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For over two centuries, it’s been what Walt Whitman called “our game”. It’s America’s favorite pastime, our national preoccupation. It’s more than a game, more than a sport. It’s who we are as a people, as a culture. But where did baseball come from?

In the 1930s, Monroe, Louisiana, was a town of 26,000 in the northeastern corner of the state, an area described by the

New Orleans Item as the "lynch law center of Louisiana." Yet for a few years in the early 1930s, this unlikely spot was home to the Monarchs, a national-caliber Negro League baseball team. Crowds of Black and White fans eagerly filled their segregated grandstand seats to see the players who would become the only World Series team Louisiana would ever generate, and the first from the American South.

Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.

General managers and fans alike have pondered this most important of baseball questions. The Moneyball strategy is not the first example of how new ideas and innovative management have transformed the way teams are assembled. Pursuit of Pennants examines and analyzes a number of compelling, winning baseball teams over the past 100-plus years, focusing on their decision making and how they assembled their championship teams.

Sports fans will cheer for these exciting titles, which capture some of the most thrilling moments in college and professional sports. From buzzer-beater basketball shots and amazing trick football plays to soccer’s World Cup goals and baseball’s World Series home runs, these titles are packed with action stories. Listeners will also meet each sport’s superstars and record holders—and revel in all the fascinating facts every fan wants to know.

Trust is the name of the game. If you can build trust with someone, you can then hold them accountable, and ultimately, get the results that you want. The fact of the matter is, words matter. And how you use them either increases trust or demolishes it. This book was written to help you communicate at a higher level, build trust with them, and help them become the self-reliant athlete (and human) you know they can be.

The Dodgers’ final game in Brooklyn was played on September 24, 1957. From the author of The Giants of The Polo Grounds, here's a thoughtful, entertaining new account of that last game played by the Brooklyn Dodgers at baseball's fabled Ebbets Field.

This umpire manual is the definitive resource for professional and amateur umpires alike. It is the official umpire manual and rulebook for Minor League Baseball Umpire Development (formerly PBUC). This MiLB manual contains over six hours of narration of the official rule interpretations and clarifications used throughout Minor League Baseball.Changes in the 2019 edition include the numbering of interpretations. These have changed from previous editions due to the addition of 20 new interpretations for this season.

In the mid-1990s, a band of baseball-loving boys from the small town of Chester, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River, pursue their dreams of state and national championships. Their fathers, guards in the local penitentiary that houses some of the worst criminals in US history, are their coaches. One dream comes true - the other doesn’t. This is the story of the dreams and of the town that made them possible.

Official manual used by professional baseball umpires. Includes interpretations of baseball rules, clarifications on plays, responsibilities of umpires, lineups and substitutions, appeals and awards, interference and obstruction, pitching regulations, and much more. A must-have for any potential umpire at any level.

With his irreverant personality, laid-back approach, and penchant for the unexpected, Joe Maddon is a singular presence among Major League Baseball managers. Whether he's bringing clowns and live bear cubs to spring training or leading the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in 108 years, Maddon is always one to watch. In Try Not to Suck, ESPN's Jesse Rogers and MLB.com's Bill Chastain fully explore Maddon's life and career, delving behind the scenes and dissecting that mystique which makes Maddon so popular with players and analysts alike.

Colleges provide over $12 billion in financial aid and scholarships annually. Of this, $2.7 billion is awarded each year for athletic scholarships. Only six percent of high school athletes compete for that $2.7 billion. Score College Scholarships is produced from the perspective of a college applicant, who received multiple offers and earned six scholarships. With the help of this book, student-athletes, and their parents will learn the most effective strategies to get noticed by college coaches, balance academic and athletic considerations, and choose the "best fit" school.

This is the story of the Houston Astros winning their first World Series in team history. In their 56th year, they ended their drought in the same year that the city of Houston was besieged with devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey. It became the story of a team linked closely with a city.

Ralph Branca is best known for throwing the pitch that resulted in Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard ‘Round the World", the historic homerun that capped an incredible comeback and won the pennant for the Giants in 1951. And so Branca was on the losing end of what many consider to be baseball's most thrilling moment, but that notoriety belies a profoundly successful life and career.

Satchel Paige was 42 years old when he became the first Black pitcher in the American League in 1948. Although the oldest rookie around, he was already a legend. For 22 years, beginning in 1926, Paige dazzled throngs with his performance in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Then he outlasted everyone by playing professional baseball, in and out of the majors, until 1965.

Bryce Harper's unprecedented ascent to the major leagues, from a 17-year-old first overall draft pick to a headline-creating, 19-year-old rookie center fielder for the Washington Nationals, dropped him into the middle of the best season of D.C. baseball since the Great Depression. Washington Post sports reporters chronicled each moment on and off the field, from his first press conference in Washington, to watching him wash dishes after dinner at his parents' house, to his debut at Dodger Stadium.

Batting Stance Guy never expected he would become a YouTube celebrity, racking up more than two million views, landing profiles in The New York Times and USA Today, and even scoring an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. But when a friend and neighbor started capturing this man’s unusual talents with a video camera, that’s what happened. With uncanny precision, Batting Stance Guy can mimic any baseball player he’s ever seen, and the results will take you back - to the game last night, or last year, or in 1980, or anywhere in between.

Widely praised for novels that celebrate the game of baseball while offering valuable life lessons, John H. Ritter has won such prestigious awards as the Paterson Prize for Children’s Literature. Fenway Fever honors the 100th birthday of Fenway Park, the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox. Nothing makes “Stats” Pagano happier than his beloved Red Sox and his family’s stadium-side hotdog stand. So when the team goes on a losing streak and the stand can no longer support itself, Stats comes up with a plan to turn things around.

Cricket and baseball share a parallel and occasionally intertwined history (the first international cricket match was played in the United States). Indeed, they have mirrored their countries' struggles with identity and race, and have expanded beyond the shores of their founding countries to become multinational sports commanding global followings that are, even now, challenging the future of both sports. Right off the Bat is the perfect present for fans of either sport, as well as a handy introduction to those who want to divine the deeper rhythms of play.

The year 2016 is the 60th Anniversary of Mantle's Triple Crown season, which many baseball experts consider one of the best seasons ever for a ball player. Of course, those who experienced that season are decreasing in numbers. But Mickey Mantle is more popular than ever. The value of his memorabilia is second to none. He remains respected and admired for the redemptive quality of his life.