Touching All the Bases
Baseball in 101 Fascinating Stories
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- USD 84.99
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- USD 84.99
Descripción editorial
Around 1863, William “Candy” Cummings discovered he could make clamshells curve when thrown—a skill he transferred to baseball as a pitcher for the New York Excelsiors. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team in baseball to place all of their players on salary. And in 1945, the St. Louis Browns recruited a one-armed outfielder to the majors. These stories and much more are brought to life in Touching All the Bases: Baseball in 101 Fascinating Stories, an all-encompassing look at the game of baseball.
Past to present, this book covers the sport in its entirety, from its defining moments on the field to the outside-the-ballpark influences that have shaped the game over the years. Unique chapters—such as the impact of World War II, legal issues, labor disputes, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, and the doping dilemma—complement accounts of milestone events, individual and team achievements, and the most famous games, plays, and players of the sport. Appendixes provide lists of World Series, batting and homerun champions, perfect games, player nicknames, award winners, and more.
A comprehensive collection of baseball’s history, evolution, and memorable moments, Touching All the Bases will entertain, inform, and educate all those interested in baseball, whether a casual fan or a dedicated enthusiast.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Baseball writer Phillips offers a compendium that spans baseball's history from its beginnings (most likely in 1845) all the way to game five of the 2011 World Series. Phillips covers notable firsts (night game, radio/TV broadcasts, salaried team), famous plays (including "The Catch" by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series and Bill Buckner's ball-between-the-legs error in the 1986 World Series), and remarkable streaks (Eric Gagne's 84 consecutive saves between 2002 and 2004 and the 1899 Cleveland Spiders' loss of 134 out of 154 games). Chapters devoted to Hall of Famers, ballparks, equipment and statistics as well as a whopping 18 appendixes dig deeper into the game and may provide new information even for longtime fans, as might lengthier essays on the steroids era, the impact of WWII, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the evolution of pitching, and the reserve clause. The book works both as a cover-to-cover read and a reference, and Phillips's straightforward style gives it broad appeal.
