The Sign Catcher

As a young boy, Otilio Quintero lived with his family in abject poverty in a labor camp in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Later, they moved to a housing project that exposed him to the madness of violence. Despite his difficult childhood, he managed to go to college. But more important to his development was a trip to Mexico in which he was taken in and taught by the Mayan Chol people. In his memoir, Quintero writes he found his calling at an indigenous ceremony during The Longest Walk, a 3,000-mile march across the country—from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco to Washington, DC—in 1978 by Native Americans to protest federal attacks on their way of life. The marchers carried the sacred pipe to the nation’s capital and ultimately legislative bills detrimental to indigenous people were defeated. His life took a dramatic turn when he found himself in a maximum-security prison facing a possible 20-year sentence! Through a miracle of faith and hope, Quintero escaped prison and began teaching farmworkers at a community college. He would go on to become a leader in the movement against gang violence, joining forces with organizations such as Barrios Unidos and Homies Unidos. He worked alongside the likes of Cesar Chavez, Harry Belafonte and Tom Hayden, and his efforts to save lives took him to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This compelling read exemplifies the need to make change within before attempting to change the world around us, and Quintero contends the challenges of the current times require our awakening now.

"As a young boy, Otilio Quintero lived with his family in abject poverty in a labor camp in California's San Joaquin Valley. Later, they moved to a housing project that exposed him to the madness of violence. Despite his difficult childhood, he managed to go to college. But more important to his development was a trip to Mexico in which he was taken in and taught by the Mayan Chol people. In his memoir, Quintero writes he found his calling at an indigenous ceremony during The Longest Walk, a 3,000-mile march across the country-from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco to Washington, DC-in 1978 by Native Americans to protest federal attacks on their way of life. The marchers carried the scared pipe to the nation's capital and ultimately legislative bills detrimental to indigenous people were defeated. His life took a dramatic turn when he found himself in a maximum-security prison facing a possible 20-year sentence! Through a miracle of faith and hope, Quintero escaped prison and began teaching farmworkers at a community college. He would go on to become a leader in the movement against gang violence, joining forces with organizations such as Barrios Unidos and Homies Unidos. He worked alongside the likes of César Chávez, Harry Belafonte and Tom Hayden, and his efforts to save lives took him to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This compelling read exemplifies the need to make change within before attempting to change the world around us, and Quintero contends the challenges of the current times require our awakening now"--

Today the baseball catcher is a familiar but uninspiring figure. Decked out in the so-called tools of ignorance, he stolidly goes about his duty without attracting much attention. But it wasn't always that way, as Peter Morris shows in this lively and original study. In baseball's early days, catchers stood a safe distance back of the batter. Then the introduction of the curveball in the 1870s led them to move up directly behind home plate, even though they still wore no gloves or protective equipment. Extraordinary courage became the catcher's most notable requirement, but the new positioning also demanded that the catcher have lightning-fast reflexes, great hands, and a cannon for a throwing arm. With so great a range of needed skills, a special mystique came to surround the position, and it began to seem that a good catcher could single-handedly make the difference between winning and losing.

During fifteen seasons in the major leagues, Charlie O’Brien was battery-mate to thirteen pitchers who won the Cy Young Award, presented each year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. To put that accomplishment in perspective, Hall of Fame catchers Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra each worked with only one Cy Young winner during their careers. Legendary hurlers caught by O’Brien include such greats as Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, and Steve Bedrosian. O’Brien’s The Cy Young Catcher, written with Doug Wedge, includes up-close views of the thirteen Cy Young Award–winning pitchers at their best . . . and occasionally at their worst. O’Brien shares an inside perspective on how catchers talk to umpires, what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a 90-mph fastball, and how it feels to be in a clutch situation when the World Series is on the line. This authentic, down-to-earth memoir will not only delight baseball fans of all stripes, it will also provide keen insights into what separates the game’s greatest competitors from the also-rans.

What does it mean to be a God-glorifying baseball player? Diamond Gems: Life Lessons between the Lines reminds Christian athletes and coaches of God's mandate to "proclaim the excellencies of Him" while on the field of play. Each chapter teaches a fundamental baseball principle and uses that concept as a means to establish an even greater connection with an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. This book is much more than a Christian devotional about baseball. It is a strong reminder of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and how it manifests itself through the life of a Christian baseball player. It is a helpful tool for those who desire to establish a stronger foundation both as a Christian and as a baseball player. David Ray is a former high school baseball coach and currently serves as principal of Lorraine Elementary School in Georgia. He played baseball at the University of Kentucky and has been drafted professionally by the Oakland A's, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Kansas City Royals. He also earned a Master of Divinity degree at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Education degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Mary Pat, live in Conyers, Georgia, and are the parents of two children, Rebekah and Jonathan.

The "brilliant, funny, meaningful novel" (The New Yorker) that established J. D. Salinger as a leading voice in American literature--and that has instilled in millions of readers around the world a lifelong love of books. "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caufield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days.

This is a practical Handbook for youth Baseball and Softball coaches, parents, and kids. It has 41 individual pictures and illustration variations to look at. All the drills are numbered for easy reference between coaches and parents. Complete with diagram and illustration for each one. It covers all the Baseball and Softball pitching fundamentals you will need to get started. It also has training games to play, equipment used in the game, sample practice schedules, and a progressive stair step guide for learning.

Reproduction of the original: Base-Ball: How to Become a Player by John Montgomery Ward