Before he became a bestselling author with his debut novel, Before We Ever Spoke, Dan Largent spent the better part of two decades as a high school baseball coach. In 2010, he guided Olmsted Falls High School to its first-ever State Final Four and was subsequently named Greater Cleveland Division I Coach of the Year. Dan stepped away from his duties as a baseball coach in 2017 to spend more time with his wife, April, and their three children Brooke, Grace, and Luke. He has, however, remained close to the game he loves by turning doubles into singles as a member of Cleveland’s finest 35 and over baseball league.
While I am a Cleveland Indians fan, my favorite national league team to root for as a child was the New York Mets - especially the flamboyant and talented 1986 team that partied their way to a World Series trophy.
In The Bad Guys Won, famed columnist and bestselling author Jeff Pearlman manages to weave all of the craziness of that ‘86 team into a wonderful memoir of a team that had the talent to have been a dynasty in Major League Baseball for years to come. Unfortunately for the Mets, and due to many of the behaviors of the colorful characters chronicled in the book, that dynasty never came to fruition.
"Jeff Pearlman has captured the swagger of the '86 Mets. You don't have to be a Mets fan to enjoy this book—it's a great read for all baseball enthusiasts." —Philadelphia Daily News
Award-winning Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman returns to an innocent time when a city worshipped a man named Mookie and the Yankees were the second-best team in New York.
It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how…
I grew up a Yankee fan during the Mickey Mantle era, traveling to the Bronx in my uncle’s canary-yellow Chrysler Imperial. Those early experiences set me on a trajectory to want to play baseball every chance I got, starting with Little League and ending up on my high school’s varsity squad. Fortunately, my high school was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where my family had moved in 1962, the same year that the Yankees began playing their pre-season games in the city, which meant when I wasn’t playing baseball at school, I was hanging around Ft. Lauderdale Stadium watching the Yankees. Yes, the Pinstripe Nation was in my blood.
Bancroft “Ban” Johnson, the founder and first president of the American League, set his sights early on challenging the domination of the National Leauge, which came to power in the 1870s. Wilbert’s book adequately depicts Johnson’s rise to power and his subsequent challenge to National League teams, culminating in the AL’s first official season as a major league in 1901, two years before the strong-willed Johnson was able to muscle a team into Manhattan to challenge the NL’s dominant franchise, the New York Giants.
In 1901, Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson launched a brazen challenge to the National League's supremacy. This book covers the American League's origins in the Western League, the decisions and planning that laid the groundwork for the American League (AL), and the 1901 season that established the AL as a new major league.
Scott Longert has his M.A. in American History from Cleveland State University. He has written five books on baseball history with a sixth on the way. His most recent work was Cy Young: An American BaseballHero designed specifically for children. The book was a selection of the Junior Library Guild. Scott has made numerous appearances on radio and television along with being interviewed for several baseball documentaries. Scott served nine years as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service, stationed at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. Currently, he faithfully attends baseball games in Cleveland, waiting for the home team to capture their first World Series win since 1948.
The book is a scholarly interpretation of Major League Baseball from 1903-1930. Harold Seymour was regarded as one of the premier baseball scholars in America, concentrating on the business and social aspects of the game. His work is a tremendous source for aspiring writers and those interested in the fine points of baseball rather than an accumulation of box scores. Seymour devotes time to the 1919 World Series fix and how much gambling was a part of the game. The rise to power of Commissioner Landis and his quest to purify baseball is a compelling part of the narrative.
Following the story begun in Baseball: The Early Years, Harold Seymour explores the glorious and grevious era when the game truly captured the American imagination with legendary figures like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, but also appalled fans with startling scandals. The Golden Age begins with the formation of the two major leagues in 1903, and describes how the organization of the professional game improved from an unwieldy three-man commission to the strong rule of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Seymour depicts the ways in which play on the field developed from the low-scoring, pitcher-dominated game of the `dead ball' era…
I’ve played the game of baseball, rooted for its teams, and even written a book about baseball (and the protagonist in my novels is a baseball nut), so I’m more than a casual observer of the sport. I’ve read more than two hundred baseball books–fiction and non-fiction–in my life. As such it was nearly impossible to come up with my top five books on the sport. I’m recommending these five because they transcend the subject of baseball, exploring universal themes with exemplary writing that evokes deep feelings within the reader. Whether you like baseball or not, if you love fine writing you can’t go wrong with any of these works.
This non-fiction book tells the story of professional scout Tony Lucadello, who spent more than forty years traveling the country watching thousands of high school, college, semi-pro and even sandlot baseball games. Winegardner’s writing is superb as he tells of his travels with Tony on his scouting trips. Again, this book is more about human nature and what is now a bygone time than it is about baseball—are you noticing a theme here in my recommendations?—though hardcore baseball fans will be enthralled by this book.
Recalling half a century of shimmying up and ducking behind trees to locate talent, a major league scout reflects on his long and illustrious career with the Cubs and Phillies
I’ve built my career around the belief that sales is a noble profession and that selling is about uncovering needs, filling needs, and creating value for customers. Things like purpose, ethics and values should be at the center of why someone sells. And those that do will be far more successful. I love these books because they all support these ideas of sales as a career to be proud of, that is necessary and that good salespeople truly put the best interests of their customers first.
This book is a great mix of anecdotal evidence from some of the best salespeople, summarized into clear takeaways about the importance of authenticity, purpose, and relationship building.
Scott’s book articulates well why success in sales is so much more about who you are and what you believe than it is about what you do. He shows how the salespeople who are at the very top of their games have figured out their own "superpower" and that sales leaders have to go beyond managing numbers and instead manage the individuals on their teams.
Want to learn the insider secrets of the top 1% sales achievers? Discover the inspiring techniques of 20 sales VIPs so you can climb the ranks and bring in the biggest commissions of your career.
Fed up with the same old sales results? Tired of advice from so-called sales gurus who don't actually sell for a living? Want to learn closing techniques from real-world doers? Account director, podcast host, and top 1% achiever Scott Ingram has spent his whole life obsessed with sales. With nearly two decades of sales experience under his belt, he's ready to share 60 inspiring stories…
I’ve been reading baseball annuals and previews since I was a kid and my must-haves were Street & Smith’s Baseball Yearbook and Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball. I was a contributing writer for several years to Ultimate Sports Publishing’s annual baseball magazines, which for a while came close to the old Mazeroski releases. I edited several of Baseball America’s Almanacs when I was on staff there and have written Top 30s for a number of the Prospect Handbooks. I get that everything is available online these days, but there’s something about having it all in one place, locked in for all time, there for reference whenever needed.
Another now classic annual that dates back into the 1990s, Baseball Prospectus is chock full of informative essays and player and team breakdowns.
Their PECOTA projections are another handy tool for ferreting out which players to target for the upcoming season. Many of the writers have changed over the years, but the book is always a must to keep ahead of the competition.
Futures Guide 2023 features:
Detailed reports on top 10 prospects for every major-league team.
Condensed reports on many additional key prospects for each team.
Top talents 25 years old and younger for each team.
Baseball Prospectus’ 2023 organizational rankings.
Top 101 real-life and fantasy prospects.
Top 50 players who entered pro baseball in 2023.
Additional essays on various prospect and scouting related topics.
With 37 years as a professional umpire, the last 32 with MLB, you can’t help but have a ton of stories. The umpire books I recommend have those and more. Funny, entertaining, revealing, and educational, hearing what happened from the person it was happening to give a unique look to America’s pastime. Being the first active male big 5 sports official (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer) to come out as gay in 2014, I also understand the added stress that brings and the courage it takes to live your true self on such a big stage.
I had the opportunity to work with Durwood Merrill three consecutive seasons so I know firsthand, the man can tell a story!
You can’t help but be drawn in when reading how Durwood got the umpire bug, quit his job as a high school principal, and follow his improbable dream to become a major league umpire. Then hold on tight, as Durwood’s wild 20+ year ride in MLB will have you laughing for more!
For twenty-one major league seasons, Durwood Merrill has been one of the most colorful characters in baseball. Part John Wayne, part Will Rogers, part Elmer Gantry, this performer has made baseball his stage since he broke into the major leagues in 1976. Like on Luciano in his best-seller, The Umpire Strikes Back, Durwood will share more than two decades of laugh-out loud anecdotes, controversial opinions, and sage advice. He'll make calls on:
Managers: From Lou Pinella to Earl Weaver to Joe Torre, Durwood related tales of his often explosive relationships with top managers of yesterday and today, and the vicious…
Race has always been a primary issue in American life—and a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. It’s a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
Before Major League Baseball was integrated, the Negro Leagues were the showcase for talented Black players.
Heaphy explains that Negro League players were the ultimate road warriors, traveling from one city to another to play “barnstorming” games — games that bolstered teams’ financial status but didn’t count in the league standings. And the Negro Leagues were trend-setters, playing night baseball several years before the all-white Major Leagues began doing so.
Heaphy paints a vivid portrait of Rube Foster, the daring and persistent man who formed the Negro National League in 1920.
At his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, former Negro League player Buck Leonard said, "Now, we in the Negro Leagues felt like we were contributing something to baseball, too, when we were playing.... We loved the game.... But we thought that we should have and could have made the major leagues." The Negro Leagues had some of the best talent in baseball but from their earliest days the players were segregated from those leagues that received all the recognition.
This history of the Negro Leagues begins with the second half of the 19th century and the early attempts…
With 37 years as a professional umpire, the last 32 with MLB, you can’t help but have a ton of stories. The umpire books I recommend have those and more. Funny, entertaining, revealing, and educational, hearing what happened from the person it was happening to give a unique look to America’s pastime. Being the first active male big 5 sports official (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer) to come out as gay in 2014, I also understand the added stress that brings and the courage it takes to live your true self on such a big stage.
The day-to-day pressures as an MLB player are enormous. On the field, off the field, in the clubhouse, it’s nonstop.
Doing all of that while hiding who you are as a gay man, compounds everything. Billy Bean takes you with him, from the best player in little league to making it on a major league roster, all while hiding his true self.
Leaving baseball at his prime after the death of his partner, something he couldn’t tell a soul about, Billy’s story is heartbreaking yet triumphant and helped me when I publicly came out as an active MLB umpire.
Billy Bean is the first major league baseball player to publicly discuss his homosexuality and the first athlete in a professional American team sport to do so since all-pro football player Dave Kopay came out in 1975. By 1996, when Bean retired at age thirty-two from the game he loved after ten years as a pro ballplayer for the Tigers, Dodgers, and Padres, he had become disillusioned by the sport that had defined his life. Bean found himself forced to choose between his love of baseball and the man he loved. It was an agonizing end to a career in…
Race has always been a primary issue in American life—and a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. It’s a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
Major League Baseball teams integrated at different paces. In 1964, the St. Louis Cardinals relied heavily on several Black players to fuel their march toward the league title. St. Louis’s white and Black players had built camaraderie and trust long before they reached that year’s World Series. Their opponent, the New York Yankees, had been cautious about integrating.
Halberstam explores this contrast and how it shaped the Cardinals’ series victory. He’s a great storyteller, sharing tales about players from different races and regions learning to play and win together.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * THE BEST SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
"October 1964 should be a hit with old-time baseball fans, who'll relish the opportunity to relive that year's to-die-for World Series, when the dynastic but aging New York Yankees squared off against the upstart St. Louis Cardinals. It should be a hit with younger students of the game, who'll eat up the vivid portrayals of legends like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris of the Yankees and Bob Gibson and Lou Brock of the Cardinals. Most of all, however, David Halberstam's new book should be a hit with…
