Sports Illustrated Great Baseball Writing

America's No. 1 sports almanac since its introduction 16 years ago, the Sports Illustrated Almanac has got it all covered, from football to fencing, hockey to handball, and everything in between. Spanning 864 pages, the Sports Illustrated Almanac features essays by top Sports Illustrated writers, all-time stats and records, and ticketing and venue information for pro baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Features essays, player profiles, and statistics for the 1998 sports year, covering football, baseball, hockey, tennis, boxing, and other sports; and includes month-by-month event listings for 1999.

hen Sports Illustrated was launched in 1954, baseball was, indisputably, the national pastime, its stars America's epic heroes, its rivalries the era's mythology. As baseball's fortunes rose and fell over the next 50 years-and then rose again to new heights, drawing more than 65 million fans to ballparks in 2004-the game never failed to produce great drama and inspired storytelling. This collection is a virtual Hall of Fame from the pages of SI, bringing together the stories of baseball's greatest heroes (Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax) and villains (Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, Denny McLain) and characters (Casey Stengel, Max Patkin, Yogi Berra); its legendary quests (the home run chases of Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds; the thrilling pennant races, from the Dodgers-Giants in 1951 to the Yankees-Red Sox in 1978); its world-class writers (Frank Deford, Mark Kram, George Plimpton, Peter Gammons, and Tom Verducci) and its own players writing from the inside about their game (Ted Williams, Jim Brosnan, and Jim Bouton). In the wake of SI's acclaimed Fifty Years of Great Writing comes this baseball anthology worthy of Cooperstown.

Who's the greatest slugger of all time, Babe Ruth or Ted Williams? Where do Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken Jr. rank on the list of the best shortstops? At third base, would you rather have Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson? Is Fenway or Wrigley the better ballpark? This book will end many arguments-and start some new ones. Sports Illustrated's has polled its Major League Baseball experts to determine the ultimate Top 10 in more than 20 categories. The rankings appear alongside stunning photography and classic stories from SI's archives. This is the best of the best in the major leagues, or, more simply, Baseball's Greatest.

Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism, has covered Major League Baseball for over seven decades, documenting its heroes, villains, great characters, and iconic moments. A wide-ranging portrait of America's pastime, this anthology features the best baseball writing from the SI archives by nationally renowned journalists including Frank Deford, Mark Kram, George Plimpton, Peter Gammons, and Tom Verducci.

When was the first World Series played? What MLB pitcher holds the league record with seven no-hitters? Which player stole home 54 times during his career? Learn the answer to these questions and more in The Best of Everything Baseball Book.

Five years after the publication of The Baseball Book, the Sports Illustrated editorial team that created that New York Times best-seller returns with this updated and expanded edition. This 326-page revision brings the original edition up to the minute, with more than 80 pages of new material, including timely stories by Sports Illustrated's best writers and 60 pages of spectacular new photographs up to and including the San Francisco Giants' World Series triumph over the Texas Rangers last October. With unforgettable pictures and award-winning words, this lavish volume brings to life the epic teams and colorful characters, the crucial plays and classic games, the personalities and performances and artifacts that have kept baseball at the heart of American sports for more than a century. The Baseball Book is a perennial favorite in the highly successful series of coffee-table books released by Sports Illustrated every holiday season since 2004.