Follows the divergent paths of a rookie hitter for the Chicago Cubs and a hard-hitting Mets pitcher.

This book explains how Billy Beene, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, is using a new kind of thinking to build a successful and winning baseball team without spending enormous sums of money. The author examines the fallacy behind the major league baseball refrain that the team with the biggest wallet is supposed to win. Over the past four years the Oakland Athletics, a major league team with a minor league payroll, have had one of the...

While visiting friends in Arizona and attending a minor league baseball game, Jessica Fletcher investigates when her friends' foster son, Ty Ramos, becomes the prime suspect in the killing of his archrival, Junior Bennett, the son of the team's owner.

"Even the most die-hard baseball fans don't know the true story of William "Blockade Billy" Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history. Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional...

Morris Buttermaker, an alcoholic pest removal worker and former (briefly) professional baseball player, is recruited to coach and train a failing baseball team. All of these twelve-year-olds have been thrown out of the league. After losing every game they have played in so far, the kids force the coach to straighten up and teach them how to win before the season is over.

Jody is a catcher who is afraid to throw the ball hard, and after getting beaned by the ball one day when he is at bat, he is also afraid of a pitched ball, and must struggle to overcome his fears and humiliation.

"Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays's catch, Babe Ruth's called shot, and Kirk Gibson's limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters. But these are also moments raw with the humanity of the game, the unheralded heroes, the mesmerizing mistakes drenched in pine tar, and every story, from the immortal to the obscure, is...

A sportswriter and lifelong student of the game, Posnanski that tells the story of baseball through the lives of its greatest players. His choices include iconic Hall of Famers, unfairly forgotten All-Stars, talents of today, and more. Rather than relying on records and statistics, he retraces players' origins, illuminates their characters, and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball's past and present. The result is a rich pageant...

A Face in the Crowd: Widower Dean Evers sees faces from his past while watching baseball. The Longest December: The Howard family struggles to see their kind and gentle neighbor James Wilkinson as the violent criminal the police are investigating.