Linnea Perrault is a successful newspaperwoman and a happily-married young mother. When her wealthy father returns to Spinning Wheel Bay to make amends for abandoning her to a cruel stepfather twenty-eight years earlier, she painfully resurrects his old place in her heart. He buys the local baseball team. A garden dwarf, fairy tales, Islamic mystics, and a host of cross-cultural avatars come into play as the team is propelled to the top of the league. After a foul pass and an untimely accident at the stadium, the men she loves pressure Linnea to publish a horrifying lie in her paper. She finds herself locked in the stone tower of her own psyche as she realizes how much the man she married is like the father she never knew. Doctors can't diagnose her debilitating condition properly, but kind, magikal strangers give Linnea three days to spin straw into gold in an effort to save her soul.Cracked Bat will appeal to Cultural Creatives, interested in alternative healing, spirituality, and social responsibility. It is dedicated to the millions of people who have experienced the mystifying and frustrating ailments of myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue.

Crack of the Bat is a comprehensive and entertaining look at the most famous icon in the history of baseball, the "Louisville Slugger" bat. It includes the evolution of bats from pioneer wagon tongues to the sleek aluminum models of today. It examines the amazing physics involved in hitting a baseball, where .003 seconds means the difference between a home run and a foul ball. It tells the fascinating history of the still family-owned Hillerich & Bradsby Company, which in just 80 years went from making butter churns to making seven million bats a year. Reinforcing this are dozens of stories about the bats themselves, and the personal idiosyncracies of the most famous hitters in baseball history, including Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter. The book explains why the players picked the bats they did, the amazing lengths they would go to to protect them, and how valuable these bats have now become in the hands of collectors. Illustrated with hundreds of archival photographs, baseball decals, and icons, many in color, this book will become as much a cherished keepsake as some of the bats it describes.

Crack of the Bat is a comprehensive and entertaining look at the most famous icon in the history of baseball, the Louisville Slugger bat. It includes the evolution of bats from pioneer wagon tongues to the sleek aluminum models of today. It examines the amazing physics involved in hitting a baseball, where .003 seconds means the difference between a home run and a foul ball. It tells the fascinating history of the still family-owned Hillerich & Bradsby Company, which in just 80 years went from making butter churns to making seven million bats a year. Reinforcing this are dozens of stories about the bats themselves, and the personal idiosyncracies of the most famous hitters in baseball history, including Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter. The book explains why the players picked the bats they did, the amazing lengths they would go to to protect them, and how valuable these bats have now become in the hands of collectors. Illustrated with hundreds of archival photographs, baseball decals, and icons, many in color, this book will become as much a cherished keepsake as some of the bats it describes.

Why do modern-day sluggers like Aaron Judge prefer maple bats over the traditional ash bats swung by Ted Williams and others? Why did the surge of broken bats in the early 21st century create a crisis for Major League Baseball and what steps were taken to address the issue? Are different woods being considered by players and manufacturers? Do insects, disease and climate change pose a problem long-term? These and other questions are answered in this exhaustive examination of the history and future of wooden bats, written for both lifelong baseball fans and curious newcomers.

"The Splendid Splinter," Teddy Ballgame," The Kid"—no matter the nickname, Ted Williams was one of the most accomplished hitters in baseball history. He was the last man to hit .400 in a single season, a 19-time All-Star, a two-time American League MVP, a two-time winner of the Triple Crown, and an inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 . . . all while serving his country in World War II and the Korean War. Far from a conventional biography, Facing Ted Williams aims to offer a different perspective with testimonials from teammates and opponents alike, on how Williams was regarded among his peers. See Ted Williams through the eyes of pitchers struggling to put a fastball past his bat, the infielders and outfielders adjusting their positions in the hopes that they can fill the hole where a frozen rope might land, and the catchers strategizing a Williams at-bat, pitch-by-pitch. Facing Ted Williams provides riveting insights from many baseball legends, including Hall of Famer Bob Feller; 1956 World Series MVP Don Larsen; and 1952 American League MVP Bobby Shantz; as well as many others. Whether you’re a Red Sox fanatic, a casual baseball fan, or perhaps just an admirer of the fabled war hero and slugger, this book is sure to be a fresh and compelling look at this classic baseball icon. Much like Williams himself, Facing Ted Williams is sure to be a home run for all walks of baseball fandom.

Why God? Everyone that I saw asked the same questions: Why God? Why has this happened to us? I wondered if we had done something really bad to bring Davids death upon us. I had always prayed to God for him to protect Dan and our children. I asked God to put a protective shield around them everywhere they went and to bring them back safely to me. I believed with all my heart that God would answer my prayers. Three months before Davids accident, I was sitting in the den talking with one of my son-in-laws about what I believed. He said Linda, death is realwe humans dont have any control over it. David was sitting in a recliner listening to us and he said, Mama, hes right; we dont ever know. There was a big game going on in Heaven in honor of Christs birthday. They needed a catcher, so I got the Call, Come on son, come play in our Game today! My dear family and friends remembered when those tears start to fill your eyes; just go outside and look up towards the stars for I will be playing on the Diamond in the sky!

Baseball fans in the Bronx and beyond will delight in this incomparable, far-reaching collection of insider tales When 19-year-old Marty Appel got a job as a mail clerk for the New York Yankees, assigned to spend the summer of '68 answering Mickey Mantle's fan letters, he couldn't have known it was just the start of over a half-century entwined with the Bronx Bombers. As a PR director, television producer, writer, and historian, Appel never missed an opportunity to get to know the main characters— and supporting cast— of Yankees lore. The result is an unparalleled trove of colorful stories featuring a seemingly unending parade of characters including Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson, Derek Jeter, George Steinbrenner, and everyone in between. By turns hilarious and heartrending, Pinstripes by the Tale is an intimate look at an iconic franchise through the lens of its foremost historical authority. Told as a series of captivating vignettes, it invites readers to consider the small moments that quietly shape the contours of baseball history.

More than any other sport, baseball has developed its own niche in America's culture and psyche. Some researchers spend years on detailed statistical analyses of minute parts of the game, while others wax poetic about its players and plays. Many trace the beginnings of the civil rights movement in part to the Major Leagues' decision to integrate, and the words and phrases of the game (for example, pinch-hitter and out in left field) have become common in our everyday language. From AARON, HENRY onward, this book covers all of what might be called the cultural aspects of baseball (as opposed to the number-rich statistical information so widely available elsewhere). Biographical sketches of all Hall of Fame players, owners, executives and umpires, as well as many of the sportswriters and broadcasters who have won the Spink and Frick awards, join entries for teams, owners, commissioners and league presidents. Advertising, agents, drafts, illegal substances, minor leagues, oldest players, perfect games, retired uniform numbers, superstitions, tripleheaders, and youngest players are among the thousands of entries herein. Most entries open with a topical quote and conclude with a brief bibliography of sources for further research. The whole work is exhaustively indexed and includes 119 photographs.