Josh Hamilton has struggled with addiction, but with perseverance he has found both sobriety and career triumph with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This book traces Hamilton’s life from his high-school days through his years in the minor leagues, to his Major League career ups and downs. Chapters also explore his life outside of baseball, including his charity work and family life.
Josh Hamilton has struggled with addiction, but with perseverance he has found both sobriety and career triumph with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This book traces Hamilton’s life from his high-school days through his years in the minor leagues, to his Major League career ups and downs. Chapters also explore his life outside of baseball, including his charity work and family life.
Buster Posey is a rising star catcher for the San Francisco Giants. Kids will follow Posey’s from his days as a high-school phenom, through his college years at Florida State and to his back-to-back World Series winning career with the Giants. Chapters also describe Posey’s life outside of baseball, including his charity work and family life.
Although relatively small for a basketball player, Chris Paul has proved that he is capable of big feats. This volume follows the L.A. Clipper from his early years, through his college years at Wake Forest, and into his NBA career. Along the way records get broken and awards are won in this absorbing biography.
Nicknamed Megatron, Johnson is a fearsome wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. Chapters describe Johnson’s early life, his amazing high-school career, his seasons at Georgia Tech, and his NFL career. Kids will learn about Johnson’s speed and record-breaking plays, as well as his life off the field, including his work with a charity foundation that he established.
Super slam-dunker Blake Griffin is a star player for the L.A. Clippers basketball team. In this book kids will follow in Griffins steps from his high school days to his college career with the University of Oklahoma to his professional years. Chapters discuss the awards he has been honored as well as his life off the court.
Arian Foster has been called the “most interesting man in the NFL.” Kids will learn why in this biography. Chapters cover Foster’s early life, his days at the University of Tennessee, his struggle to get drafted, and his career with the Houston Texans. Readers will also learn about Foster’s eclectic interests, his family life and charity work, and how his belief in himself helped him succeed when others had counted him out.
Josh Hamilton was the first player chosen in the first round of the 1999 baseball draft. He was destined to be one of those rare "high-character " superstars. But in 2001, working his way from the minors to the majors, all of the plans for Josh went off the rails in a moment of weakness. What followed was a 4-year nightmare of drugs and alcohol, estrangement from friends and family, and his eventual suspension from baseball. BEYOND BELIEF details the events that led up to the derailment. Josh explains how a young man destined for fame and wealth could allow his life to be taken over by drugs and alcohol. But it is also the memoir of a spiritual journey that breaks through pain and heartbreak and leads to the rebirth of his major-league career. Josh Hamilton makes no excuses and places no blame on anyone other than himself. He takes responsibility for his poor decisions and believes his story can help millions who battle the same demons. "I have been given a platform to tell my story" he says. "I pray every night I am a good messenger."
BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS. BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME. Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why? Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders. · Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series? · What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal? · Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant? · How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"? · How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really? · Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst? · Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? · What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime? · Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking? These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.
With 14 All-Star appearances, 13 Gold Gloves, a Most Valuable Player Award, and, of course, a World Series ring, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has more than earned his spot in Cooperstown as one of the best Major League catchers of all time. In They Call Me Pudge, Rodriguez tells the story of his unforgettable baseball journey, from signing his first professional contract as a 16 year-old in Puerto Rico, to his years in Texas, Detroit, and beyond, to the World Series stage in Miami, and behind the doors of the Texas Rangers front office. Rodriguez's accomplishments, his teammates, and his biggest challenges all receive time in the spotlight in this refreshing memoir of a life and Hall-of-Fame career.
