A book that covers all the bases! Everything fans want to know about the Great American Pastime... Written and compiled by baseball expert Dan Schlossberg, this book is chock-full of the best trivia, information, and fun facts about the game. Featuring interviews with players, managers, and other baseball professionals, as well as never-before-told stories, Baseball Bits is sure to hit a home run with just about anyone who's interested in the game. But that's not all, because beyond the stories and trivia, the die-hard fan also wants the most recent information that affects this season. Inside each book is a password that lets readers log onto a website for up-to-the-minute information only available there. The site is guaranteed to be updated at least once a month-more frequently during the season-to provide readers with everything they need to know about the current season, including: * The latest trades, and how they'll affect particular Teams * The best players' current stats * Who is about to break major records

Ah, baseball . . . the great American pastime, the reason so many people of all ages sit glued to their televisions or brave the traffic every weekend-because they love the game. For those who are captivated by the game season after season, year after year, Baseball Bitsis the quintessential little reference. Written and compiled by baseball expert Dan Schlossberg, this book is chock-full of the best trivia, information, and fun facts about the game. Featuring interviews with players, managers, and other baseball professionals, as well as never-before-told baseball stories, Baseball Bitsis sure to be a "hit" with just about anyone who's interested in the game. But that's not all, because beyond the stories and trivia, the die-hard fan also wants the most recent information that affects this season. What are the latest trades, and how will they affect his favourite teams? What are the best players' current stats, and will anyone be breaking any major records soon? That's where the second component of the book comes in-a companion website. Readers will find the essential information they seek on player stats and team developments on Dan Schlossberg's special website, offered just for readers of Baseball Bits. Inside each book is a password that lets readers log onto the site for up-to-the-minute information only available there. The site is guaranteed to be updated at least once a month-more frequently during the season-to provide readers with everything they need to know about the current season.

BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS. BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME. Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why? Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders. · Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series? · What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal? · Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant? · How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"? · How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really? · Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst? · Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? · What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime? · Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking? 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. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.

Canadian-born George "Mooney" Gibson (1880-1967) grew up playing baseball on the sandlots around London, Ontario, before going on to star with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. In an era known for tough, defensive catchers, Gibson was an ironman and set records for endurance. He helped the Pirates defeat Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers to win their first World Series in 1909. He played with and against some of the biggest names in the game and counted Cobb, Honus Wagner and John McGraw as friends. He then held numerous coaching and managing roles in New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago--the last Canadian to manage full-time in the Major Leagues.

THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL BOOK has more than lived up to its name. Spanning the complete history of the sport from the fledgling leagues in the late 1870s to the powerhouses of the 1990s and revealing in the process what a remarkable effect baseball has had on our collective experience, this is THE book for any and all baseball fans, certain to grace coffee and bedside tables alike. Designed with that wonderful nostalgia that the sport itself so often evokes, THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL BOOK combines timeless images with a sweeping narrative history as well as essays on various idols and icons by such heavy hitters as Red Smith, Wilfrid Sheed, Roy Blount, Jr., Tom Wicker, and Geoge Will. This new edition covers baseball through the nineties, the decade when home run records fell and the sport reclaimed its hold on America, and celebrates the national game in ultimate style.

In Baseball Hits and Bible Bits, pastor and former Minor League pitcher Frank D. Minton shares unforgettable stories and anecdotes about two of his great loves in lifebaseball and the Bible. When Minton was eleven years old, God called him to preach; that call to serve the Lord would never leave his heart. His north high school exploits on the ball fields of Wichita, Kansas, earned him a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma and eventually a contract with the Dodgers organization. After three years in the minors, he realized that following Gods call was more important than making it to the big leagues. He turned down the Dodgers contract offer for a fourth year, leaving baseball behind to become a Baptist minister. It was one of the most difficult decisions of his life, but according to Minton, he traded a diamond for a crown. Baseball poems and songs are sprinkled throughout, and sketches by artist Berth-el Young add dimension and feeling. With stories about baseball greats both past and presentsuch as Sandy Koufax, Josh Hamilton, and Albert Pujolsand rich autobiographical details of a life lived in the service of the Lord, Baseball Hits and Bible Bits has something for just about everybody: from little leaguers to bush leaguers to big leaguers.