Turning Baseball Upside Down

Turning Baseball Upside Down PDF Author: Alex Gaynes
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1796081523
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
This is a story about life and baseball, or maybe about baseball and life by a confessed baseball coaching lifer whose every attempt to retire has failed. So I decided to write about it. After all, it’s like my wife tells me, just tell stories. So that’s what I have done. The problem is, that every time we talk, we are reminded that there is another story to tell. At lunch today with sons Josh and Carl (who both played for me, though not always willingly) we were reminded of the Legion season that Josh caught a full season of double headers unbeknownst to us with a cracked bone in his ankle. While eating I received a text from son, Rusty (who like Josh, also coached with me) coaches an MSBL team in Phoenix. He is having a terrible season, and has entertained thoughts of retiring. I sent him a draft of this manuscript today, and received this text while eating lunch: “I’ve been ready to quit coaching after this season. After reading chapter 1, I am not ever quitting!” Thanks, Rusty. I hope you like this.

Turning Baseball Upside Down

Turning Baseball Upside Down PDF Author: Alex Gaynes
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1796081523
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a story about life and baseball, or maybe about baseball and life by a confessed baseball coaching lifer whose every attempt to retire has failed. So I decided to write about it. After all, it’s like my wife tells me, just tell stories. So that’s what I have done. The problem is, that every time we talk, we are reminded that there is another story to tell. At lunch today with sons Josh and Carl (who both played for me, though not always willingly) we were reminded of the Legion season that Josh caught a full season of double headers unbeknownst to us with a cracked bone in his ankle. While eating I received a text from son, Rusty (who like Josh, also coached with me) coaches an MSBL team in Phoenix. He is having a terrible season, and has entertained thoughts of retiring. I sent him a draft of this manuscript today, and received this text while eating lunch: “I’ve been ready to quit coaching after this season. After reading chapter 1, I am not ever quitting!” Thanks, Rusty. I hope you like this.

Game Over

Game Over PDF Author: Dave Zirin
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595588159
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Sportscaster Howard Cosell dubbed it "rule number one of the jockocracy" sports and politics just don't mix. But in Game Over, celebrated alt-sportswriter Dave Zirin proves once and for all that politics has breached the modern sports arena with a vengeance. From the NFL lockout and the role of soccer in the Arab Spring to the Penn State sexual abuse scandals and Tim Tebow's on-field genuflections, this timely and hard-hitting new book from the "conscience of American sportswriting" (The Washington Post) reveals how our most important debates about class, race, religion, sex, and the raw quest for political power are played out both on and off the field. Game Over offers new insights and analysis of headline-grabbing sports controversies, exploring the shady side of the NCAA, the explosive 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and why the Dodgers crashed and burned. It covers the fascinating struggles of gay and lesbian athletes to gain acceptance, female athletes to be more than sex symbols, and athletes everywhere to assert their collective bargaining rights as union members. Zirin also illustrates the ways in which athletes are once again using their exalted platforms to speak out and reclaim sports from the corporate interests that have taken it hostage. In Game Over, he cheers the victories but also reflects on how far we have yet to go. Combining brilliant set pieces with a sobering overview of today's sports scene in Zirin's take-no-prisoners style, Game Over is a must read for anyone, sports fan or not, interested in understanding how sports reflect and shape society--and why the stakes have never been higher.

There Will Always Be Boxing

There Will Always Be Boxing PDF Author: Thomas Hauser
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
ISBN: 1682260410
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
"A poignant look at Muhammad Ali...Hauser takes readers behind the scenes, giving them a seat at the table with with boxing's biggest power brokers as he reveals the inner workings of the sport and business of boxing."--Inside cover.

The Dodgers

The Dodgers PDF Author: Glenn Stout
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0618213554
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
In the annals of baseball, the history of few other teams can compare to the rich legacy of the Dodgers. Stout provides their definitive story, from their birth in Brooklyn in 1884 to their move to Los Angeles to present day.

A Kind of Grace

A Kind of Grace PDF Author: Ron Rapoport
Publisher: RDR Books
ISBN: 9781571430137
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
Ron Rapoport, popular commentator on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" and Deputy Sports Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, brings together sixty-six of America's top women sports-writers in this remarkable anthology.

Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki PDF Author: Mark Stewart
Publisher: Lerner Publications
ISBN: 9780761326168
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
A biography of the Seattle Mariners hitting and fielding star who won the MVP and Rookie of the Year Award in 2001 and became the first successful Japanese player in the Major Leagues.

The Babe Ruth Deception

The Babe Ruth Deception PDF Author: David O. Stewart
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496702018
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
As the Roaring Twenties get under way, corruption seems everywhere--from the bootleggers flouting Prohibition to the cherished heroes of the American Pastime now tarnished by scandal. Swept up in the maelstrom are Dr. Jamie Fraser and Speed Cook... Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, is having a record-breaking season in his first year as a New York Yankee. In 1920, he will hit more home runs than any other team in the American League. Larger than life on the ball field and off, Ruth is about to discover what the Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series are learning--baseball heroes are not invulnerable to scandal. With suspicion in the air, Ruth’s 1918 World Series win for the Boston Red Sox is now being questioned. Under scrutiny by the new baseball commissioner and enmeshed with gambling kingpin Arnold Rothstein, Ruth turns for help to Speed Cook--a former professional ballplayer himself before the game was segregated and now a promoter of Negro baseball--who’s familiar with the dirty underside of the sport. Cook in turn enlists the help of Dr. Jamie Fraser, whose wife Eliza is coproducing a silent film starring the Yankee outfielder. Restraint does not come easily to the reckless Ruth, but the Frasers try to keep him in line while Cook digs around. As all this plays out, Cook’s son Joshua and Fraser’s daughter Violet are brought together by a shocking tragedy. But an interracial relationship in 1920 feels as dangerous as a public scandal--even more so because Joshua is heavily involved in bootlegging. Trying to protect Ruth and their own children, Fraser and Cook find themselves playing a dangerous game. Once again masterfully blending fact and fiction, David O. Stewart delivers a nail-biting historical mystery that captures an era unlike any America has seen before or since in all its moral complexity and dizzying excitement. Praise for David O. Stewart’s Historical Mysteries: “Terrific...The book’s fun part is its name game, as familiar historic figures mingle with made-up characters...The storyline’s dangling threads are braided into a tight, clever finish, worthy of a vintage spy caper or 007’s own playbook. Now which president will Stewart select for his next escapade” --The Washington Post on The Wilson Deception “This fast-paced and smartly researched first novel is astonishingly good, complete with sharp and colorful characters, nicely drawn by Stewart, who in his other self is a lawyer-turned-historian.” --Bloomberg News on The Lincoln Deception “Dense with detail and intrigue, making a hearty read for conspiracy addicts.” --Library Journalon The Lincoln Deception “Stewart deftly depicts the mood of an era and the colorful figures who shaped it.” --Publishers Weekly on The Wilson Deception

Baseball's Last Great Scout

Baseball's Last Great Scout PDF Author: Daniel L. Austin
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803246269
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Late in 1937 Hugh Alexander, a kid fresh out of small-town Oklahoma, had just finished his second year playing outfield for the Cleveland Indians when an oil rig accident ripped off his left hand. Within three months he was back with the Indians, but this time as a scout—the youngest ever in Major League history. In the next six decades he signed more players who made it to the Majors than any other scout. His story, Baseball’s Last Great Scout, reads like a backroom, bleacher-seat history of twentieth-century baseball—and a primer on what it takes to find a winner. It gives a gritty picture of learning the business on the road, from American Legion field to try-out camp to beer joint, and making the fine distinctions between “performance” and “tools of the trade” when checking out prospects. Over the years Alexander worked for the Indians, the White Sox, the LA Dodgers, the Phillies, and the Cubs—and signed the likes of Allie Reynolds, Don Sutton, and Marty Bystrom. This book, based on extensive interviews and Alexander’s journals, is filled with memorable characters, pithy lessons, snapshots of American life, and a big picture of America’s pastime from one of its great off-the-field players.

Bad Boys, Bad Times

Bad Boys, Bad Times PDF Author: Scott H. Longert
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821446797
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
In 1937, the Great Depression was still lingering, but at baseball parks across the country there was a sense of optimism. Major League attendance was on a sharp rise. Tickets to an Indians game at League Park on Lexington and East 66th were $1.60 for box seats, $1.35 for reserve seats, and $.55 for the bleachers. Cleveland fans were particularly upbeat—Bob Feller, the teenage phenomenon, was a farm boy with a blistering fast ball. Night games were an exciting development. Better days were ahead. But there were mounting issues facing the Indians. For one thing, it was rumored that the team had illegally signed Feller. Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was looking into that matter and one other. Issues with an alcoholic catcher, dugout fights, bats thrown into stands, injuries, and a player revolt kept things lively. In Bad Boys, Bad Times: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941—the follow-up to his No Money, No Beer, No Pennants: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression—baseball historian Scott H. Longert writes about an exciting period for the team, with details and anecdotes that will please fans all over.

The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games

The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games PDF Author: Christopher A. Paul
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452956200
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
An avid gamer and sharp media critic explains meritocracy’s negative contribution to video game culture—and what can be done about it Video games have brought entertainment, education, and innovation to millions, but gaming also has its dark sides. From the deep-bred misogyny epitomized by GamerGate to the endemic malice of abusive player communities, gamer culture has had serious real-world repercussions, ranging from death threats to sexist industry practices and racist condemnations. In The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games, new media critic and longtime gamer Christopher A. Paul explains how video games’ focus on meritocracy empowers this negative culture. Paul first shows why meritocracy is integral to video-game design, narratives, and values. Games typically valorize skill and technique, and common video-game practices (such as leveling) build meritocratic thinking into the most basic premises. Video games are often assumed to have an even playing field, but they facilitate skill transfer from game to game, allowing certain players a built-in advantage. The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games identifies deep-seated challenges in the culture of video games—but all is not lost. As Paul argues, similarly meritocratic institutions like professional sports and higher education have found powerful remedies to alleviate their own toxic cultures, including active recruiting and strategies that promote values such as contingency, luck, and serendipity. These can be brought to the gamer universe, Paul contends, ultimately fostering a more diverse, accepting, and self-reflective culture that is not only good for gamers but good for video games as well.