From an award-winning journalist, iowa, 000, population 5, where boys come summer after summer to be molded into ballplayers — and men Clarinda, a real Field of Dreams story about a legendary coach and the professional-caliber baseball program he built in America's heartland, sits two hours from anything.

In the process, merl taught them to be men, insisting on hard work, integrity, and responsibility. More than a book about ballplayers who landed in the nation's agricultural heartland, and reminds us of the best, The Baseball Whisperer is the story of a coach who puts character and dedication first, purest form of baseball excellence.

There, is a ball field with a bronze bust of a man named Merl Eberly, between the corn fields and hog yards, a baseball whisperer who specialized in second chances and lost causes. The statue was a gift from one of merl’s original long-shot projects, a skinny kid from the ghetto in Los Angeles who would one day become a beloved Hall-of-Fame shortstop: Ozzie Smith.

The baseball whisperer traces the remarkable story of Merl Eberly and his Clarinda A’s baseball team, which he tended over the course of five decades, transforming them from a town team to a collegiate summer league powerhouse. Along with ozzie smith, and star player Von Hayes, future manager Bud Black, Merl developed scores of major league players six of which are currently playing.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

There, and warming up to jesus christ Superstar, sporting longhair, the Ironmen would playa dramatic game against a Chicago powerhouse that would change theirlives forever. In a gripping, cinematic narrative, ahippie, sports illustrated writer ChrisBallard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet, dreamer and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era.

Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly tookover a rag-tag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life asbaseball. In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinoisplaying with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hatsdefied convention and the odds.

Inspired by sweet's unconventional methods and led by fierystar Steve Shartzer and spindly curveball artist John Heneberry, theundersized, undermanned Macon Ironmen embarked on an improbablepostseason run that infuriated rival coaches and buoyed an entiretown. Beginning with sweet's arrival, ballard takes readers on a journeyback to the Ironmen's historic season and then on to the present day, returning to the 1971 Ironmen to explore the effect the game had ontheir lives' trajectories--and the men they've become because of it.

Engaging and poignant, andit reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among acoach, a team, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the powerof high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and a town Hyperion Books. Led by an english teacher with nocoaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370teams to become the smallest school in modern Illinois history to make thestate final, a distinction that still stands.

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The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond

At a 1931 barnstorming exhibition game in Tennessee, a seventeen-year-old pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back. This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever played so much as a game of catch. Bartlett giamattiand many more Hyperion Books. In july 1970, a stripper rushed onto the field at Riverfront Stadium to kiss Johnny Bench, temporarily disrupting a game attended by President Nixon and his family.

Here also are profiles of such legendary figures as Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra, Pete Rose, essays that explore the complexities and pleasures of the game, even an excerpt from the movie Bull Durham. These are just some of the great, quirky, and comic moments in the annals of baseball recorded in THE GREATEST BASEBALL STORIES EVER TOLD.

. Her name was jackie Mitchell--"organized baseball's first girl pitcher. On september 9, 1965, sandy Koufax made baseball history by pitching his fourth perfect game. Contributors include:john updikedoris Kearns GoodwinAbbott & CostelloRing LardnerBill BarichZane GreyDavid James DuncanAl StumpPete HamillP.

G. Wodehousedamon RunyanRoy Blount, Jr. Richard ben CramerGay TaleseA.

Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball Anchor Sports

The book tells the stories of former world series hero scott Podsednik, a lifelong minor leaguer, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, waiting for his day to come. John feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can.

Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. Where nobody knows your name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, among many colorful characters, managers and umpires, including players, focusing on nine men, living on the cusp of the dream.

Hyperion Books. From raleigh to pawtucket, from lehigh valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through. Anchor Books. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball.

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The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life

Publicaffairs. This book is an incredible story about a universal experience--pressure--and what happened when a person on the brink had to make a choice about who he was going to be. Yet the true test of ankiel's character came not on the mound, but in the long days and nights that followed as he searched for a way to get back in the game.

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. Anchor Books. And it has never gone away. Then, one day, he lost it. Hyperion Books. 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.

It came without warning, in the middle of a playoff game, with millions of people watching. A new york times bestseller rick ankiel had the talent to be one of the best pitchers ever. For four and a half years, medication, and, deep-breathing exercises, he fought the Yips with every arrow in his quiver: psychotherapy, eventually, self-help books, vodka.

The phenomenon is the story of how St.

The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking

Data becomes digestible; intangibles are rendered not only accessible, but quantifiable. With its three-hour-long contests, 162-game seasons, and countless measurable variables, baseball is a sport which lends itself to self-reflection and obsessive analysis. Publicaffairs. Casual fans and statheads alike will not want to miss this compelling meditation on what makes baseball tick.

. It's a thinking game. So what's on the horizon for a game that is constantly evolving? Positioned at the crossroads of sabermetrics and cognitive science, The Shift alters the trajectory of both traditional and analytics-based baseball thought. It's also a shifting game. Anchor Books. Hyperion Books. With a background in clinical psychology as well as experience in major league front offices, Baseball Prospectus' Russell Carleton illuminates advanced statistics and challenges cultural assumptions, demonstrating along the way that data and logic need not be at odds with the human elements of baseball—in fact, they're inextricably intertwined.

Covering topics ranging from infield shifts to paradigm shifts, honesty, and an engaging style, Carleton writes with verve, inviting all those who love the game to examine it deeply and maybe a little differently. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike.

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The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports

He explains that without a drastic shift in how baseball thinks about its talent, another generation of pitchers will fall prey to the same problem that vexes the current one. Equal parts medical thriller and cautionary tale, The Arm is a searing exploration of baseball’s most valuable commodity and the redemption that can be found in one fragile and mysterious limb.

Hyperion Books. Anchor Books. For three years, present, has traveled the world to better understand the mechanics of the arm and its place in the sport’s past, the lead baseball columnist for Yahoo Sports, Jeff Passan, and future. He sat down for a rare interview with Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, whose career ended at 30 because of an arm injury.

And he followed two major league pitchers as they returned from Tommy John surgery, the revolutionary procedure named for the former All-Star who first underwent it more than 40 years ago. Passan discovered a culture that struggles to prevent arm injuries and lacks the support for the changes necessary to do so.

Publicaffairs. He went to japan to understand how another baseball-obsessed nation deals with this crisis. New york times bestsellerevery year, major League Baseball spends more than $1. 5 billion on pitchers—five times the salary of all NFL quarterbacks combined.

Ninety Percent Mental: An All-Star Player Turned Mental Skills Coach Reveals the Hidden Game of Baseball

Tewksbury explores the fascinating psychology behind baseball, and strategic thinking to maximize performance, such as how players use techniques of imagery, self-awareness, and how a pitcher's strategy changes throughout a game. Hyperion Books. Anchor Books. He also offers an in-depth look into some of baseball's most monumental moments and intimate anecdotes from a "who's who" of the game, game-changing managers and executives Joe Torre, Brian Sabean, and current star players Jon Lester, including legendary players who Tewksbury played with and against such as Mark McGwire, Craig Biggio, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Miller, Bruce Bochy, and Greg Maddux, Rich Hill.

With tewksbury's esoteric knowledge as a thinking-fan's player and his expertise as a "baseball whisperer", this entertaining book is perfect for any fan who wants to see the game in a way he or she has never seen it before. Harper. Ninety percent mental will deliver an unprecedented look at the mound games and mind games of Major League Baseball.

Publicaffairs. Fans watching the game on television or even at the stadium don't have access to the mind games a pitcher must play in order to get through an at-bat, an inning, a game. Former major league pitcher and mental skills coach for two of baseball's legendary franchises the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants Bob Tewksbury takes fans inside the psychology of baseball.

In ninety percent mental, given his singular background as both a longtime MLB pitcher and a mental skills coach for two of the sport's most fabled franchises, Bob Tewksbury shows readers a side of the game only he can provide, the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.

The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime

In the baseball codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed—and least known—traditions. 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. An insider’s look at baseball’s unwritten rules, explained with examples from the game’s most fascinating characters and wildest historical moments.

Publicaffairs. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining. Hyperion Books. All aspects of baseball—hitting, and baserunning—are affected by the Code, pitching, a set of unwritten rules that governs the Major League game. With rollicking stories from the past and new perspectives on baseball’s informal rulebook, The Baseball Codes is a must for every fan.

Anchor Books. Anchor Books. 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. 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.

Harper. Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize.

One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

Anchor Books. Harper. Anchor Books. Publicaffairs. Inspired by sweet's unconventional methods and led by fierystar Steve Shartzer and spindly curveball artist John Heneberry, theundersized, undermanned Macon Ironmen embarked on an improbablepostseason run that infuriated rival coaches and buoyed an entiretown.

Beginning with sweet's arrival, ballard takes readers on a journeyback to the Ironmen's historic season and then on to the present day, returning to the 1971 Ironmen to explore the effect the game had ontheir lives' trajectories--and the men they've become because of it. Engaging and poignant, a team, andit reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among acoach, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the powerof high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and a town Hyperion Books.

The inspirational story of a coach, a baseball team, and the Season They'll Never ForgetIn 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinoisplaying with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hatsdefied convention and the odds. Hyperion Books. Led by an english teacher with nocoaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370teams to become the smallest school in Illinois history to make thestate final, a distinction that still stands.

There, and warming up to jesus christ Superstar, sporting longhair, the Ironmen would playa dramatic game against a Chicago powerhouse that would change theirlives forever. In a gripping, sports illustrated writer chrisballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet, ahippie, cinematic narrative, dreamer and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era.

Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly tookover a rag-tag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life asbaseball.

Flip the Bird

Publicaffairs. Hyperion Books. With humor and honesty, mercer’s story shows how growing up means making difficult choices…and sometimes, being rewarded in unexpected ways. Hyperion Books. When mercer meets Lucy, he falls hard for her gorgeous looks and bubbly personality. Mercer buddie wants two things in this world: a girlfriend and the chance to prove to his master falconer father that he’s not a flake.

Harper. With hunting season fast approaching, fourteen-year-old Mercer has only a short time to work with Flip, a red-tailed hawk he irreverently named to show his dad that falconers don’t have to be so serious all the time. Anchor Books. Mercer soon realizes that if he wants to keep seeing lucy, he’ll need to keep his love of falconry and his family’s raptor rehabilitation center a secret from her, and Lucy’s involvement with HALT from his family.

. He thinks his love life is about to take flight, until he discovers that Lucy and her family belong to a fanatical animal-rights organization called HALT—a group that believes imposing any sort of restrictions on animals is a form of cruelty. Anchor Books.