"Offers the first book-length history of the Texas Negro Leagues and the impact African American Texans had on baseball during the first half of the twentieth century. Previously untold historical narrative contributes to sport history studies while asserting Texas's role in the formation, growth, and decline of African American baseball"--Provided by publisher.

Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas pays tribute to the baseball and softball players and teams from Houston, Sugar Land, Texas City, Richmond, and other surrounding communities in the region. Since the early 1900s, this game has had an important role in the lives of area Mexican Americans. In the Houston barrios, when entrenched discriminatory practices obstructed city unity, the diamond brought people together. In the Sugar Land region, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Anglos worked and played together, blurring racial lines. Baseball and softball built community pride and connected generations of Mexican American families. The wonderful stories and breathtaking images in this book help resurrect the rich and little-known history of Mexican American baseball and softball in this key part of Texas.

Skip Bertman is widely respected as one of the premier coaches in all of collegiate athletics. Bertman began coaching at LSU in 1984 and transformed the Tigers into a baseball powerhouse. He guided the Tigers to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 College World Series appearances, 7 SEC Championships and 5 NCAA Baseball National Championships in his 18 seasons as Head Coach. His teams also drew record-setting crowds to LSU's Alex Box Stadium.In this 600 page massive collection of Bertman's best, you gain access to some of the greatest motivational and team building strategies used by the Hall of Fame coach on a consistent basis.SKIP BERTMAN: WINNING THE BIG ONE will give you insight into:* Striving for excellence and being at your very best* How to overcome failure and see failure as a necessary part of success* Acknowledging and addressing the fear factor all athletes face* Motivating your team to play with confidence and belief* Team building strategies that enhance your program chemistry* Motivational stories and sheets you can use to motivate your team

“A funny, revealing, Ball Four–like romp through mid-seventies baseball” from the longtime sports columnist and author of The Last Real Season (Booklist). You think your team is bad? In this “disastrously hilarious” work on one of the most tortured franchises in baseball, one reporter discovers that nine innings can feel like an eternity (USA Today). In early 1973, gonzo sportswriter Mike Shropshire agreed to cover the Texas Rangers for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, not realizing that the Rangers were arguably the worst team in baseball history. Seasons in Hell is a riotous, candid, irreverent behind-the-scenes account in the tradition of The Bronx Zoo and Ball Four, following the Texas Rangers from Whitey Herzog’s reign in 1973 through Billy Martin’s tumultuous tenure. Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-seventies. “The single funniest sports book I have ever read.”—Don Imus “The locker-room shenanigans of a lousy team of the 1970s.”—Publishers Weekly

212° the extra degree captures the essence of excellence in an unforgettable way... At 211° water is hot. At 212°, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train. The one extra degree, that one small step, makes the difference. In the original 212° the extra degree softcover, the simple 212° concept is illustrated through a clear introduction and then supported by a series of thoughts, examples, and facts that will help you absorb the 212° mindset. Its purpose is to inspire the extra level of effort that produces exponential results. Let 212° become a part of everyone's vocabulary. This book will encourage anyone who reads it to give that extra degree of effort...the extra degree that will produce extraordinary results.

Images of Baseball: Mexican American Baseball in Los Angeles celebrates the flourishing culture of the great pastime in East Los Angeles and other communities where a strong sense of Mexican identity and pride was fostered in a sporting atmosphere of both fierce athleticism and social celebration. From 1900, with the establishment of the Mexican immigrant community, to the rise of Fernandomania in the 1980s, baseball diamonds in greater Los Angeles were both proving grounds for youth as they entered their educations and careers, and the foundation for the talented Forty-Sixty Club, comprised of players of at least 40, and often over 60, years of age. These evocative photographs look back on the great Mexican American teams and players of the 20th century, including the famous Chorizeros--the proclaimed "Yankees of East L.A."

Photographs and text chronicle the history of the Alpine Cowboys, the semipro baseball team from Texas's Big Bend region, describing owner Herbert L. Kokernot Jr., the team's players, stadium, and fans, and related topics.

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."

Mexican American Baseball in El Paso chronicles the vibrant and colorful history of baseball in the El Paso-Juárez border region. For more than a century, baseball along the border has served as a means of bringing together people of all backgrounds, races, and nationalities, from the fly-by-night teams of the Pancho Villa era to the fabled semiprofessional clubs of the Lower Valley League. For the area's Mexican and Mexican American citizens, storied teams like the Juárez Indios, Fabens Merchants, 1949 Bowie Bears, and El Paso Diablos served as both community rallying points and signposts of cultural identity. From the legendary semiprofessional players of decades past to the most recent major leaguers, this book presents the photographic history of baseball in America's largest border community.

"The game itself would be secondary to the thrill of traveling outside Texas for the first time - a week-long trip each way in two Model A Fords; of watching the great Satchel Paige pitch in a semi- pro tournament; and of having real uniforms for the first time. "I think we all grew about a foot taller," recalled Victor Deike, "the first time we put them on.""--BOOK JACKET.