Former Yankee batboy, Bill "Hondo" Hongach, who had his first book published while still in high school at age 18, takes the reader on a journey of what goes on behind the scenes of America's National Pastime.The book opens with the author being beaten so badly by Pete Rose's right-hand man, ironically, with a Pete Rose bat, that he ends up in a coma for four days. Jack Lang, who was in charge of the Baseball Writers Assoc. and wrote dozens of baseball books himself before being put into the Hall of Fame, wrote that this was the best baseball book he ever read! He simply put it "...I could not put it down until I had finished reading the entire book." For one to see and know the "The Dark Sides of Baseball" is, in essence, to have the perspective that very few baseball fans get to experience. To become close on a personal basis with some of the greats of the game is rare and unique. "The Dark Sides of Baseball" is a glimpse that the public is not privy to or ever get to encounter.The book tells a tale of how a teenage boy chased his love of baseball, from interviewing sports greats, becoming a Yankee batboy the last two years at the original Yankee Stadium in 1972 & 1973, at the age of 18 having his first baseball book published while still a batboy and leading to the end of the Topps' Baseball Card monopoly, while still going to school.His close relationship with Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose would show him the troubled and positive sides of the game, that the public were never shown. The stories are endless as to what goes on in a clubhouse and what it is like to have these great athletes together for a baseball card show.Every baseball fan can watch a game and look up the stats. "The Dark Sides of Baseball" lets you see what goes on in the dugout, the clubhouse and off the field.

For one to see and know the Dark Sides of Baseball is in essence to have the perspective that very few baseball fans ever get to experience. To become close on a personal basis with some of the ""greats"" of the game is rare and unique. The Dark Sides of Baseball is a glimpse that the public is not privy to or ever get to encounter. Many of these players daily accomplishments are unique to the average person, but are normal to these players. This book tells a tale of how a teenage boy chased his love of baseball, from interviewing sports greats, becoming a Yankee batboy at the age of 18, having his first book published while still a batboy and leading to the end of Tropps' Baseball card monopoly while still going to school. His close relationship with Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose would show him the troubled and positives sides of the game, that the public were never shown. The stories are endless as to what goes on in a clubhouse and what it is like to have these great athletes together for a baseball card show. Every baseball fan can watch a game and look up the stats. The Dark Sides of Baseball, lets you see what goes on in the dugout, the clubhouse and off the field. Writer Jack Lang, who is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, said he couldn't put this book down when he began reading it. He said it was the best he ever read --- YOU WILL TOO! ."" . . one of the best tell all baseball books ..."" ."" . . if you want a behind the scenes look.. this is the book for you ... "" Jack Lang, Baseball Hall of Fame Writer

"We Could Clean Up This Game" In the wake of 2005's sometimes contentious, sometimes comical congressional hearings on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball and the subsequent Mitchell Report, Major League Baseball established the Department of Investigations (DOI). An internal and autonomous unit, it was created to not only eliminate the use of steroids, but also to rid baseball of any other illegal, unsavory, or unethical activities. The DOI would investigate the dark side of the national pastime--gambling, age and identity fraud, human trafficking, cover-ups, and more--with the singular purpose of cleaning up the game. Eduardo Dominguez Jr. was a founding member of that first DOI team, leaving a stellar career with the Boston Police Department to join four other "supercops"--a group that included a 9/11 hero, a mob-buster, and narcotics experts--keeping watch over Major League Baseball. A decorated detective as well as a member of an FBI task force, Dominguez was initially reluctant to leave his law-enforcement career to work full-time in baseball. He had already seen the game's underbelly when he worked as a resident security agent (RSA) for the Boston Red Sox in 1999 and become wary of the game's commitment to any kind of reform. Only at the persuasion a widely respected NYPD detective tapped to lead the DOI did Dominguez agree to join the unit, which was the first--and last--of its kind in major American sports. "We could clean up this game," his new boss promised. In Baseball Cop, Dominguez shares the shocking revelations he confronted every day for six years with the DOI and nine as an RSA. He shines a light on the inner workings of the commissioner's office and the complicity of baseball's bosses in dealing with the misdeeds compromising the integrity of the game. Dominguez details the investigations and the obstacles--from the Biogenesis scandal to the perilous trafficking of Cuban players now populating the game to the theft of prospects' signing bonuses by buscones, street agents, and even clubs' employees. He further reveals how the mandates of former senator George Mitchell's report were modified or ignored altogether. Bracing and eye-opening, Baseball Cop is a wake-up call for anyone concerned about America's national pastime.

Roger Abrams Discusses the Vices of Baseball and How They Reflect Who We are as Americans. Telling Stories of Baseball History That are Often Overlooked, The Dark Side of the Diamond Presents Evidence of Game-Fixing and Gambling Going Back to the Mid-19Th Century. Ty Cobb's Sharpened Spikes and Nasty Temperament Were as Much A Part of His Game as His Steady Bat.

In 1881, the scrappy, rough-and-tumble baseball team in a California mining town enlists the help of a quick-witted twelve-year-old orphan and the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid to win a big game against the National League Champion Chicago White Stockings. Prequel to: The boy who saved baseball.

From New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green comes a baseball book pulsing with action. Baseball Great offers a baseball story attuned to today’s headlines, a totally involving, character-driven, sports-centered thriller. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica. As a young reviewer on Brightly.com said: “Great book with many exciting, surprising events that make you want to keep reading." When the school paper calls him “Grant Middle’s best hope for its first-ever city-wide championship,” Josh feels like he’s starting to get noticed—in good and bad ways. Seeing Josh’s talent, his father drags him out of the school baseball tryouts and gets him in the running for the Titans, the local youth championship team coached by Rocky Valentine. All Josh really wants to do is play ball, but now Rocky wants him to gulp down protein shakes and other supplements. Suspicious, Josh and his new friend, Jaden, uncover a dangerous secret—and catch the attention of one man who will do anything to keep them from exposing it.