The remarkable life story of the first Jewish superstar athlete, by New York Times best-selling author Mark Kurlansky One of the reasons baseball fans so love the sport is that it involves certain physical acts of beauty. And one of the most beautiful sights in the history of baseball was Hank Greenberg's swing. His calmly poised body seemed to have some special set of springs with a trigger release that snapped his arms and swept the bat through the air with the clean speed and strength of a propeller. But what is even more extraordinary than his grace and his power is that in Detroit of 1934, his swing--or its absence--became entwined with American Jewish history. Though Hank Greenberg was one of the first players to challenge Babe Ruth's single-season record of sixty home runs, it was the game Greenberg did not play for which he is best remembered. With his decision to sit out a 1934 game between his Tigers and the New York Yankees because it fell on Yom Kippur, Hank Greenberg became a hero to Jews throughout America. Yet, as Kurlansky writes, he was the quintessential secular Jew, and to celebrate him for his loyalty to religious observance is to ignore who this man was. In Hank Greenberg Mark Kurlansky explores the truth behind the slugger's legend: his Bronx boyhood, his spectacular discipline as an aspiring ballplayer, the complexity of his decision not to play on Yom Kippur, and the cultural context of virulent anti-Semitism in which his career played out. What Kurlansky discovers is a man of immense dignity and restraint with a passion for sport who became a great reader--a man, too, who was an inspiration to the young Jackie Robinson, who said, "Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg."

Text and more than 800 illustrations examine the history of baseball, with information on players, teams, games, records, memorabilia, and other aspects of the sport.

Satchel Paige was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. Take a look at his life and his struggle to be accepted into the major league.

The author celebrates the history of baseball, focusing on the dramatic changes that he witnessed and participated in as the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association union

To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the breaking of baseball's color barrier, an exploration of Jackie Robinson's impact and legacy by the people whose lives were transformed by his courage. When Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he forever changed the game of baseball--and America itself. Sportswriter Fussman traces Robinson's enormous legacy in sports, politics, and the civil rights movement through the men (and women) who came after him. With moving and intimate interviews of more than one hundred former major league players of African-American descent, as well as such luminaries as Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Ali, and Walter Cronkite, among others, this book recalls the day one man altered history for so many, and the history that followed.--From publisher description.

"The autobiography of the first designated hitter to play in the MLB-now in paperback! On April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg took a swing at home plate that changed baseball history. Through a quirk of fate the young Jewish Yankee became the first designated hitter to play an MLB game. At the time, George Steinbrenner had just taken control of the Bronx Bombers, the National League was still refusing to adopt the DH rule, and New Yorkers were pinning their hopes on a new generation of players. In this heart-warming autobiography, now in paperback, Blomberg relives the moment that made his career and the countless experiences before and after that helped boost him to legendary heights. In Designated Hebrew Blomberg recounts a time when baseball, and America itself, were changing. Before Blomberg arrived in New York, the Yankees only employed three Jews in the entire organization. Though his career goals were eventually thwarted by injury, Blomberg still represented hope and pride to millions of Americans across the country. This unforgettable story is the journey of one man as he learns to balance life, religion, and ultimately, baseball"--

A biography of the powerful home run hitter who became the first Jewish player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It's one of the oldest pastimes known to man, dating as far back as the invention of the wheel (somewhat overrated) and the discovery of fire (vastly underrated). But not until thousands of years later, with the arrival of baseball, did the overrated-underrated debate really fulfill its potential. This great sport was virtually made for the O-U (overrated-underrated) debate, and the chances of any living soul having not engaged in it at one time or another are small. Whether you are a hardcore fan or a casual observer, you almost certainly have been lured into a war of wits on the merits, or lack thereof, of a particular ballplayer, team, or record-setting achievement. Sports-radio-talk-show hosts are well-known instigators of these kinds of debates, as are baseball columnists, friends, ex-friends, or the complete stranger sitting three seats down at the local watering hole. It really doesn't matter if you went to the five-tool school of baseball verbiage or if you know just enough about the team in your zip code to survive the occasional water-cooler gossip; the O-U debate is so subjective that any argument could last for hours, regardless of the presence of statistical facts or hardball knowledge in the discussion. That was the case, of course, until Jayson Stark took it upon himself to end the debate once and for all in The Stark Truth - or, more likely, energize it for years to come. Stark, a baseball columnist and television analyst for the better part of the last three decades, attempts to identify the most overrated and underrated players of all time at each position. He'll be the first to admit that his selections will invite skepticism and even controversy, which is the very essence of the O-U debate. In Stark's findings, based on years of research and mounds of statistics (which, he says, can be somewhat overrated), you will see more Hall of Fame players than also-rans on both sides of the fence. One can be considered the best player of his time and still be overrated - or underrated - which makes The Stark Truth a fascinating journey into the greatest debate about the greatest game. -- from dust jacket.

In 1941, his first full season, Pete Reiser became the youngest batting champion in history, winning the NL title with a .343 average, and led the league in runs, doubles, triples, total bases, and slugging average. By July of 1942, the popular Brooklyn outfielder was flirting with .400 and was easily baseball's fastest rising star. But a jarring collision with the outfield wall in St. Louis sent his season into a tailspin. After spending the next three years in the Army, he would come back to lead the league in stolen bases, battling dizziness and headaches throughout the season. Ten more collisions with the outfield wall--each adding a shoulder separation, muscle tear, fracture, contusion, or concussion to his long list of injuries--would make him a frequent visitor to the disabled list and keep Reiser from ever again playing a full season. This biography provides the full story on Reiser, with special emphasis given to the highlights of Reiser's playing days and the factors that kept him from fulfilling his enormous potential. In addition, the author discusses the broader situation of major league baseball, including Jackie Robinson's entrance on the National League scene, league-jumping and the subsequent blackballing of players, and the conditions under which big leaguers of the era lived, worked, and played.