Baseball Science

David Falkner, noted author of five previous books about baseball, deftly portrays the rise to stardom of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play on a major-league team in baseball’s modern era. As Falkner traces the development of Robinson’s natural skill and tireless dedication, he focuses on the strengths that earned Robinson a unique place on the diamond and in the struggle for civil rights. This compelling biography illuminates a critical intersection of sports and cultural history.

When the eleven- and twelve-year-olds on the Cannon Street YMCA All-Star team registered for a baseball tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 1955, it put the team and the forces of integration on a collision course with segregation, bigotry, and the southern way of life. When all the White teams withdrew in protest, the Cannon Street team won the state tournament.

STRANGE THINGS ARE AFOOT... In the rural town of Hollow Oak, life is good for a team of young baseball players known as the Green Beans. Their days are filled with friendship, fun, and the game that they love. In recent days, Neil (the Beans’ fearless centerfielder) has heard strange things in the forest that lies just beyond the outfield fence. Although he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the source of the weird noises, he can’t shake the feeling of being watched. Neil has begun to suspect that there’s something prowling within the woods, hidden among the trees and shadows. He’s not ...

MIDDLE SCHOOL MAYHEM... Maria and Sara are bummed out. While their friends are off adventuring on Smuttynose Island, undoubtedly engaging in all kinds of escapades and shenanigans, the sisters are stuck at Hollow Oak Elementary for another routine day of school. Could anything, they wonder, be more boring? As the hours begin to unfold before them, however, they quickly realize this day is anything but normal. A formidable presence has made itself known in the school, and increasingly strange happenings are occurring at an alarming rate. Their father, Chief Fresco, is determined to resolve ...

THINGS GET SCIENTIFIC... Two weeks have passed since the Green Beans solved the mystery of Hollow Oak, making remarkable discoveries in the process. In the wake of their findings, Jack has been placed within the huge, eerie manor of his new guardian – an eccentric uncle, known as Lefty O’Houlihan. Before long, Jack comes to suspect that something strange is afoot in his new home. Weird noises, curious sights, and his uncle’s odd behavior have led Jack to believe that all is not well at Lefty’s Manor. Seeking help, Jack finds that his friends are more than ready for adventure and ...

SOMETHING LIES BENEATH… Only a handful of days have passed since the nefarious efforts of Jasper, the evil school janitor, were squashed. Although they are exhilarated with their victory, the Beans have come to realize that Jasper is but the tip of the iceberg in the schemes of a larger organization of dubious methods and goals. Be that as it may, they’re happy to have a break from the astonishing events of recent weeks, and their field trip to the Portsmouth Museum of Historical Artifacts seems like the perfect way to relax. It doesn't take long, however, for the Beans to realize that ...

In Circling the Bases, leading sports economist Andrew Zimbalist continues his discussion and analysis of the major issues and challenges confronting the sports industry in the second decade of the 21st century. Presenting a general overview of the sports business at the college and professional levels, this volume places concerns such as the antitrust status of sports leagues, the stalled progress of gender equity in college sports, and the control of performance enhancing drugs in historical context.

How many 14-year-old boys would turn down an offer of time travel to any baseball game in history? Certainly not die-hard New York Yankees fan Matt Collier. Accompanied by the Time Keeper, guardian of Time throughout the universe, Matt becomes the batboy for his beloved team and tries to change the outcome of the 1960 World Series, the first ever to end with a home run.

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy. Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status.

Al final de la temporada de 2010, más de ochenta y seis jóvenes y hombres de la empobrecida ciudad de San Pedro de Macorís jugaban en las Grandes Ligas -lo que significa que uno de cada seis dominicanos de las Grandes Ligas vinieron de los mismos equipos locales de los ingenios azucareros, y acudieron en masa a los Estados Unidos en busca de oportunidades, de riqueza, y de una vida mejor.

In the 1930s, Monroe, Louisiana, was a town of 26,000 in the northeastern corner of the state, an area described by the

New Orleans Item as the "lynch law center of Louisiana." Yet for a few years in the early 1930s, this unlikely spot was home to the Monarchs, a national-caliber Negro League baseball team. Crowds of Black and White fans eagerly filled their segregated grandstand seats to see the players who would become the only World Series team Louisiana would ever generate, and the first from the American South.

Nearly 10 years in the making, Intangibles is packed with stories and characters from the usually hidden subculture of locker rooms worldwide, and threaded with fascinating insights about the human mind and human relationships. Ryan pulls from a range of science disciplines - neuroscience, sociology, psychology and more - to debunk the notion that team chemistry is just a throwaway explanation for every fun-loving, underdog team that wins. Instead, she makes the case that team chemistry is a biological construct with a single function: to elevate performance.

How does a piece of wood become a brand-new baseball bat? Follow each step in the process - from cutting the wood to shipping the bat to a store - in this fascinating book!

What happens when a 40-year-old body tries to relive the days of sandlot baseball? A story of how the body and its learned reflexes can get you into trouble.

Weaving elements of memoir, philosophical reflection, sports writing, and humour, Fail Better is an intellectual love letter to baseball by one of North America's most engaging philosophers. Kingwell illustrates complex concepts like theoretically infinite game-space, "time out of time", and the rules of civility with accessible examples drawn from the game, its history, and his own halting efforts to hit 'em where they ain't.

As the Travelin' Nine head to Chicago, the team is filled with hope and optimism. After a disappointing loss in Cincinnati at the start of their baseball tour, the heroes of the Spanish-American War bounced back in Louisville. Doc and Woody came through with timely fielding, Crazy Feet and Tales smacked clutch hits, and champion horses provided that extra kick, helping the barnstormers to their come-from-behind victory.

How does steel become a shiny new bicycle? Follow each step in the process - from shaping the steel to testing the finished bike - in this fascinating book!

Megan, the mage, leaves her friend, Edmund, in charge of the kingdom while she and her beloved succubus, Kendra, take a short vacation together. Edmund lets his friend, Phil, an ogre mercenary, talk him into organizing a game which goes very badly, and then, the kingdom in invaded by a beautiful dark elf sorceress named Lorelei and her companions, which include two scientists, a museum curator, and her pet Ankylosaurus. After a fierce battle, the two sides join forces to steal a magical artifact from a dryad, with many other bad ideas along the way.