The latest and greatest in ESPN.com baseball guru Rob Neyer's Big Book series, Legends is a highly entertaining guide to baseball fables that have been handed down through generations. The well-told baseball story has long been a staple for baseball fans. In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends, Neyer breathes new life into both classic and obscure stories throughout twentieth-century baseball -- stories that, while engaging on their own, also tell us fascinating things about their main characters and about the sport's incredibly rich history. With his signature style, Rob gets to the heart of every anecdote, working through the particulars with careful research drawn from a variety of primary sources. For each story, he asks: Did this really happen? Did it happen, sort of? Or was the story simply the wild invention of someone's imagination? Among the scores of legends Neyer questions and investigates... Did an errant Bob Feller pitch really destroy the career of a National League All-Star? Did Greg Maddux mean to give up a long blast to Jeff Bagwell? Was Fred Lynn the clutch player he thinks he was? Did Tommy Lasorda have a direct line to God? Did Negro Leaguer Gene Benson really knock Indians second baseman Johnny Berardino out of baseball and into General Hospital? Did Billy Martin really outplay Jackie Robinson every time they met? Oh, and what about Babe Ruth's "Called Shot"? Rob checks each story, separates the truths from the myths, and places their fascinating characters into the larger historical context. Filled with insider lore and Neyer's sharp wit and insights, this is an exciting addition to a superb series and an essential read for true fans of our national pastime.
Avila G. Strickland Al Rosen Al Smith Larry Doby Dave Philley 1955 Ai Lopez Jim Megan VicWertz Bobby Avila G. Strickland AI Rosen Ralph Kiner Larry Doby Al Smith 1956 AI Lopez jim Began Vic Wertz Bobby Avila C. Carrasquel Al Rosen Al ...
Looking at every position on every major-league team, the ESPN.com baseball columnist presents a series of lineups for each franchise and explores the careers of players both famous and obscure. 25 photos.
These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history.
Runs Allowed : 551 ( 1 st ) Here's where the A's really shone . The Orioles , Oakland's eventual opponent in the ALCS , finished second in this category , and they allowed 612 runs . Pythagorean Record : 97-65 Manager : Alvin Dark Dick ...
Before Morgan, in fact, the list of “short” power hitters consisted of exactly one man: Lewis “Hack” Wilson, a fireplug-shaped outfielder who starred for the Giants, Cubs, and Dodgers in the late 1920s and early '30s.
Ernie Shore 383 BILL SHERDEL 5'10" 160-pound lefty 165-146, 3.72, 26 Saves 1918 1932 URBAN SHOCKER 187-117, 3.17, 25 Saves 5'10" 170-pound righty 1916 1928 Pitch Selection: 1. Slow Ball 2. Fastball 3. Sidearm Curve 4.
In a follow up to "The Bullpen Gospels," the author details his major league rookie season, revealing that for him, it isn't just about the game, but about the people and events in it.
A case study of effective business practices demonstrated by a champion sports organization traces the Tampa Bay Devil Rays takeover by two former Goldman Sachs partners and the subsequent rebranding and executive strategies that rendered ...
A former major league pitcher discusses a devastating injury that changed that way he looked at life. Original.
Paul Molitor, who amassed 3,319 hits in 2,683 big-league games—1,173 of them as a DH—was elected to the Hall ofFame in 2004. With great hitters such as Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, and Travis Hafner serving the bulk of their careers as ...