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Sports / Recreation

Baseball Road Trip author gave them to us for free

Baseball Road Trip author gave them to us for free

$16.95
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The perfect travel guide for baseball fans who want to see more of the great ballparks in America's heartland, this handy guide gives you the tips for best lodging, great restaurants, and local attractions for the Major League and minor league cities and towns that dot the Midwest. With details about every ballpark from Major League Baseball to the Frontier League, this travel companion tells you the best places to sit, the best ballpark food to eat, and the best places to go around town when you are not at the ballpark. From taking in a AAA game with the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines and visiting the Field of Dreams to knowing how to best experience Target Field in the Twin Cities, Baseball Road Trips: The Midwest and Great Lakes is all you need to plan a dream baseball road trip.

Baseball Talmud

$22.99
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From the icons of the game to the players who got their big break but never quite broke through, The Baseball Talmud provides a wonderful historical narration of Major League Jewish Baseball in America. All the stats, the facts, the stories, and the (often unheralded) glory.

The Baseball Talmud reveals that there is far more to Jewish baseball than Hank Greenberg's powerful slugging and Sandy Koufax's masterful control. From Ausmus to Zinn, Berg to Kinsler, Holtzman to Yeager, and many others, Megdal draws upon the lore and the little-known details that increase our enjoyment of the game, including:

  • Which Jewish player spent a portion of his retirement as a spy
  • Who received $50,000 and a car to quit school and join the Major Leagues
  • How many players sat out of games scheduled on Yom Kippur
  • Which famous player chose baseball over becoming a rabbi
  • But this is more than just stories. Megdal, a stat geek himself, uses the wealth of modern sabermetrics to determine the greatest Jewish players at each position, the all-time Jewish All-Star Team, and how they would rate against the greatest teams in baseball history, from the 1906 Chicago Cubs to the 1998 New York Yankees.

    The Baseball Talmud rewrites the history of Jewish baseball and is a book that every baseball fan should own.

    Baseball Uncyclopedia: A Highly Opinionated, Myth-Busting Guide to the Great Ame

    Baseball Uncyclopedia: A Highly Opinionated, Myth-Busting Guide to the Great Ame

    $14.95
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    Michael Kun -- Pulitzer Prize-nominated author -- and Howard Bloom -- former newspaper reporter and columnist -- explain that, contrary to popular belief, a walk is not always as good as a hit. They argue that it's not always wrong to root against the home team. They contend that the Houston Astros' jerseys were not the ugliest jerseys ever worn in the major leagues. They rail against the common misconception that Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance was a great double play combination. They insist that Shoeless Joe Jackson did not bat right-handed, he did not go barefoot, and he did not refuse to accept money to throw the World Series. They heap scorn upon those who believe Joe DiMaggio was ever "The Greatest Living Baseball Player." And they offer a sound rebuke to anyone who thinks a baseball book can't be smart, funny and informative all at the same time.

    The Baseball Uncyclopedia is a witty and irreverent guide that debunks some of the mythology, opinions and widely held beliefs about baseball that fans have clung to for generations.

    Baseball, Chicago Style

    Baseball, Chicago Style

    $24.95
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    This book explores the exciting, enticing, enduring and frequently frustrating panorama of America's national pastime. For the first time the colourful saga of Major League Baseball in Chicago is wrapped between the covers of a single book sure to appeal to both Cubs and White Sox fans. When it comes to baseball tradition, Chicago is second to none, the sole city to embrace two major league teams without interruption from their founding to the present day.
    Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game

    Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game

    $14.95
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    "Football is force and fanatics, basketball is beauty and bounce. Baseball is everything: action, grace, the seasons of our lives. George Vecsey's book proves it, without wasting a word."--Lee Eisenberg, author of The Number

    In Baseball, one of the great bards of America's Grand Old Game gives a rousing account of the sport, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day. George Vecsey casts a fresh eye on the game, illuminates its foibles and triumphs, and performs a marvelous feat: making a classic story seem refreshingly new.

    Baseball is a narrative of America's can-do spirit, in which stalwart immigrants such as Henry Chadwick could transplant cricket and rounders into the fertile American culture and in which die-hard unionist baseballers such as Charles Comiskey and Connie Mack could eventually become the tightfisted avatars of the game's big-money establishment. It's a celebration of such underdogs as a rag-armed catcher turned owner named Branch Rickey and a sure-handed fielder named Curt Flood, both of whom flourished as true great men of history. But most of all, Baseball is a testament to the unbreakable bond between our nation's pastime and the fans, who've remained loyal through the fifty-year-long interdict on black athletes, the Black Sox scandal, franchise relocation, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs by some major stars.

    Reverent, playful, and filled with Vecsey's charm, Baseball begs to be read in the span of a rain-delayed doubleheader, and so enjoyable that, like a favorite team's championship run, one hopes it never ends.

    "Vecsey possesses a journalist's eye for detail and a historian's feel for the sweep of action. His research is scrupulous and his writing crisp. This book is an instant classic--a highly readable guide to America's great enduring pastime."--
    The Louisville Courier Journal

    Baseballs No-Hit Wonders

    Baseballs No-Hit Wonders

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    Baseball's No-Hit Wonders, with a foreword written by former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, honors such legendary pitchers as Cy Young, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax, while introducing readers to other eccentrics and one-shot wonders who have thrown no-hitters. The book fleshes out the colorful characters, compelling narratives and statistical oddities from baseball's 294 no-hit efforts--as well as the many near misses that are also part of the national pastime's storied history.

    Painstaking research and personal interviews have allowed the author to pack great detail into a fun, fast-paced take on the game, revealing the stories of the no-hitter thrown by a pitcher on acid, the hitters most adept at breaking up no-hitters and other gems thrown by guys with nicknames of Bumpus, Bobo, Cannonball and Nixey. Even the game's greatest slugger is credited with a partial no-hitter, and all he did was throw a punch! Chapters detailing the best no-hitters of all time are interspersed with Did You Know? lists that include no-hitters by team, city and day of the week, no-hitters of the Negro Leagues, catchers who caught the most no-nos and the best pitchers not to throw a no-hitter.

    Bases Loaded: Inside Story of Steroid Era in Baseball

    Bases Loaded: Inside Story of Steroid Era in Baseball

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    "Game of Shadows" meets "Ball Four" in this explosive inside account of baseball's steroid era
    On a quiet street on Long Island early on a December morning in 2005, more than fifty federal agents stood outside a lovely new home waiting for the front door to be opened. When it did, there stood the central figure in one of the biggest scandals in sports history: Kirk Radomski.
    Radomski was a regular New York kid who, from the age of fifteen had the amazing fortune of working in the Mets clubhouse. The focus of his job was to give the players whatever they wanted or needed?he got their uniforms ready, packed up their homes at the end of the season, cashed their checks, and helped them beat the drug tests that would have led to suspension. And at the end of the 1986 season he even led the World Champions down Broadway during their victory parade. Eventually, he graduated to helping in other ways: providing them with steroids and human growth hormones. By the time the Feds knocked on his door, he was the main clubhouse supplier of performance-enhancing drugs to almost three hundred baseball players.
    Under threat of a long prison sentence?and after being identified by players he?d helped?he cooperated with Senator George Mitchell to produce the Mitchell Report, providing names and dates. Now he's ready to tell the whole story to the world. Radomski made little money from these transactions, and in this stunning book he will recount what baseball knew about the problem, his life since the report came out, and who took what. This is the tale of a young man seeing his heroes turn into clay, and the degradation of a once great sport into the drug-addicted spectacle it has become.
    Bases Were Loaded (and so was I)

    Bases Were Loaded (and so was I)

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    In The Bases Were Loaded (and So Was I), sportswriter Tom Callahan brings to life the most fascinating--and often least understood--figures in the world of sports. This is the ultimate collection of Callahan's sports profiles, with subjects ranging from Muhammad Ali to Pete Rose, and Joe Montana to Michael Jordan.
    Based on decades of sports reporting as well as featuring material original to this book, The Bases Were Loaded (and So Was I) takes athletes we thought we knew and reveals how wrong we often are. This is a rare and surprising work of reportage that will appeal to sports fans and non-sports fans alike.
    Basketball

    Basketball

    $30.00
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    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Inspired by a major ESPN film series, this is an extraordinary oral history of basketball--its eye-opening untold history, its profound deeper meaning, its transformative influence on the world--as told through an unprecedented series of candid conversations with the game's ultimate icons.

    This is the greatest love story never told. It has passion and heartbreak, triumph and betrayal. It is deeply intimate yet crosses oceans, upends lives and changes nations. This is the true story of basketball.

    It is the story of a Canadian invention that took over America, and the world. Of a supposed "white man's sport" that became a way for people of color, women, and immigrants to claim a new place in society. Of a game that demands everything of those who love it, yet gives so much back in return.

    To tell this story, acclaimed journalists Jackie MacMullan, Rafe Bartholomew and Dan Klores embarked on a groundbreaking mission to interview a staggering lineup of basketball trailblazers. For the first time hundreds of legends, from Kobe, Lebron and Steph Curry to Magic Johnson, Dr. J and Jerry West, spoke movingly about their greatest passion. Former NBA commissioner David Stern and iconic coaches like Phil Jackson and Coach K opened up like never before. Those who shattered glass ceilings, from Bill Russell and Yao Ming to Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie, explained what it really took to lay claim to their place in the game.

    At once a definitive oral history and something far more revelatory and life affirming, Basketball: A Love Story is the defining untold oral history of how basketball came to be, and what it means to those who love it.

    Basketball (and Other Things)

    Basketball (and Other Things)

    $19.99
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    #1 New York Times bestseller

    Who is the greatest dunker of all time? Which version of the Michael Jordan was the best Michael Jordan? What is allowed and absolutely not allowed in a game of pickup basketball? Basketball (and Other Things) presents readers with a whole new set of pivotal and ridiculous fan disputes from basketball history, providing arguments and answers, explained with the wit and wisdom that is unique to Shea Serrano. Serrano breaks down debates that NBA fans didn't even know they needed, from the classic (How many years during his career was Kobe Bryant actually the best player in the league?) to the fantastical (If you could assign different values to different shots throughout basketball history, what would they be and why?). With incredible art from Arturo Torres, this book is a must-have for anyone who has ever stayed up late into the night debating basketball's greatest moments, what-ifs, stories, and legends, or for those who are discovering the mythology of basketball for the first time.

    Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated

    Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated

    $24.99
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    A hardcover edition featuring new content for fans of the #1 New York Times bestseller

    Any fan of Shea Serrano's unconventional, hilarious, and insightful writing will want to add this hardcover edition of his wildly popular Basketball (and Other Things) to their collection. The book will feature a new cover and two new chapters as well as removable art that showcases Serrano's trademark creativity and Arturo Torres's inimitable illustration style. First released as a paperback in 2017, the book went on to become a #1 New York Times bestseller. This edition will be a keepsake for Serrano fans and basketball fans alike.

    Basketball 100

    Basketball 100

    $40.00
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    A celebration of basketball by way of the 100 greatest players to ever grace the court in the history of the NBA--from The Athletic's foremost basketball writers and analysts the game has to offer. With a foreword by Charles Barkley.

    Over the course of 100 luminous player profiles, the best sports newsroom on the planet paints vivid portraits of the game's most compelling characters. There's George Mikan, who was cut from his high school team because he wore glasses, then went on to become the fledgling NBA's first transcendent star. Gary Payton, called "The Glove" for his skintight defense, who talked as much trash to his teammates as he did to his opponents on the court. Dennis Rodman, who started playing basketball at age 20, and in a few short years went from working as a janitor at the airport to being one of the strangest superstars that sport has ever known. Allen Iverson, who drew inspiration from hip hop for his inimitable style and swagger, on and off the court. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was so dominant in the paint that they changed the rules--and Steph Curry, who was so dominant outside it that he seemed to expand the very boundaries of the court.

    The Basketball 100, edited by award-winning reporters David Aldridge and John Hollinger, also answers the game's toughest, most important questions: How should we weight championship rings, versus statistical profiles, versus the "eye test"? Were the great players of yesteryear, like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, propelled by the inferior athleticism of their competition or would they have been transcendent in any era? And of course, who's the GOAT--MJ or LeBron? Speaking of GOATs, for the book, Hollinger (inventor of the statistical metric PER) has created a new benchmark, GOAT Points.

    Wonderfully written, authoritative, and full of joy, The Basketball 100 is a fitting tribute to the greatest sport in the world.

    Basketball for Dummies

    Basketball for Dummies

    $22.99
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    The easy way to get the ins, outs, and intrigue on this beloved sport

    The National Basketball Association (NBA), with 30 teams and an average attendance of more than 17,000 spectators per game, is the richest and most popular basketball league -- and arguably the most viewed American sport -- in the world. This new edition of Basketball For Dummies not only covers the rules and regulations of the NBA, but offers coverage on the WNBA, NCAA, and international basketball leagues.

    Basketball For Dummies is a valuable resource to the many fans of this beloved sport, covering everything from players and personalities in the game to rules, regulations, and equipment. Completely updated with information and intrigue that's occurred in the sport since publication of the previous edition, Basketball For Dummies gets you up to speed on everything from NCAA Tournament brackets to college players en route to the NBA.

  • Coverage of the rules and regulations of the NBA
  • Interesting topics like LeBron the Phenom, ESPN'S influence on the NBA, and the UCONN women's basketball dynasty
  • Digger's take on John Wooden
  • Whether you're a basketball player or a courtside spectator, Basketball For Dummies is a slam-dunk of information and intrigue for anyone who loves the sport.

    Basketball: A Love Story

    Basketball: A Love Story

    $18.00
    More Info
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Inspired by a major ESPN film series, this is an extraordinary oral history of basketball--its eye-opening untold history, its profound deeper meaning, its transformative influence on the world--as told through an unprecedented series of candid conversations with the game's ultimate icons.

    This is the greatest love story never told. It has passion and heartbreak, triumph and betrayal. It is deeply intimate yet crosses oceans, upends lives and changes nations. This is the true story of basketball.

    It is the story of a Canadian invention that took over America, and the world. Of a supposed "white man's sport" that became a way for people of color, women, and immigrants to claim a new place in society. Of a game that demands everything of those who love it, yet gives so much back in return.

    To tell this story, acclaimed journalists Jackie MacMullan, Rafe Bartholomew and Dan Klores embarked on a groundbreaking mission to interview a staggering lineup of basketball trailblazers. For the first time hundreds of legends, from Kobe, Lebron and Steph Curry to Magic Johnson, Dr. J and Jerry West, spoke movingly about their greatest passion. Former NBA commissioner David Stern and iconic coaches like Phil Jackson and Coach K opened up like never before. Those who shattered glass ceilings, from Bill Russell and Yao Ming to Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie, explained what it really took to lay claim to their place in the game.

    At once a definitive oral history and something far more revelatory and life affirming, Basketball: A Love Story is the defining untold oral history of how basketball came to be, and what it means to those who love it.

    Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees

    Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees

    $22.95
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    Sixteen-year-old Matthew McGough was a fairly typical teenager, obsessed with getting through high school, girls, and baseball, not necessarily in that order. His passion for the New York Yankees was absolute, complete with a poster of his hero, Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, hanging on his bedroom wall. Despite having no connections whatsoever with the ballclub, Matt dreamed of sitting in the dugout with the fabled Bronx Bombers. So, in the Fall of 1991, he wrote a letter in his very best penmanship to the New York Yankees asking for a position as a bat boy.
    Miraculously, he got the job, and on April 7, 1992, Matt walked into the madness of the Yankee clubhouse on Opening Day. And there was Don Mattingly, Donnie Baseball himself, asking him to run an errand, an errand which soon induced panic in the rookie bat boy. Thus began two years of adventures and misadventures--from the perils of chewing tobacco while playing catch with the centerfielder, to being set up on a date by the bullpen, to studying for a history exam at 3: 00 a.m. at Yankee Stadium, to his own folly as Matt gradually forgets he's not a baseball star, he's a high school student.
    BAT BOY captures the lure and beauty of the American pastime, but much more it is a tale of what happens to a young man when his fondest dream comes true. Matthew McGough wonderfully evokes that twilight time just before adulthood, ripe with possibility, foolishness, and hard-won knowledge.
    Bear Memories: The Chicago-Green Bay Rivalry

    Bear Memories: The Chicago-Green Bay Rivalry

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    "Halas would provide food according to how we had fared against the Packers. If we won, it was steaks for everybody. But if we lost, we were lucky to be served hamburgers."
    --Harlan Hill, 1950s

    "I didn't have any particular grievance with any of the Packer players, I just wanted to beat them all."
    --Hall of Famer Doug Atkins, 1960s

    "Doug Buffone took me aside to tell me about Green Bay games . . . to set me straight about the importance of the rivalry. It definitely was not a game to be taken for granted."
    --Brian Baschnagel, 1970s

    "Each year at the start of the season, fans we'd meet would just have the one request--please beat Green Bay."
    --Jim Flanigan, 1990s

    Bears Essentials: Everything You Need to KNow to be A Real Fan

    Bears Essentials: Everything You Need to KNow to be A Real Fan

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    A one-stop record containing everything Bears fans want to know about their favorite football team, this resource is packed with anecdotes, history, explanations of traditions, statistics, trivia, and photos.
    Bears Roar: Meet the Men Who Put the Swagger Back in Football

    Bears Roar: Meet the Men Who Put the Swagger Back in Football

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    Here are 22 exclusive profiles and dramatic color photos of the players and coaches who have made the 2006 Chicago Bears something special to watch.