The Pitcher 2

HIGH-INTEREST, LOW-LEVEL: Reluctant readers will be engaged from beginning to end as they explore the responsibilities and skills of the pitcher in this 32-page nonfiction book. Side-by-side English and Spanish text and vivid, exciting photos show readers what it takes to fill this key position in baseball and softball. SPORTS BOOK FOR KIDS: Pitchers are team leaders. They train hard and must be smart with their throws. Just one pitch could win or lose the game! This book explores the pitcher position in baseball and softball and what makes a good pitcher great. INCLUDES: Readers will be hooked from beginning to end with facts and photos about some of the key positions in sports. Comprehension questions and activities support students, teachers, and parents. BENEFITS: This bilingual series supports reluctant readers with side-by-side English and Spanish text. Each book features stand-alone spreads, so readers can flip pages and read in any order. Glossary words are defined on the page where they appear, boosting reader comprehension. WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we’ve been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are “learning to read” and “reading to learn"!

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.

Soon after Satchel Paige arrived at spring training in 1937 to pitch for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, he and five of his teammates, including Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell, were lured to the Dominican Republic with the promise of easy money to play a short baseball tournament in support of the country’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. As it turned out, the money wasn’t so easy. After Paige and his friends arrived on the island, they found themselves under the thumb of Trujillo, known by Dominicans for murdering those who disappointed him. In the initial games, the Ciudad Trujillo all-star team floundered. Living outside the shadow of segregation, Satchel and his recruits spent their nights carousing and their days dropping close games to their rivals, who were also stocked with great players. Desperate to restore discipline, Trujillo tapped the leader of his death squads to become part of the team management. The American players believed they might be lined up and shot if they lost the tournament. When Paige’s team ultimately rallied to win, it barely registered with Trujillo, who a few months later ordered the killings of fifteen thousand Haitians at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Paige and his teammates returned to the states to face banishment from the Negro Leagues, but ironically they barnstormed across America wearing their Trujillo All-Stars uniforms. The Pitcher and the Dictator is an extraordinary story of race, politics, and some of the greatest baseball players ever assembled, playing high-stakes baseball in support of one of the Caribbean’s cruelest dictators. For more information about The Pitcher and the Dictator, visit thepitcherandthedictator.com.

The story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season. “Seldom does an era, and do sports personalities, come alive so vividly, and so unforgettably.” —The Boston Globe In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation’s hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet at the World Series. Gibson set a major league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. Together, the two have come to stand as iconic symbols, giving the fans “The Year of the Pitcher” and changing the game. Evoking a nostalgic season and its incredible characters, this is the story of one of the great rivalries in sports and an indelible portrait of the national pastime during a turbulent year—and the two men who electrified fans from all walks of life. “Explores so much more than the battle between two pitchers and their teams . . . A fine history of a vital period in the history of not only baseball, but America.” —Kirkus Reviews “A compelling tale of all that America was in the turbulent year of 1968, told through a (mostly) baseball prism.” —New York Post

Vol. 25: The distribution of Hepaticæ in Scotland, by S.M. Macvicar.

Understand and learn to TEACH the pitching motion. Follow a proven, easy-to-follow plan for training and developing young pitchers. Here is your complete coaching reference to pitching mechanics, arm care, common flaws, pick-offs, and mental strategy. With complete lesson plan outlines, this book will be the most valuable piece of coaching equipment you own! BENEFITS AND HIGHLIGHTS • Learn to TEACH pitching in addition to understanding it. • Keep athletes safe, healthy, and having fun on the mound • Help athletes tackle tough mental challenges related to the pitching position • Identify and fix common flaws and errors • Set up effective training programs and throwing schedules. Since the previous edition of Coaching the Beginning Pitcher, I’ve spent an additional eight years as a professional instructor (total pitching lessons provided eclipsed 15,000), three years as a collegiate pitching coach, driven deeper into advanced mechanics associated with velocity and power production, and earned a Master’s Degree in Physical Education. With expanded write-ups on the coaching plan (Chapter 3), drills (Chapter 5), and recognizing and correcting challenges (Chapter 6), along with a completely updated and enhanced section on training the pitcher’s mind (Chapter 11), Coaching the Beginning Pitcher, Third Edition, is complete! Although it may seem that the mechanics of pitching have not changed for the last hundred years, the nuances of instructing young pitchers are constantly evolving. This book contains the most effective methods known for working with young athletes, complete with tips and drills, throwing loads and quantities, common mistakes and remedies, and valuable sample lesson plans. This book is written with the right-handed pitcher in mind. However, all examples and pictures can be easily reversed and applied to the left-handed athlete. Coaching pitchers requires much more than knowledge of the physical motion of pitching. Effective pitching instruction also incorporates a structured, efficient plan and communication methods effective with—and often unique to—youth baseball players. This book provides that plan, outlining the steps to follow when working with a pitcher, and helps the coach place a pitcher in the best possible position to experience pitching success with a healthy arm. Finally, this book helps baseball coaches and parents maximize their own enjoyment and fulfillment while working to improve the technique, performance, and abilities of the youth pitcher! TESTIMONIALS “Dan Keller’s blend of baseball knowledge, training techniques, communication skill and love of teaching kids is captured in this well-designed book. This book teaches the art of pitching from fundamentals to complexities in a manner that coaches, novice to expert, can grasp and use effectively.” ~ Abe Key, President & CEO, PONY Baseball & Softball Inc. “I’m very impressed with Dan’s ability to break down and organize pitching instruction. Arm care and pitcher development are hot-button topics taken very seriously at Babe Ruth League. Our organization believes that Coaching the Beginning Pitcher provides a solid training plan to follow.” ~ Steven Tellefsen, President & CEO, Babe Ruth League, Inc. “Keller has a great baseball mind, a terrific understanding of the pitching motion, and an un- matched ability to communicate clearly. If you are trying to learn how to coach pitching, this book can provide the foundation you need.” ~ James Keller, Special Assistant to the GM, Toronto Blue Jays “This book embodies positive youth coaching and the development of today’s athletes. Dan’s understanding of the mechanics of pitching is impressive, and he communicates in a fashion that is understandable for all. Coaching takes a plan, and Dan helps to provide that plan.” ~ Gary Adams, Retired UCLA Baseball & Hall of Fame Head Coach