Herb Pennock

Herbert Jefferis Pennock (1894-1948) was a Hall of Fame pitcher for the dynastic 1920s New York Yankees. Considered one of the best left-handed pitchers in history, Pennock won 241 games on the mound, never lost in his five World Series starts, and came within four outs of pitching the first no-hitter in a World Series in 1927. More than just a great pitcher, Pennock was well-respected by teammates and locals alike. He was known as a principled, practical gentleman, with an intellect that matched his pitching skills and a humanity that bested both. In Herb Pennock: Baseball’s Faultless Pitcher, Keith Craigrecounts Pennock’s ascent from well-to-do Kennett Square to the heights of major league baseball. Signed by the Philadelphia A’s legendary Connie Mack as an 18-year-old school boy, Pennock would flourish into a dependable pitcher for the New York Yankees. He was part of the iconic Murderer’s Row team and played a crucial role in their World Series victories. For 22 seasons, Pennock’s forte was control, not power; he studied each hitter, every at bat, and exploited all weaknesses. When Pennock’s playing career came to an end, he used that same single-minded diligence as the General Manager of the woeful Philadelphia Phillies, where he reinvented the team through the careful development of its farm system that resulted in the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids. Including interviews with Pennock’s family members and Kennett Square residents who personally knew the baseball legend, Herb Pennock: Baseball’s Faultless Pitcher is the first biography to paint such a complete picture of Pennock and the times he lived in. Featuring original photographs provided by his family, this book delivers an invaluable look into the life of a great ballplayer, savvy front-office executive, and honorable man.

Details events leading to the 1927 World Series, when the New York Yankees, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Waite Hoyt, became baseball's best team ever. Draws on interviews with everyone connected to the team, from players and management to batboys, and relates stories concerning players' personalities, skills, and hijinks on and off the field. Includes 1927 statistics and biographical sketches of management, players, and staff, plus bandw photos. Paper edition (unseen), $13.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Preeminent baseball analyst Bill James and ESPN.com baseball columnist Rob Neyer compile information on pitches and their origins, nearly two thousand pitchers, and more in this comprehensive guide. Pitchers, the pitches they throw, and how they throw them—they’re the stuff of constant scrutiny, but there's never been anything like a comprehensive source for such information…until now. Bill James and Rob Neyer spent over a decade compiling the centerpiece of this book, the Pitcher Census, which lists specific information for nearly two thousand pitchers, ranging throughout the history of professional baseball. Their guide also includes a dictionary describing virtually every known pitch, biographies of great pitchers who have been overlooked, and top ten lists for fastballs, spitballs, and everything in between. James and Neyer also weigh in on the debate over pitcher abuse and durability, offer a formula for predicting the Cy Young Award winner, and reveal James’s Pitcher Codes. Learn about the origins and development of baseball’s most important pitches and more knuckleballers and submariners than you ever thought existed! Baseball’s action always starts with the pitchers. Begin to understand them and join in on entertaining debates while having a great deal of fun with the history of the game that captivates so many with this one-of-a-kind guide.

In October 1954, the Philadelphia Athletics relocated to Kansas City, putting an end to more than a half-century of American League baseball in the City of Brotherly Love. However, of all the professional sports teams ever to play in the city, Connie Mack's Athletics remain the most successful-and frustrating. Their five World Series titles and nine pennants were balanced with seventeen last-place finishes. Mack's 3,776 victories as a manager were only exceeded by the 4,025 defeats he suffered-still a record for most losses by a single manager. In The Philadelphia Athletics, author William C. Kashatus tells the story of Connie Mack's talented and comedic team. Eighteen Philadelphia Athletics are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including players as famous as Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove and as colorful as Rube Waddell, Chief Bender, and Al Simmons. From the early days of the American League, when the Athletics were ridiculed as the "White Elephants," through the glory years and their final decade in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Athletics tells the poignant story of a manager and team who were among the greatest of all time.

"September Swoon" is important because it not only chronicles how the Phillies disintegrated, but also looks at the racial tension surrounding the Phillies star rookie, Richie Allen."

About the Book(97 words)The '27 Yankees is the story of the most legendary and revered team in the annals of baseball: a team whose magical name, even today, evokes the standard of excellence in America's most treasured sport. The book is the definitive historical account of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, and their teammates from Spring Training in St. Petersburg, Florida through the World Series. The '27 Yankees transports the reader back to that exciting season to experience events on and off the diamond through the detailed day-to-day recreations of the team's games.

Elite baseball pitchers are elite for a reason. They seem to have it all: a variety of pitches that no one can lay a bat to; cool heads and confidence in their "stuff" when they get in a jam; and the kind of dexterity that makes difficult plays seem easy. Is elite status revealed through statistics? Though the author of this book considers statistics of both the traditional and sabermetric sort, he argues that the greats are proved not by broad statistical comparison with all other pitchers, but by their record against one another. In a thoughtful discussion of the evidence of head-to-head matchups, he finds the nine pitchers who make up the true elite: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux. For each pitcher the book provides biographical information, career highlights, and a list of the feats that put him in the record books.