Baseball Books

This is a great guide for those coaches who are series about teaching their players the correct way to hit. This is a must read for the dedicated player.

This a very detailed wonderful book, definitely worth buying.

THIS BOOK IS SO FUNNY. I FOUND IT VERY ENTERTAINING AND EASY TO READ. THE AUTHOR DID AN AWESOM JOB WRITING THIS BOOK AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING HIS OTHER BOOKS.

THIS BOOK WILL KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED FOR HOURS! I FOUND IT HARD TO PUT DOWN. THE AUTHOR REALLY DID HIS HOMEWORK FOR THIS BOOK. THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR THE SPORT "FACTALCOHOLIC"!

John Benson's Future Stars 2001-2002 provides excellent, detailed information on hundreds of little-known minor league players, and does a good job of projecting how they will perform in the Majors. His introductory chapters explain the methods he uses - and it's not just guesswork and hunches. He approaches player evaluation as a science and has a long track record for identifying future stars. Highly recommended!

This is the "cleanup hitter" in the lineup of John Benson baseball books. The scientific approaches used in this book to evaluate young minor league talent are validated by the excellent track history of his future predictions for success at the major league level. The success of my annual league drafts has improved greatly during the 3 years I have used this book. Unfortunately many fellow managers are now onto this book also. This book is perfect for finding some little known player to pick in the lower draft rounds and to watch him become a star. Its an excellent tool for ranking the annual crop of rookies.

This book really is not getting enough recognition. It is the perfect book to pick up and read, from age 8-80...and depending on how old you are, you'll get the age appropriate message...for the youngsters, it's never give up and play the game the way it's meant to be played: For Fun and with Friends. For the old guys, it serves as a picture perfect memory of what baseball means to the kid in each of us. Great Story!

jay really hit the nail on the head with this one as he reminds the reader what it was like to play baseball when it was all about one word...FUN

Now that George Brett has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame (with the 4th highest vote total in history no less), interest in reading about this baseball immortal is at a high and it's very unfortunate that Garrity's book is no longer in print. The book was written after Brett's wonderful 1980 season, when he captured the hearts of America with his quest to become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. The book's a great look into the life of a player on the brink of superstardom. It'd be great now to get a book on Brett's entire career, because many of his highlights occurred after the '80 season. If you're a Brett fan, I strongly urge you to find this book!

Now that George Brett has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame (with the 4th highest vote total in history no less), interest in reading about this baseball immortal is at a high and it's very unfortunate that Garrity's book is no longer in print. The book was written after Brett's wonderful 1980 season, when he captured the hearts of America with his quest to become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. The book's a great look into the life of a player on the brink of superstardom. It'd be great now to get a book on Brett's entire career, because many of his highlights occurred after the '80 season. If you're a Brett fan, I strongly urge you to find this book!

Baseball is the setting for this quick read of one Mike Grange, the person we all like to be. Family, sex, relationship, baseball and Life, all in one . A don't miss

I found Gifts Of The Gods an exciting fast pace easy read,would highly recommend it to all type of readers. The novel is base in current day,using baseball as its conduit to adress some of todays most pressing issues. Once again A MUST READ.

Most baseball fans think the World Series started in 1903 but the National League and the American Association, considered a major league at the time, played for bragging rights in 1882. Twelve other championship series followed prior to the turn of the century.

In GLORY FADES AWAY, Jerry Lansche recounts these series. But he does much more than that. He starts with a history of baseball, taking us back to Alexander Cartwright who formed the New York Knickerbockers; he also changed the shape of the field from a square to a diamond, reduced the lineup to nine, and placed the bases ninety feet apart and codified the rules for the game. Lansche then takes us through the Civil War all the way up to 1869 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional team and 1876 when the National League was formed.

Lansche also places baseball in a wider social setting. For instance, there were over a hundred thousand saloons and three thousand distilleries spread throughout the country. Half the male population visited a saloon at least once a week. Baseball had its share of hard drinkers and baseball players in general were considered roughnecks. Gambling was also a problem. Let it suffice to say that the 1919 Black Sox series was not the first series to be fixed.

Speaking of the Black Sox, I wonder how many people know that the owner Charlie Comiskey was also once a slick fielding first baseball for the St. Louis Browns, who defeated the Chicago White Stockings in seven games in 1885. Coincidentally, Cap Anson, the first man to reach 3,000 hits also played in this series on the losing side.

Many other Hall of Famers played in these championship series. Hoss Radbourne, the only pitcher to win sixty games in a season, won three games for the Providence Grays in the 1884 series.

Probably the most interesting group was the 1896 Baltimore Orioles who played Cy Young's Cleveland Spiders. The Orioles averaged .328 that year. Hughie Jennings hit .398 with a 112 RBIs. Wee Willie Keeler had 214 hits and scored 153 runs. Muggsy McGraw had malaria that year but he was the heart and soul of the team. But the Orioles were primarily know for their "win-at-all-costs" attitude, cutting corners on the base paths, snagging an opposing players belt loop on his way around third etc.

Lansche also includes sidebars on "The Changing Game." For instance in 1882, the pitching mound was only fifty feet from home plate but the pitcher had to throw seven balls before the batter was given first. In 1887 the number of bad pitches required was reduced to five. A batter could no longer ask for a high or a low pitch. Also in 1887, Cap Anson originated spring training when he took his White Stockings to Hot Springs, Arkansas, prior to the season.

Numerous pictures are included. A young, skinny John J. McGraw pictured in 1899 his hair parted in the middle; "hard-drinking, free-spending" Mike "King" Kelly leaning on a bat; an autographed picture of a young Cy Young with a mustache.

This book is a treasure trove of information about a time when baseball was in its infancy; if you love baseball as much as I do, you won't be disappointed.

A really enjoyable history of baseball's World Series in the nineteenth century. Sorry it's out of print...

I've never played baseball but the game fascinates me and I read everything I can get my hands on.

WOW! This book was a great surprise. It is one of the most informative baseball books I've ever read. So many people from the game talk about this career from different perspectives. Since reading it, I look at players differently, with a kind of appreciation of what they go through.

It's an easy read and lots of fun. I felt like I was talking with such baseball giants as Frank Robinson, Andre Dawson, Bob Feller, Mark Grace, Robin Ventura and, well, that list of names is long and reads like a who's who of baseball.

It's one of those rare books where you read along, have a great time, then realize you're learning a lot at the same time. It definitely lives up to its name and kids who want to go pro really should have it as a reference.

My copy was a gift. Now all my friends are getting one for Christmas.

FIVE STARS for sure!

There's a lot of books out there ABOUT baseball and its players. Go Pro BASEBALL WISE is a baseball book BY its players.

This book doesn't focus on baseball's greatest moments, the endless comparison of stats, or the controversy of sod over turf. In fact, there's no mention of any game in particular.

What is in this book is baseball discussing baseball as a career. Author PJ Dragseth made a tremendous effort to interview a wide variety of baseball people across the country, from Hall of Fame players to rookies. He talked to some of the greatest players in the game. As a result, his book not only entertains, but could accurately be called a "baseball career handbook" for those who love baseball as well as for those who want to play the game professionally.

This book is a great accomplishment and Dragseth is to be commended for his effort. I recommend it highly and give it five stars.

Steven Boxer

Georgetown University, Washington, DC

I really enjoyed the book. I was a little disappointed that there was no mention of the local Baseball Hall of Fame. I think if you are interested in Sacramento's baseball history, you would be interested in the hall of fame too. It seems to me to be an important part of the history.

Alan O'Connor provides a very thorough and detailed look into Sacramento's very own history of the greatest game of all time. The book was very well researched, as well as very well put together. Very strongly recommend!

I'm not a Twins fan, but I enjoyed this look at their history. Great moments, sad moments and lighter moments are all here. Brought back a lot of memories for me. It's an easy and entertaining read with lots of interesting looks from behind the scenes.

My history with the MN Twins is different from Mr. Aschburners, but I have many fond memories as well. My mother and father played the organ at all the games from the inception till 1974, and I got to see the early greats play the game OUTDOORS!

What a fun book to read - I totally went back to my childhood -

Thanks for writing this, Steve!

Sincerely

Paul Peterson