The Detroit Tigers Reader celebrates the great moments and personalities of the city's rich baseball history. The story of the Tigers---like the story of Detroit itself---is one of resilience and endurance. For baseball fans it's also an intensely personal one: Detroit Tigers baseball has flowed through the veins of generations of families. The essays, articles, and letters in The Detroit Tigers Reader capture those stories and the essence of the Tigers' spirit, tracing the history of the team from its first game on April 25, 1901, up through the arrival of "Pudge" Rodriguez in 2004. With contributions from some of the greatest sportswriters and athletes, as well as local journalists and fans, The Detroit Tigers Reader charts the highs and lows of one of the most extraordinary and celebrated teams in baseball history. Includes contributions from Mitch Albom Dave Anderson Joseph Durso Joe Falls Hank Greenberg Ernie Harwell Al Kaline Mike Lupica Grantland Rice Damon Runyon Babe Ruth Neal Shine
Detroit Tigers 101 is required reading for every Tigers fan! From Ty Cobb, 'the Georgia Peach' to cheering on the team with Paws in Comerica Park, you'll share all the memories with the next generation. Enjoy all the traditions of your favorite team, learn the basics about playing baseball and share your passion for America's pastime! Die cut in the shape of a baseball. Officially licensed by Major League Baseball.
Award-winning Detroit columnist George Cantor revisits the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers with unparalleled insight into what the season meant to a reeling city filled with delirious fans. The book delves into the details of a year when fantasy became reality--the Tigers chewed up their opponents, spit them out, and catapulted to the top without looking back--and provides fans with the opportunity to relive a season in history that baseball aficionados won't soon forget.
Explores some of the reasons why fans love the Detroit Tigers. Each spread highlights a different fact, player, story, or tradition that helps define the team.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team and Million-Dollar Throw. Brian is living every baseball kid's dream: he is a batboy for his hometown Major League team. Brian believes that it's the perfect thing to bring him and his big-leaguer dad closer together. And if that weren't enough, this is the season that Hank Bishop, Brian's baseball hero, returns to the Tigers for the comeback of a lifetime. The summer couldn't get much better! Until Hank Bishop starts to show his true colors, and Brian learns that sometimes life throws you a curveball.
Lanky, mop-topped, and nicknamed for his resemblance to Big Bird on Sesame Street, Fidrych exploded onto the national stage during the Bicentennial summer as a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. He won over fans nationwide with his wildly endearing antics, but quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in the game. Fidrych was named starting pitcher in the All-Star Game as a rookie and became the first athlete to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Wilson recounts Fidrych's meteoric rise, his heartbreaking fall after a torn knee ligament and then rotator cuff, and captures Fidrych's post-baseball life to his death in a freak accident in 2009.
In the tradition of Tuesdays With Morrie, Dan Ewald pens a memoir of his friendship with legendary Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, the man who taught him not only the nuances of baseball, but the importance of life's unwritten rules. Few sports figures, regardless of their position, have generated as much good will as Sparky Anderson, the legendary manager for the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers. Sparky met author Dan Ewald, in 1979, and thus was born a lifelong friendship not likely ever to be seen again in baseball. Along the way, Dan never took for granted the front row seat he had to watch one of history's most memorable managers' absolute mastery of baseball's nuances and intricacies. But the most important things Sparky taught Dan were the "unwritten rules" of life, which he practiced meticulously. To Sparky, a real professional was as great away from the diamond as he was on it. His goal was for his players to be the best husbands, fathers, and community leaders they could be—he believed that was the mark of a winner, not the box score. Sparky had a gift for taking something as inane as the infield fly rule and turning it into a lecture on how to lead a more meaningful life. In 2010, the old friends had planned a get-together before the end of the year. But Sparky's health was taking a turn for the worse, so Dan arranged a three-day visit as quickly as he could. During their last days together, the friends recalled the memories of a lifetime as each prepared silently for their final good-bye. When that weekend came to a close, Dan had grown to appreciate Sparky more than he ever thought he could. In this heartfelt memoir, Dan imparts to readers his best friend's spirit through his unforgettable life lessons and stories only the two of them shared. "Like a wizard, Sparky Anderson was white-haired and wise, and sitting with him was like visiting with an oracle. Dan Ewald, who spent more time with Sparky than any of us, beautifully captures the magic of Sparky's wit, humor, and humanity in these pages. All baseball fans should read it." -- Mitch Albom, New York Times bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie and Have a Little Faith "No one understood Sparky better than Dan Ewald. Managing people in a scope far broader than a pennant race is a rare quality, and Sparky understood people, their insecurities, their motivations. This is a great read, a great understanding of the humanity of playing baseball." –Peter Gammons, MLB Network "For decades, it seemed like everyone in baseball knew Sparky Anderson, and almost all of us considered him a friend. But few knew him as Dan Ewald did. Here, Dan provides a unique look at an endearing man who led a significant life both in and out of the game." –Bob Costas
This book is a fan's love letter to baseball played at the Corner of Michigan and Trumbull, in downtown Detroit, first at wooden Bennett Park (1896-1911) and then at its steel and concrete replacement known by three names: Navin Field (1912-1937), Briggs Stadium (1938-1960), and finally, Tiger Stadium (1961-1999). The Cathedral at The Corner was where-together with our great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, children, godchildren, and friends-we have cheered our Detroit Tigers. Although the structure is gone, the memories remain. This book is a tribute to the characters on the field, in the stands, and those in the neighborhoods surrounding the ballpark, as well as to the broadcasters who brought the action to us when we couldn't be there. It is from those characters and those who knew them, loved them, or both from which many of the book's stories come from. Baseball is a game of statistics, their inclusion critical to the history told, but it's the back stories that give the book its humanity, humor, and liveliness.
