In the tradition of the incredibly successful Uncle John's and Schott's Miscellany brands, Rollie's Follies is the first in a series of baseball books that give readers quick stories and stats, nostalgic as well as cutting-edge information. The package is inventive, unique and lively, and the series is supported by www.rolliesfollies.com, where the brand will receive international attention. Author Rollie Fingers, still one of the most recognizable players ever because of his signature handlebar moustache, will appear on tv and radio to tout this breakthrough book that soon will be as recognizable as the man himself.

As the country grows increasingly diverse and complicated, Americans seek, and occasionally find, a common thread to unite them. And, as Jim Lilliefors reveals in his new book, that common thread is what the baseball cap is made of -- indeed, what has transformed it into America's National Hat. As fads go, it's no longer even a fad, but a part of the national identity that, for better or worse, is a symbol of America. It feeds an illusion that Americans cherish -- that despite their differences, and no matter what position they play -- when wearing a baseball cap, they're all part of the same team. Exploring every aspect of caps and their culture -- including the history, manufacturing, and evolution of baseball caps; collecting and caring for caps; cap etiquette; and even cap urban legends -- and packed with photos throughout, Ball Cap Nation is a delightful look at a uniquely American phenomenon.

Readers can join the Absurd Sojourns and Spirit-mind quests of the author over a couple of decades in which in two centuries collide. Eternal satirical questions are considered in part one: Can literary giants such as Shakespeare, Hemingway and Faulkner explain why the chicken crossed the road? Is Little Richard the epitome of philosophic simplism? Can dark sibling Forrest Grump find reconciliation and also direct? Can Snake Pleskin escape both Sedona and Iraq? Does the white man's manifest destiny include photo ops with pliant Indians and black kids with watermelons? Can a novice movie reviewer separate bombs and bombshells? Will Christians, Jews and Muslims continue to kill each other with expensive explosives and send us the bill? How can the herdings of cats lead to wealth and fame? And in part two ... humans have a spiritual endowment and personal mission they can't begin to imagine. Is your own personal Truth-Beauty-Goodness your very best religion? Will you consider 21 new spiritual enlightenments for the 21st century? How have slavery, segregation and other acrimonious separations contributed to a malaise of spiritual poverty in the deep South? Are you persuaded by the spiritual realities expressed by a celestial Melchizedek? Did you know that the practice of Stillness can lead to fortuitous contact with spiritual teachers representing our Universal Father? Both parts lift the reader into a philosophical framework that combines perceptive topical humor and a sound path to weave personal spiritual growth into a crazy world.

Baseball books span the spectrum from the All-Stars to the has-beens but invariably overlook the endless string of things that could have happened but didn't. Baseball’s Memorable Misses fills that void, pointing out little-known facts perfect for both rabid and casual fans. Who knew that Willie Mays never won an RBI crown or that Stan Musial hit the most home runs in one day but never led his league in a season? Nolan Ryan had zero Cy Young Awards despite owning records for strikeouts and no-hitters. Roger Clemens, on the other hand, had a record seven Cy Youngs and two 20-strikeout games but zero no-hitters.There were also zero no-hitters by Greg Maddux, who has more wins than any living pitcher. Players took zeroes and sometimes double-zeroes as uniform numbers. Veteran baseball writer Dan Schlossberg delves into the previously-unknown world of baseball zeroes, exploring everything from Christy Mathewson's zero runs allowed in the 1905 World Series to the three perfect games pitched in Yankee Stadium. This book also reveals that there were zero no-hitters pitched by Pirates at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field even though visiting pitchers did not fall victim to that hex. There have been zero players who hit five home runs in one game but two who have hit five in one day. This is a book of Almost But Not Quite (ABNQ for short) but also a book that suggests baseball's second century can be almost as intriguing as its first. With the help of author Doug Lyons, who wrote the foreword, and celebrated baseball cartoonist Ronnie Joyner, this is also a utilitarian volume, perfect for the living room coffee table or even the bathroom. Like the game itself, Baseball’s Memorable Misses is fun--and perfect for rain delays in season or off-season enjoyment.

Many of the most powerful trends in baseball today have their roots in the 1970s. Baseball entered that decade seriously behind the times in race relations, attitudes toward conformity versus individuality, and the manager-player relationship. In a sense, much of the wrenching change that American society as a whole experienced in the 1960s was played out in baseball in the following decade. Additionally, the game itself was rapidly evolving, with the inauguration of the designated hitter rule in the American League, the evolution of the closer, the development of the five-man starting rotation, the acceptance of strikeout lions like Dave Kingman and Bobby Bonds and the proliferation of stolen bases. This book opens with a discussion of the challenges that faced baseball's movers and shakers when they gathered in Bal Harbour, Florida, for the annual winter meetings on December 2, 1969. Their worst nightmares would be realized in the coming years. For many and often contradictory reasons the 1970s game evolved into a war of competing ideologies--escalating salaries, an acrimonious strike, Sesame Street-style team mascots, and the breaking of the time-honored tradition that all players, including the pitcher, must play on offense as well as defense--that would ultimately spell doom for the majority of attendees.