Rodney is a teenager who got caught up in drugs and was helped by God-loving people. When he thought he could not be forgiven for his sin and no one could ever love him, he found Gods love by reading the Bible. Now he was torn between his love for baseball and God. He was invited to spring training with the New York Yankees, but he also wanted to preach. After each game, he walked the streets of New York, preaching on every corner. He drew huge crowds and converted so many people that pimps and drug dealers threatened his life and beat him in their attempt to get him off the streets. But Rodney would not stop preaching and was willing to die, if that was Gods will. The Yankees won the pennant, and Rodney was their starting pitcher in games one, four, and seven in the World Series. The death threats never stopped, and Rodney could have been killed at any time, but he was sure God would protect him. His courage and faith led thousands to Christ as a result. When the rapture came at the end of game seven, Rodney was the first to meet Jesus in the air, followed by thousands of others who were believers.

Profiles of every rookie to win the award, from the storied Jackie Robinson to the short career of Joe Charboneau, to today's current super stars.

Wilker marks the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. He captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game.

When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Dick Allen in 1960, fans of the franchise envisioned bearing witness to feats never before accomplished by a Phillies player. A half-century later, they're still trying to make sense of what they saw. Carrying to the plate baseball's heaviest and loudest bat as well as the burden of being the club's first African American superstar, Allen found both hits and controversy with ease and regularity as he established himself as the premier individualist in a game that prided itself on conformity. As one of his managers observed, "I believe God Almighty hisself would have trouble handling Richie Allen." A brutal pregame fight with teammate Frank Thomas, a dogged determination to be compensated on par with the game's elite, an insistence on living life on his own terms and not management's: what did it all mean? Journalists and fans alike took sides with ferocity, and they take sides still. Despite talent that earned him Rookie of the Year and MVP honors as well as a reputation as one of his era's most feared power hitters, many remember Allen as one of the game's most destructive and divisive forces, while supporters insist that he is the best player not in the Hall of Fame. God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen explains why. Mitchell Nathanson presents Allen's life against the backdrop of organized baseball's continuing desegregation process. Drawing out the larger generational and business shifts in the game, he shows how Allen's career exposed not only the racial double standard that had become entrenched in the wake of the game's integration a generation earlier but also the forces that were bent on preserving the status quo. In the process, God Almighty Hisself unveils the strange and maddening career of a man who somehow managed to fulfill and frustrate expectations all at once.

When our Father of Faith is tempted to sacrifice his sense of humor on the Altar of God's Demands, God intervenes in a surprising way that really makes Abe laugh. This is the same God whose hungry servant, Elijah, is fed by ravens way out on the ragged edge and towards whom Moses manages a sidewise glance while on the lookout for greener pastures. Then along comes another tough act to follow--the Wild Man of Judea appearing in the Galilee Theater and baptizing Jesus of Nazareth in the Jordan River of God's Transforming Power and Hope. Then, in the very next scene, Jesus ben Dios, the Number One Draft Choice in all of Baseball, hops a trial-ways bus to intensive-training camp where he comes face to face with the temptations and adversities of the real world. Fortunately, Jesus has his Spring Training Manual handy for quick reference. Jesus then launches his teaching and healing career in many forms: as a dance instructor, farmer, chef--and even as a flamboyant pyromaniac-arsonist who comes "not to bring peace to the world" but to set it on fire. For who can forget Marshal Jesus out along the Border of Sin and Forgiveness encountering the Ten Men-yon? Or the homefolks' chant, "Dr. Jesus, he's our man! If we can't use him, nobody can!"? Because when Anglo-Catholic Father Jesus meets an average parishioner at the Holy Water Basin and asks her to bless him with it, their engaging conversation prompts students of the bible and pillars of the church to take a second look in order to watch ordinary altar candles suddenly take on more beauty and meaning than they have ever imagined before. So, for those who have eyes to see: Look!

For anyone ready to move their life forward, from tragedy, personal failure, unfair circumstances, or just a sense of being stuck, baseball legend and bestselling author Darryl Strawberry offers transformational practices and the tangible hope that you can enjoy a future filled with power, purpose, and freedom. Darryl Strawberry has seen it all--the highs and lows of an intense career as a Major League Baseball all-star, drug addiction, marriage challenges, prison time, and battles with cancer. With honesty and transparency, Strawberry shares the same foundational principles that transformed his life from the inside out--the power of prayer, cultivating healthy friendships, weathering trials without losing heart, refreshing the way you think, and letting God change your life for good. Ultimately, he'll help you discover and trust the redemptive process of making small, daily decisions to follow God into a life of faith, health, and freedom. Strawberry weaves compelling stories from his own life with those of others he met through his speaking and ministry work across the nation. These uplifting testimonies will inspire you with the reminder that God's power can renew any life, no matter what has happened. With scriptural insights and real-life examples, Strawberry celebrates the miracles God works in us for healing, cleansing, and new beginnings. Strawberry's life story is proof that you can overcome life's adversities one decision, one step at a time. It's time to turn your season around.

When many Christian readers think of the heroes of the Bible, they think about how "good" they were. They forget that...Rahab was a harlot. Jonah was a rebel. Moses was a murderer. Sarah was a doubter. Peter was an apostate. Esther was a diva. Samson was a player. Jacob was a deceiver. And yet these eight men and women are among the Bible's greatest heroes. Dr. Tony Evans uses these prominent Bible characters to illustrate the truth that God delights in using imperfect people who have failed, sinned, or just plain blew it. These are men and women whose actions-or reactions-were not consistent with God's character-and yet God met them and used them in the midst of their mess. Readers will be encouraged about their own walk with God as they come to understand that He has them, too, on a path to success, despite their many imperfections and mistakes.

The incredible memoir from the man voted one of the “Best Umpires of All Time” by the Society of American Baseball Research—filled with more than three decades of fascinating baseball stories. Doug Harvey was a California farm boy, a high school athlete who nevertheless knew that what he really wanted was to become an unsung hero—a major league umpire. Working his way through the minor leagues, earning three hundred dollars a month, he survived just about everything, even riots in stadiums in Puerto Rico. And while players and other umps hit the bars at night, Harvey memorized the rule book. In 1962, he broke into the big leagues and was soon listening to rookie Pete Rose worrying that he would be cut by the Reds and laying down the law with managers such as Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre. This colorful memoir takes you behind the plate for some of baseball’s most memorable moments, including Roberto Clemente’s three thousandth and final hit; the heroic three-and-two pinch-hit home run by Kirk Gibson in the ’88 World Series; and the nail-biting excitement of the ’68 World Series. But beyond the drama, Harvey turned umpiring into an art. He was a man so respected, whose calls were so feared and infallible, that the players called him “God.” And through it all, he lived by three rules: never take anything from a player, never back down from a call, and never carry a grudge. A book for anyone who loves baseball, They Called Me God is a funny and fascinating tale of on- and off-the-field action, peopled by unforgettable characters from Bob Gibson to Nolan Ryan, and a treatise on good umpiring techniques. In a memoir that transcends the sport, Doug Harvey tells a gripping story of responsibility, fairness, and honesty.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Desus & Mero are smarter and funnier than everyone writing books.”—Shea Serrano “I will never write anything as hilarious as they have. I give up.”—Malcolm Gladwell “These motherf***ers make me laugh until I choke.”—Jia Tolentino NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR A wild, hilarious guide to life from the hosts of the hit late-night show Desus & Mero and the Bodega Boys podcast Who could have predicted that, after a fateful meeting in a Bronx summer school in the 1990s, Desus & Mero would turn their friendship into an empire of talking to each other. And it’s no surprise—tuning in to them is like listening to the funniest, smartest people you know dissect a topic and then light it on fire. Now they’ve written the most essential guide to life of this century*, in which all the important questions are asked: How do I talk to my kids about drugs if I do them, too? What are the ethics of ghosting in a relationship? How do I bet on sports? How should I behave in jail? How much is too much to spend on sneakers? Is porn really that bad for me? As they put it: “We want to share all we’ve learned, after years in the Bronx streets, with you: the people. So with a lifetime spent building up a plethora of information from trials and tribulations and a handful of misdemeanors, we decided to write this book—a sequel to the Bible, or maybe to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,depending on how big a nerd you are. Let this book be your North Star.” *NO REFUNDS

This is the story of the L.A. Dodgers' volatile fortunes during Sandy Koufax's transformation from a wild left-hander with a losing record on the verge of quitting the game, to an artist with exquisite control of the baseball--a veritable Mozart on the mound. From the Dodgers' sudden plunge into the baseball wilderness in 1960, to their return to pennant contention in Koufax's breakout year of 1961, through their catastrophic 1962 season--precipitated by Koufax's freak midseason finger injury--to their redemption in 1963 with their second World Championship on the West Coast, the narrative is set against the backdrop of John F. Kennedy's fleeting New Frontier presidency.