Baseball S Most Bizarre Plays

Baseball has produced some notably strange plays--like Randy Johnson's fastball dismantling a bird--yet there have been many that defy belief. Beginning with Todd Frazier tricking umpires into calling an out with a rubber ball and culminating in Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky pitching into a scrum of two batters and a manager at home plate, this book describes the 150 most bizarre plays in the history of the game. Baserunners going in the wrong direction, outfielders kicking the ball, three runners meeting at one base, two balls in play, players ejected for dancing and many other anomalies are presented with detailed commentary.

Laugh over baseball's oddest plays and weirdest happenings. Find out about a team that gave up 26 earned runs in a game, 16 in one inning. Or, a player who got the ball stuck in his glove, and threw both to first to beat the runner. More than 100 reasons why baseball is the zaniest sport.

An irreverent look at a side of baseball not usually found on the sports pages, with more than 700 entries and 70 lists

Steve "Psycho" Lyons uses his patented Psycho-Meter to break down the 100 most famous and infamous moments in baseball history. And who better to chronicle baseball's history of outrageous personalities, plays, and pranks, than Lyons, the man who dropped his pants at first base and created perhaps the most outrageous moment of all time? Digging in and dusting off the annals of baseball history, he has researched the craziest moments in baseball ever, ranging from the hilarious to the ridiculous, from the incredible to the heroic, including Randy Johnson's unexpected and unbelieveable exploding bird, Clemens v. Piazza—rounds 1 and 2, the infamous Disco Demolition Night in Chicago, and the George Brett pine tar incident. From Babe Ruth's called home-run shot to the Steve Bartman fiasco, from Pete Rose bowling over Ray Fosse to Joba Chamberlain being attacked by insects, and from Pedro Martinez body slamming Don Zimmer to a team turning a triple play without ever touching the ball, The Psycho 100 has it all.

Bill Lajoie just had it. When it came to drafting ballplayers and building a World Series club, few in baseball history can match his extraordinary success. The lessons of Lajoies illustrious career and the brilliance of his philosophy are put to print in Character is Not a Statistic. After a playing career that fell achingly short of the major leagues, Lajoie returned to Detroit to become a teacher in the mid-1960s. But his unyielding passion for baseball and desire to atone for a broken dream pulled him back to the game as a scout. From there, hed go on to build World Series Championships from scratch by finding players who possessed the very character he lacked as a young athlete. Starting as an area scout for the Cincinnati Reds in 1965, Lajoie later moved up the ladder with the Detroit Tigers and was the architect and general manager of their 1984 World Series crowning. Lajoie would then be instrumental as an assistant GM for two more franchises who dominated their decades with championships and titles; the 1990s Atlanta Braves and the 2000s Boston Red Sox. Perhaps no one alive has scouted more baseball over the last 50 years or has better stories to tell about finding the greats. Though the modern era has seen the depersonalization of scouting via statistics and radar gun readings, Lajoie was immensely successful through five decades by emphasizing what a player had inside him. His belief in a players humanity and character persists to this day. This book is not only a biography, but a collection of great baseball stories and a manual for the next generation of fans and scouts alike. Lajoie tackles such controversial issues as the Moneyball movement, the importance of a strong manager, scouting for makeup, making trades, preventing pitching injuries, running a farm system, and ranking both the best general managers and scouting directors of the modern era.

Jam-packed with cool baseball trivia, history-making records, unforgettable moments, and wacky true tales of your favorite games, players and events. This book hits a grand slam right out of the park! A perfect gift for the die-hard fan of America's favorite pasttime. Baseball is rich in anecdotes about team superstitions (from the black cat that haunted the Cubs to the "Curse of the Babe"), the antics of the superstars, and other facts that come out of left field. Think today's umpires have a temper? Wait till you read about the 19th century New Jersey ump who pulled out a gun and shoved it in the face of a player who came at him with a bat. Or about the time three Brooklyn Dodger runners found themselves at third base--together. Fans will laugh, they'll learn--and they won't put this down!

Recounts over seventy great moments in baseball since World War II including a marathon game, a seventeen-run inning, and a twenty-three game losing streak.

The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records is a quirky, irreverent -- even bizarre -- compilation of fascinating firsts, one-of-a-kind feats, and historic milestones that will delight all true fans of the game. While the structure and organization is similar to that of an official record book, it goes beyond standard statistical fare into the twilight world of baseball arcana, outing the first major leaguer to run backward around the bases, the batter with the worst performance at bat, the player with the most convictions for growing marijuana, and the batter to make the best comeback from a beaning. A captivating look at baseball oddities, it also reveals the identity of an infamous player with a thing for sitting on birthday cakes, and that of a team owner who kept butterflies. Pithy, opinionated text covers the best and worst of the beloved game from an insider, trivia-minded point of view.