The Best Of Baseball

A collection of baseball stories by 19 writers, including James Thurber, Mordecai Richler, W.P. Kinsella, Morley Callaghan, George Bowering and Brian Fawcett. Some strong language.

A revised and up-to-date edition of Baseball's Best 1,000, a must-have book for baseball fans obsessed with stats, quick facts, and the age-old debate of who is the best player in history and why. Using various (and completely subjective) criteria including lifetime statistics, personal and professional contributions to the game at large, sportsmanship, character, popularity with the fans, and more, sports writer Derek Gentile ranks the best players of all time. Along with a ranking, information on each player is presented, including the teams on which he has played throughout his career, positions played, lifetime statistics, and a brief biography-as well as a photograph. Baseball's Best 1,000 is sure to spark controversy and debate among fans.

Each work, chosen with exquisite care by an expert, is analyzed and summarized. Its greatness as baseball literature, its place in the genre, its peculiarities, weaknesses, strengths, how the critics went for it--all are discussed in such a way, with quotations, that reading or browsing Shannon's book is equivalent to absorbing a rich history of the sport.

“With the LEGENDS series, Howard Bryant brings to life the best that sports has to offer—the heroes, the bitter rivalries, the moments that every sports-loving kid should know.”—Mike Lupica, #1 bestselling author of Travel Team, Heat, and Fantasy League Experience baseball's most exciting moments, World Series heroics, greatest players, and more! Baseball, America's pastime, is a sport of moments that stand the test of time. It is equally a sport of a new generation of heroes, whose exploits inspire today's young fans. This combination makes for a winning debut in Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball. This is no traditional almanac of mundane statistics, but rather a storyteller's journey through baseball's storied game. Told in fun, accessible chapters and accompanied by iconic photos, a slew of Top Ten lists for kids to chew on and debate, and a Timeline of the 40 Most Important Moments in Baseball History, this collection covers some of the greatest players from Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron; the greatest teams to take the field and swing the bats; the greatest social triggers, such as Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier; the greatest playoff rivalries, including the 2004 showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees that turned into an instant classic; and, of course, the edge-of-your-seat World Series moments that left some cheering while others wept. This is the perfect book for young fans eager to learn more about the sport that will stay with them for a lifetime. Praise for LEGENDS: * "A terrific gathering of heroic hacks and legendary near misses."—Kirkus Books, starred review

Tony Gwynn is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. That's the conclusion of this engaging and provocative analysis of baseball's all-time best hitters. Michael Schell challenges the traditional list of all-time hitters, which places Ty Cobb first, Gwynn 16th, and includes just 8 players whose prime came after 1960. Schell argues that the raw batting averages used as the list's basis should be adjusted to take into account that hitters played in different eras, with different rules, and in different ballparks. He makes those adjustments and produces a new list of the best 100 hitters that will spark debate among baseball fans and statisticians everywhere. Schell combines the two qualifications essential for a book like this. He is a professional statistician--applying his skills to cancer research--and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball. He has wondered how to rank hitters since he was a boy growing up as a passionate Cincinnati Reds fan. Over the years, he has analyzed the most important factors, including the relative difficulty of hitting in different ballparks, the length of hitters' careers, the talent pool that players are drawn from, and changes in the game that raised or lowered major-league batting averages (the introduction of the designated hitter and changes in the height and location of the pitcher's mound, for example). Schell's study finally levels the playing field, giving new credit to hitters who played in adverse conditions and downgrading others who faced fewer obstacles. His final ranking of players differs dramatically from the traditional list. Gwynn, for example, bumps Cobb to 2nd place, Rod Carew rises from 28th to 3rd, Babe Ruth drops from 9th to 16th, and Willie Mays comes from off the list to rank 13th. Schell's list also gives relatively more credit to modern players, containing 39 whose best days were after 1960. Using a fun, conversational style, the book presents a feast of stories and statistics about players, ballparks, and teams--all arranged so that calculations can be skipped by general readers but consulted by statisticians eager to follow Schell's methods or introduce their students to such basic concepts as mean, histogram, standard deviation, p-value, and regression. Baseball's All-Time Best Hitters will shake up how baseball fans view the greatest heroes of America's national pastime.

Although the stars change with each generation, the legends live on forever. This title introduces those legends, past and present, with colorful stories about their most memorable moments. With spotlight stats, info boxes, a glossary, additional resources, and more, this title is jam-packed with information fit for any baseball fan. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Clearly written and entertaining for all ages, Baseball's Top 100 evaluates the greatest players of all time based on what each did in his peak year. America's interest in baseball nostalgia is at an all-time peak, and this book captures the timeless quality of baseball and brings it all back home.

For more than a century, baseball players have entertained and fascinated fans of America's favorite summer pastime. Although the stars change with each generation, the legends live on forever. Those legends are all in Major League Baseball's Best Ever. This series introduces baseball's biggest stars, past and present, with colorful stories about their most memorable moments. With spotlight stats, info boxes, a glossary, additional resources, and more, this series is jam-packed with information fit for any baseball fan. Book jacket.