"A fascinating account of the mysterious proving ground of America's national pastime, pulling back the veil on the minor leagues of baseball."--

"A wide-ranging collection of baseball voices from the 1920s to the 1970s"--

"Bouton examines the remarkable life of a player and an author who forever changed the way we view not only sports books but professional sports as a whole"--Provided by publisher.

"ESPN baseball commentator Tim Kurkjian is fascinated by sacrifice flies. In fact, he is fascinated by so many aspects of baseball that he's written a book to show baseball fans where this fascination comes from and how they, too, can find it. In the aftermath of the Steroid Era that stained the game, at a time when so many players are so rich and therefore have a sense of entitlement that they haven't earned, Kurkjian shows readers how to love the...

"An account of the desegregation of baseball's Pacific Coast League, the first American League of any sport to desegregate all of its teams"--

"In 1968, two astoundingly talented pitchers would dominate the game as never before. One was black, the other white. The stoic Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. The flashy Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. But for one...

Traces the history of baseball in the Negro Leagues and its great heroes, including Monte Irwin, Buck Leonard, and Cool Papa Bell.