Baseball Miscellany

Provides color photographs and miscellaneous information about some of the fascinating individuals, lore, facts, and statistics in America's national pastime.

Why does a curveball curve? What is a “can of corn”? Why was Joe DiMaggio called the “Yankee Clipper”? “Who wrote “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”? How many times did Ty Cobb steal home? In Baseball Miscellany, the fascinating history and lore of our national pastime is finally revealed! For example, the reason a curveball curves is that its spin drags a layer of air across one surface of the ball faster than it does across the opposite surface. A “can of corn” is slang for an easy-to-catch fly ball, the term originating from a general store clerk reaching up and dropping a can from a high shelf. Sportswriters dubbed Joe DiMaggio the “Yankee Clipper” because he glided about the outfield with beauty and grace, like a clipper ship on the ocean. The lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” were written in 1908 by vaudeville star Jack Norworth, who, while riding the subway, was inspired by a sign that said “Baseball Today—Polo Grounds.” And the great Ty Cobb stole home a whopping fifty-four times—fifty more than the career leader in total stolen bases, Rickey Henderson. Packed with all manner of delightful surprises, beautiful illustrations and photographs, and delicious nuggets of information, Baseball Miscellany demystifies the origins and customs of America’s most celebrated game. From spring training through the World Series, you’ll be entertained with fun, little-known facts. Why do baseball players wear stirrup socks? Who invented the catcher’s mask? What Major League team passed up on signing eighteen-year-old Willie Mays in 1949? Settle into your favorite armchair, grab some peanuts or Cracker Jacks, and find out!

What causes a golf ball to hook or slice? What are the origins of the terms “bogey” and “birdie”? Why was Jack Nicklaus called “The Golden Bear”? “Why is the Masters champion presented with a green jacket? How many tournaments did Byron Nelson win in 1945? With Golf Miscellany, the fascinating history and lore of golf are finally revealed! For example, the reason a golf ball hooks or slices is that its spin drags a layer of air across one surface of the ball faster than it does across the opposite surface. “Bogey” refers to a score of one over par on a golf hole, the term originating from a British song from the late nineteenth century. Jack Nicklaus was dubbed The Golden Bear by his former agent, Mark McCormick, because he was “large, strong, and blonde.” Every Masters champion since 1949 has been presented with a green jacket, indicating their membership in the exclusive private club. And the great Byron Nelson won a whopping eighteen tournaments in 1945 including eleven in a row, both records which stand to this day. Packed with all manner of delightful surprises, beautiful illustrations and photos, and surprising nuggets of information, Golf Miscellany demystifies the origins and customs of one of the world’s most celebrated game. From the driving range through the U.S. Open, you’ll be entertained with fun, little-known facts. Why do golfers wear collared shirts? Who invented the modern putter? What golfer was famous for saying he dug his golf game out of the dirt? Settle into your favorite armchair, sip on an Arnold Palmer, and find out!

Essential for armchair umpires and scorekeepers, this guide challenges aficionados on every significant part of the Official Baseball Rules. Few sports lovers are as obsessed with rules and statistics as baseball fans. In So You Think You Know Baseball?, lifelong baseball enthusiast Peter E. Meltzer catalogues every noteworthy baseball rule from the Major League rulebook and illustrates its application with actual plays, from the historical to the contemporary. You can read the book from start to finish or consult it while watching a game to understand the mechanics of a play or how it should be scored. Meltzer analyzes the entire Official Baseball Rules using hundreds of Major League plays involving both plays on the field situations and plays which have involved the official scorer. This is the first book ever written which analyzes the entire rulebook in this fashion and which is based on actual plays. With Meltzer’s unique and thoroughly entertaining guide in hand, which includes a foreword by baseball rules expert Rich Marazzi, you’ll never have to scratch your head over an umpire or scorekeeper’s call again.

This book is an examination of cultural resistance to segregation in the world of black baseball through an analysis of editorial art, folktales, nicknames, “manhood” and the art of clowning. African Americans worked to dismantle Jim Crow through the creation of a cultural counter-narrative that centered on baseball and the Negro Leagues that celebrated black achievement and that highlighted the contradictions and fallacies of white supremacy in the first half of the twentieth century.

It was the golden age of baseball, and all over the country teams gathered on town fields in front of throngs of fans to compete for local glory. In Rawlins, Wyoming, residents lined up for tickets to see slugger Joseph Seng and the rest of the Wyoming Penitentiary Death Row All Stars as they took on all comers in baseball games with considerably more at stake. Teams came from Reno, Nevada; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Bodie, California; and throughout the west to take on the murderers who made up the line-up. This is a fun and wildly dramatic and suspenseful look at the game of baseball and at the thrilling events that unfolded at a prison in the wide-open Wyoming frontier in pursuit of wins on the diamond.

Interest and attendance were dropping, and football was ascending. Stuck in a rut, baseball was dying. Then Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, a second-division club with wife-swapping pitchers, leaving the House That Ruth Built not with a slam but a simper. He vowed not to interfere—before soon changing his mind. Across town, Tom Seaver led the Mets’ stellar pitching line-up, and iconic outfielder Willie Mays was preparing to say goodbye. For months, the Mets, under Yogi Berra, couldn’t get it right. Meanwhile, the A’s were breaking a ban on facial hair while maverick owner Charlie Finley was fighting to keep them underpaid. But beneath the muttonchops and mayhem, lay another world. Elvis commanded a larger audience than the Apollo landings. A Dodge Dart cost $2,800, gas was a quarter per gallon. A fiscal crisis loomed; Vietnam had ended, the vice president resigned, and Watergate had taken over. It was one of the most exciting years in the game’s history, the first with the designated hitter and the last before arbitration and free agency. The two World Series opponents went head-to-head above the baby steps of a dynasty that soon dwarfed both league champions. It was a turbulent time for the country and the game, neither of which would ever be the same again.

Relive the games, moves, and players of the hard-hitting team that won the 1986 World Series. Vin Scully called the tenth-inning groundball in Game Six of the 1986 World Series—Mets versus Red Sox—that sealed a comeback, fueled a curse, and turned a batting champion into a scapegoat. But getting there was a long, hard slog with plenty of heartache. After being knocked out of contention the previous two seasons, the Mets blasted through the National League that year. They won blowouts, nailbiters, fights, and a 14-inning game that ended with one pitcher on the mound, another in right field, and an All-Star catcher playing third base. Matt Silverman covers famous baseball players including: Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry and more. Going beyond the partying and excess, Silverman recounts in this book, step by step, the team’s meteoric rise in 1986, when they captured their first division title in over a decade, shattered the franchise record, and then won it all.