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The Baseball
Anthology
125 Years of
Stories, Poems, Articles, Photographs,
Drawings, Interviews, Cartoons, and Other
Memorabilia
A
beautiful and enjoyable baseball time
capsule.
óKirkus Reviews
The Baseball
Anthology is an anthology like no other.
More than just a compilation of the finest
writing about baseball, it is a history of
the game through the sharp, funny, and
evocative writings of each era in baseball's
first century and a quarter.
Yes, all of the
Hall of Fame writers are here: Red Smith,
Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, Grantland Rice,
Peter Gammons, Bill James, and many others.
So are telling autobiographical essays by
some of the game's finest players, including
Christy Mathewson, Hank Greenberg, Jackie
Robinson, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Nolan
Ryan.
Accompanied by more
than 300 stunningóand rarely seenóphotographs
and illustrations, the ninety-seven pieces in
The Baseball Anthology transports
readers to the innermost workings of
baseball. Page through this book, and you'll
find:
- An up-close view
of the game in transition in the late
1800s, when each year seemed to bring a new
rules change. "Of course his main object is
to score a run," wrote one scribe in 1870,
"but there is something to be considered
beside the mere fact of obtaining the run,
and that is to secure it with the least
fatigue."
- A vivid glance at
the "dead-ball era," when Ty Cobb terrified
opponents with his flashing spikes. "The
great secret, to my mind, of being a good
baserunner is to hit the dirt with the
feeling that you like the sensation," Cobb
said.
- The reign of the
Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, along with
fascinating looks at the other stars who
made the 1920s and '30s baseball's golden
age: Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy
Dean, Carl Hubbell, Joe DiMaggio and
others.
- Jackie Robinson's
victorious battle to cross baseball's
long-lasting color barrier, told by
Robinson, Manager Leo Durocher, and others
who were intimately involved in the
struggle.
- The great Yankee
Dynasty of the 1950s, when Mickey Mantle,
Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and other Hall of
Famers seemed to win every World
Series.
- The magnificent
Roberto Clemente, playing with a fiery
intensity that would bring even opposing
fans to their feet.
- The Ryan
ExpressóNolan Ryan, mowing down opposing
batters for more than a quarter of a
century. "If he ever hits me with a
fastball, I'll have him arrested for
manslaughter," said slugger Harmon
Killebrew.
With an evocative
foreword by Hall of Fame manager Sparky
Anderson, and thoughtful essays introducing
each of baseball's colorful eras, The
Baseball Anthology will be a favorite
with every fan of the game's great
history.
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