base unturned as it includes coverage of the formation and development of the Negro and Women's leagues, Willie Mays' "catch of the century", and various scandals that have rocked the sport.In a stunning find which was a late addition to the book, the Honus Wagner story, which made his baseball card worth over one million dollars, is debunked with the inclusion here of a tobacco ad in his hometown paper the same year (1090) he supposedly pulled the card off the market because the didn't want to be associated with the tobacco industry. Read about all the great players and events that have made our national sport what it is, reported as it happened.Eric C. Caren owns one of the largest rare newspaper collections in private hands.He is a consultant and major lender of materials to the Newseum in Arlington, Virginia.All items in this book come from his extensive archive, which dates back to the sixteenth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

From the baselines to the headlines
This is the perfect book for a baseball fan (or a historian with an interest in baseball) to have if he's stranded on a deserted island.

I've looked at all the headlines in this book and skimmed some of the stories, but I still haven't read an appreciable portion of the book as a whole.

The detail is so great, and the print on the older newspapers is so small that one really would have to have the luxury of time to read the whole thing.

Essentially, the book is a collection of baseball-theme newspaper headlines from 1857 to 1999.One can appreciate just how far back in time this book takes him when he sees a 1918 Boston Post headline that reads, *Red Sox Are Again World's Champions.*

The RED SOX?Baseball's world champions?AGAIN??????

Now THAT'S ancient history.

But this just isn't a baseball book, and those who can tolerate the baseball but whose historical interests lie elsewhere will take interest in the other slices of Americana that often lie side-by-side with the baseball stories.

The Red Sox story above is actually overshadowed by a headline about 13,000,000 additional draft registrants being called up, even as victory over the Kaiser is within reach.

Right next to the Milwaukee Daily News headline from October 14, 1908 declaring *Cubs Again Champions of the World* (another example of ancient history) is a political cartoon lampooning President Teddy Roosevelt.

The 1921 acquittal of the Chicago *Black Sox* players of conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series accompanies another story about the death of singer Enrico Caruso.

A 1948 headline in the Washington Afro American announcing forty-something Satchel Paige's belated call-up to the major leagues also includes an editorial criticizing Harry Truman's civil rights policies and announcing the assassination of a Haitian editor of a pro-government newspaper.

*Going away?* the ad in the lower left-hand corner asks.*Be sure that the Afro goes with you.*

Ads for tobacco (*Rabbitt Maranville says, *Blackstone is the best smoke on the big league circuit*), chewing gum (*it's good and it's good for you,* the Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad advises), and health-enhancing elixirs also predominate.

A 1951 story in the Kansas City Star about the boyish Mickey Mantle's standing as heir apparent to the great DiMaggio also proudly announces Satin School Jackets (regularly selling for $7.95) on sale for $4.98.1951 model Dodges are available at Midwest Motors for only $1666.17.

Moon Mullins and other retro comic strip characters also dot these pages.*Whadd'ya mean he's beginning to get to you?* an irate boxing manager demands of his fighter in the middle of an empty arena.*He's been and gone!*Now THAT'S another animated boxing manager who also isn't going to be saying *we* anytime soon.

There's even a measure of eeriness about some of these headlines.Everyone knows that Joe DiMaggio's famous 56 game hitting strike took place in the pre-war environment that was the 1941 baseball season, so it's startling to see a number of San Francisco Chronicle headlines tracking his hitting streak - that are dated in 1933.

The answer, of course, is that years before DiMaggio electrified the nation with his 56-game streak, he was raising eyebrows on the West Coast with a 61-game streak for the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals.Incredibly, the Chronicle repeatedly gets his name wrong, spelling it as *De Maggio*.The man was born on Fisherman's Wharf, after all.He was a San Francisco native son.

And in another Twilight Zonish moment from 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle proclaims that *Hank Gherrig* (whose bases-loaded homerun won the game for his local high-school) is the Babe Ruth of high school baseball.

The subject, of course, is Lou Gehrig who would set the all-time record for grand slam homeruns (it still stands today) and who would later join Babe Ruth in the Yankees lineup to make up what might still be the greatest homerun-hitting tandem of all time.

Yes, if you've got this collection with you, you have tremendous incentive to find a desert island to be stranded on.

Of course, the stories from the more recent years can be passed over.And retro-baseball also contains some sobering food for thought:50 years from now; 80-100 years from now; will baseball fans from the future pour over headlines about Darryl Strawberry, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, Garry Sheffield, and Will Clark - and modernist madness outside the world of baseball - with the same misty glow?

A must have if you love baseball
This book is awesome... First of all, it's huge - about 18" x 12" and 400+ pages.Each page is copy of a newspaper, going back to 1857, with stories about significant events in baseball's history.Reading the non-baseball stories and advertisements is almost as good as the baseball stuff.I highly recommend this book!

For seniors only?
I've bought this book, and I thinks it not so bad. If you're into baseball from 1860 to 1950 this one is for you, but the stories from the 60s to the 90s is not so well covered. It is many pages I would like to have, for example more on expansion teams, player's strike, my favourite team the St. Louis Browns and of course stories about unassisted triple plays. In the 80's section the most stories are about world series winners (but not all, both Pete Rose and the Pine-Tar case is there). I would recommend it for every old baseball fan, and of course fans who like to trace the history. Bam's last game is covered, so is The Ironman, and BoSox first win in the WS are also well covered. Ed Gaedel is also one story that I liked. But the author could have add more pages from the modern times of baseball. If you buy this book, be sure to have a magnifying glass, many of the articles are written in very small types

If you are into old-school this is for you!
I just received this book for an early birthday present and have not been able to put it down! I have always been a fan of the way's baseball used to be,so I really got into this book.It almost felt like I was in the game! I would recomend this book to any one who loves baseball,or even a young boy just starting out. It really shows true appreciation of the sport. ... Read more

Book Description
A selected historical view of baseball from the early 1900's to the late 1950's.Also includeds reference information for the postcard collector. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Baseball in Minnesota
This is a wonderful history on baseball in the small towns of Minnesota.The record of the state Championships and stories from the players themselves still living. The love of baseball in this book is defined well, by the authors. ... Read more

Book Description
A deceptively simple game rich in subtleties, baseball, more than any other sport, is passed down parent to child, one generation to another. In every era, fans have found heroes to cheer, and in part our attachment to the game has been fueled by hotly contested efforts to measure the superstars of the present against the titans of yesteryear. Greats of the Game fondly contributes to the nostalgic appeal of the national pastime by celebrating-in a subjective, engagingly outspoken text and dazzling, rarely seen photographs-the game's greatest players, teams, managers, games, and colorful personalities.

Here are a century's worth of stars and highlights: Babe Ruth and Nolan Ryan, Jackie Robinson and Barry Bonds, Don Larsen's perfect game, Willie Mays's catch of Vic Wertz's 450-foot drive in the 1954 World Series. Ray Robinson, author of the definitive biography of Lou Gehrig, shares more than 70 years of memories, while fellow baseball maven Christopher Jennison describes the stunning photos he has selected-in a lavish, opinionated treasury that is certain to inspire passionate debate. AUTHOR BIO: Ray Robinson has followed baseball since the heyday of Ruth and Gehrig. His books include Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time, The Home Run Heard 'Round the World, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, and Will Rogers: An American Original. Christopher Jennison, who has chosen the photographs for this book and written the captions, is the coauthor (with Ray Robinson) of Pennants and Pinstripes and Yankee Stadium. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect Gift
I bought this book to give a 16-year-old baseball player for Christmas who loves the sport.He will love all the data and pictures.It's the "real deal". ... Read more

Product Description
Major League Baseball's 2006 World Baseball Classic shocked an international audience when an amateur team from Cuba met Japan in San Diego for the sport's first true world championship. But those who had paid attention to international tournaments were hardly surprised by Cuba's showing against all-star teams of American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Venezuelan professionals. Cuban national teams have now reached the finals of 38 consecutive major world tournaments, won better than 90 percent of their international contests since 1939, repeatedly beaten U.S. all-stars at the avowed American national game, and reigned for more than half a century as undisputed champions of global baseball. In this groundbreaking book, expert Peter Bjarkman follows the full arc of Cuban baseball history, including close coverage of the nearly five decades since the Sugar Kings' ejection from the International League. Dispelling the mystery and disinformation that surround Cuba, its leader, and its teams, early and late, Bjarkman gives us the first truly balanced history of baseball on the Caribbean island. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Cuban baseball history
The importance and quality of this book is best expressed in a recent review by noted sports journalist Pete Cava, when he writes: "Like opera afacienados, fans of international baseball are passionate, but few and far between.And for any author, writing the definitive tome about Cuban baseball from its origins to the present is like taking vows of poverty.
Therefore,!felicitaciones! to Pete Bjarkman for his latest opus, "A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006", simply the most complete work on the game as it's played just ninety miles away across the Florida Straits.
Bjarkman's book is a dizzying, four-part compilation of hard-to-find material on Cuban baseball- both pre- and post-revolution.Frequently detonating myths along the way, Bjarkman explains how the game took root in Cuba; how the island became a winter hotbed during the 20th Century's first decades for Negro League stars from the U.S. like Oscar Charlseston; and how it was Cuba's amateur ballclubs (and not the winter league teams) that enthralled local fans prior to the ascent of Fidel Castro.
Paying homage to Cuba's legends, Bjarkman devotes time to Adolfo Luque ("the Original 'Pride of Havana'), Orestes Minoso ("the Cuban Comet"), Conrado Marrero and Martin Dihigo ("Baseball's Least-Known Hall of Famer"). He also writes about Cuban players of the Castro era ("The World's Best Unknown Players"): Omar Linares, Orestes Kindelan, Antonio Pacheco, Norge Luis Vera, Victor "El Loco" Mesa- men who would have commanded fabulous big league contracts on the open market, but remain unfamiliar to most North American fans.
A number of tomes on Cuban baseball have appeared over the past decade, written by notables like S.L. Price, Milton Jamail, and Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria.Bjarkman alternately praises and scolds each of them throughout his book.Since he probably spends more time in Havana than Castro and may know more about Cuban baseball than "El Comandante" himself, Bjarkman's criticism can't be shrugged off.
Bjarkman buries once and for all the notion that Fidel was once a pitching prospect (while Castro was a schoolboy athlete in the 1940's, baseball wasn't even his best sport).Bjarkman also puts to rest any notion that Cuba's baseball tradition, like so many Cuban citizens, fled the island after Castro's rise to power.
Istead, Bjarkman argues that the sport reached its zenith during the Castro years- a theory that's bound to act as a lightning rod for criticism. But anyone who claims Bjarkman is soft on Castro's regime ultimately has to concede that this book isn't about Cuba's government; it's about Cuban baseball.And while many readers would disagree with what Bjarkman calls America's "blatant imperialistic policies", few would disagree when he acknowledges Havana's use of baseball as a propaganda tool. (Bjarkman's depiction of Castro's micro-managing of the Cuban national team would have George Steinrenner shaking his head and clucking his tongue).
"A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006" explores baseball to its roots.It provides statistics, records, standings and other nuggets previously found only in the official Cuban league guides.And if there's any disparity, it's best to go with whatever Bjarkman says.

Objective and factual
I have read Mr. Bjarkman's other books on Cuban baseball and this one is the crowning touch.It not only traces the history of Cuban baseball back to its roots but it also follows the nuances of the game through the years in the evolvement of the Cuban game, both pre and post revolution.

Bjarkman;s objectivity will probably run afoul of the Cuban bureacracy in some areas, but no one can argue his resolute following of detail in stating the facts of Cuban baseball.

It is not easy to eliminate references to the political system of Cuba when it is so closely entwined with baseball, but Bjarkman succeeds in telling history devoid of politics.Anyone's statements to the contrary merely show their lack of knowledge: both of Cuban baseball and Cuban history.

This is a must read for those interested in baseball in Latin America and its original, and continuing, hotbed - Cuba.

The same old misinformation
This book is another Pro-Castro pamphlet.It is the same old misinformation told over and over again by the INDER,the goverment baseball department. The same old distortion of cuban history and cuban present reality,this time about baseball history and told by a pro-Castro american for the american public,as part of an all out propaganda effort to influence public opinion about the sanctions against the totalitarian goverment in Cuba. It is an effort to have the sanctions lifted and have the american taxpayers pick up the tab for Cuba's bankrupt economy as the old USSR did from 1961 to 1991 at a price of 4 billions a year.
This "comprehensive" history book does not give any of the more than 100 players who have defected the opportunity to tell their side of the story. The reasons behind their defections, how they escape,the repercussions back in Cuba, how the are followed by cuban security,even to the restroom,when they visit another country.
Mr.Bjarkman sweeps under the rug that cuban players do not have the FREEDOM to choose where they want to play, live and return home ,and make as much money as their talent let them,if that is what they want.Just like,David Ortiz,Johan Santana,Angel Pujol,Miguel Cabrera Ichiro Suzuki,and everybody else.
It is a fact that cuban players live in an apartaid society, and like the rest of any other cuban citizen,they are not allowed to stay in the same hotels nor eat in the same restaurants that foreigners like Mr. Bjarkman himself stay and eat.Does he think they like that?
The Castro era baseball will be seen by real historians the same way the achivements of the Soviet era and East German Olympic athlets are seen today a sad chapter in the history of those nations.

The Definitive Cuban History
Ten years in the works, this is "the complete and definitive" history of Cuban baseball, the most balanced and exhaustive of a number of fine books on baseball's best alternative universe. But unlike earlier histories, this one is the first to thoroughly document and demonstrate that baseball indeed did not flee the "Pearl of the Caribbean" in January 1959 when Fidel Castro arrived on the scene. It was only in the early 1960s that the most important chapter of Cuban baseball actually began and that, for the first time, Cuba could boast a truly national baseball.

The book is jammed with historical detail, season-by-season summaries of both the pre-1961 pro league in Havana and post-1962 amateur league across the island, precise details of all Cuban national team appearances in top international tournaments, profiles of the top Cuban League and national team stars of the past forty-plus years, career league stats for every member of the Cuban national team (1962-2006), and the true story of the mythical pitching career of Maximum Leader Fidel Castro. Hundreds of photos and stats. As Kevin Baxter of the MIAMI HERALD has observed, the statistics alone here are priceless.

Here is what LIBRARY JOURNAL (February 1, 2007) had to say in their Spring 2007 Baseball Literature preview:

"Bjarkman (Baseball with a Latin Beat) delivers the definitive work on Cuban baseball. He looks at four Cuban legends--Martin Dihigo, Adolfo Luque, Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, and Conrado Marrero--before covering Cuba's baseball teams during both the prerevolutionary and Castro eras. He discusses Havana's place as the "amateur baseball capital of the world" and also explores myths surrounding Castro as a ballplayer, as well as such figures as Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. With useful appendixes and statistics. For all baseball collections." ... Read more

Amazon.com
There are two reasons to head out to the ballpark. One is to passively watch the game, the other is to actively see it, and you can't do the latter without a scorecard. In this slim gem of a volume, Paul Dickson clearly explains and translates the quirky documentation system, which looks like cuneiform to the uninitiated, for recording what happens on the ball field, and why true fans are so adamant about doing it. Filled with history, anecdotes, and rules, it also reproduces--to the joy of scorers everywhere--the official scorer's records for some of baseball's most significant moments, including Don Larson's perfecto and Babe Ruth's called shot.Book Description

Customer Reviews (17)

Informative and fun, a easy read gem you must have
I found this book while looking for an informative reference on how to score the game.I looked at two other titles and chose this one because it contained the information I was seeking and loads of extra "fun facts" regarding the history of the game.It is a fun read and I think you will find this a "gem" of a book.This would make a great present to any youngsters who start an interest in baseball.

Interesting and Fun Book
I would recommend this book for those wanting to learn MORE about scoring, not how to score.After reading, we went to a Major League Baseball game and kept score...lots of fun.

More Interesting Than Informative
This book contains an excellent history of scorekeeping (and thus lives up to its subtitle).As a fan of baseball history, I appreciated it for that.It was also a quick read, and I read it all in less than an afternoon.I recommend it if you are interested in the history of scoring.

It was lacking, however, in the "how-to" department. I was just learning to score games.I had been using the guide contained in baseball programs and was looking for a little more depth.This book did provide a little more depth, but not a great deal.It contains information about marking plays, but does not go in to a lot of detail about the rules (which are essential to being a good scorekeeper).I did find it helpful to learn that not all scorers mark their card identically because as I developed some of my own techniques, I didn't feel like I was doing a disservice to the history of the game.

It is a good starting point for the beginning scorer and an excellent reference on scoring background; but if you have scored a few and are looking to get more complex, you may want to pass on this.

Comprehensive and Fun
Author Paul Dickson's love of baseball flows from every page of this delightful little book. It's not a how-to book, but rather an appreciation of the art form of scoring a baseball game. It includes a comprehesive list of abbreviations used in scoring, many anecdotes, and photos of scorecards from famous games.

Chock full, but a little scattered
This is probably the very best book out there about scoring, and aptly titled, because after I read this book I have become fascinated with scoring (maybe a little too much??).The author clearly loves the game and gives you lots of reasons to love it yourself.
The book's thoroughness is both its strength and weakness.There is only a small section that gives you a clear mandate on how to score.But the rest of the book is just plain chock full of suggestions and variations, from simple to being able to recreate the game pitch-by-pitch, but you have to read the whole book to get all of them.This also makes it hard to find something you remember from past readings.There is an index to help out, though.
Overall, a great book that truly embraces the joy of scoring, and has dozens of styles that you can choose to use when you score.He leaves it up to you to pick your own style. ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com
Baseball is an etymologist's delight. The game coins words and phrases faster than Mark McGwire hits home runs (a.k.a. dingers, taters, round-trippers, four-baggers), and much of what begins as baseball-specific verbiage seeps into common usage. But why exactly is a high, lazy fly ball called "a can of corn," a pop-up that falls between the infield and the outfield a "Texas leaguer," a vicious curveball "Uncle Charlie," a poke that bounces off the plate a "Baltimore chop," and the minor leagues "the bushes"? Paul Dickson explains them--and about 7,000 more terms and expressions, names and events--in a wide-ranging work that's as much fun to browse through as it is specifically useful. Like its 1989 predecessor (which only sent 5,000 entries to the plate), the Dickson Baseball Dictionary arranges everything alphabetically, supplies definitions, offers examples, provides cross-references, and, most fascinating of all, traces word and phrase origins. As references go, it brings out the "lumber," looks "yard," and pretty much "touches 'em all." --Jeff SilvermanBook Description

Customer Reviews (11)

Book Ordered/Great Price
Rec'd book on time; cheaper than area bookstores. This is not the first time I purchased items from Amazon and I plan to continue. Great job! Thanks!

Great Book !
This is a book that you'll love. There's a lot of things to learn in it and some terms you probably can't listen anymore. A perfect book for a really baseball fan !

Great Book !
This is a book that you'll love. There's a lot of things to learn in it and some terms you probably can't listen anymore. A perfect book for a really baseball fan !

Clear,Concise, Helpful
This baseball dictionary is clear, concise and helpful, particularly for people like me. I love baseball, but when I was growing up, girls weren't raised on sports, so I became a fan with sketchy knowledge of the rules and nuances of the game. Since I bought this book, I've learned a lot about pitching maneuvers, stats, history of the sport, slang terms and dozens of other things that make baseball more and more interesting to watch.I'm very glad I own it.

A must have for the serious baseball fan!
In baseball, what is a crackerjack? A cradle? A drawing Card? Feel the apple means what? What happens when you go to the pump? Who made up Murderers' Row? Open the New Dickson Baseball Dictionary and you'll findout.

This A to Z complete listing of baseball term is about the best bookon the subject there is. Paul Dickson has put together over 570 pages offacts, terms, definitions and trivia that are sure to please every baseballfan.

Filled with over 100 photos and illustrations you are sure to findjust about every baseball word you can think of. Also included are athesaurus, a section of abbreviations and a fully annotatedbibliography.

The baseball purest is sure to love this book as a gift,and it is priced to meet most budgets. Overall this book is great readingand makes the perfect handy reference book! ... Read more