This impressive history of baseball in the smaller towns and cities of the U.S. is divided into three sections. The first covers the years from 1877 to 1920, when the modern game was evolving and the general outlines of major and minor leagues were taking shape; the second treats the period from 1920 to 1950, the golden age of the minors; the third is devoted to the expansion of the majors and the rise of television, both of which all but destroyed the minors, reducing the number of leagues from 59 to 21.

"The Minors" tells the story of introverted sixteen-year-old Samantha Heller and her friendship/unrequited crush on the contractor fixing up her family's house. Sam's world is thrown into turmoil when her beloved father abruptly announces that his job is transferring him to Chicago effective immediately and the whole family will join him when the school year is out. Until then, Sam is stuck at home with her mother, who she clashes with frequently. Heartbroken at having to move, but intrigued with the freedom that comes with knowing she's leaving, Sam explores the upsides of living in a world with no tomorrow. The contractor (and equally important co-protagonist) is Nick Masters; he's twenty-eight, a former minor league ball player, and misanthrope. Rootless and restless, Nick lives with his Aunt, drinks too much, mistreats the (young) women who date him, and generally is not that pleasant to be around. Frankly, he's an ass. But he's cute and a little smarter than you'd think so he's managing to get away with it. Barely. Nick finds himself useful at the Heller residence, playing the role of driving instructor for Sam, but as time goes on and he becomes more enmeshed with Sam and her mom: he becomes friend, therapist, and surrogate father/husband. But his involvement with the family changes when he sleeps with Sam's mom and he finds himself in well over his head with a self-destructing family and a young girl who suddenly hates him, but won't let him just walk away.

Teddy Jones offers us a trenchant analysis from God's word spoken to the prophet Obadiah and through the New Testament books of Philemon, II John, III John and Jude Pastor, Lecturer, Mentor and Theologian. Let's Major in The Minors offers readers the following benefits: - It is an excellent personal and corporate Bible Study Guide. - It is ideal for use as a textbook - It adds qualitatively to serious Christian thinking and application. - It offers us no respite from dealing with injustice and other evils - It confronts and challenges us, as God would, to treat with the issues of our times as He would. It focuses on the sin of pride in all the ways in which it presents itself in the life of persons including God's people. - It warns of the dangers and deadly venom of pride. - It talks about relationships and an antidote to social sicknesses as it explores Philemon and the Johannine corpus and Jude

If you or someone you know has never experienced racism, bigotry, injustice, abuse, or domestic violence, then this book is not for you. But if you or someone you know has been such a victim and suffered from such societal evils, then perhaps you are not reading these words by chance. Perhaps God has brought you to this moment to make a difference, for deep down in your heart, you know that this is fundamentally wrong. And just maybe, God through his Spirit, has brought you to this very moment to say, "Enough is enough," and start doing something to begin eliminating racism, bigotry, injustice, abuse, and domestic violence. Rev. Gallo lays out a twelve-step process that he has termed A Blueprint of Hope from a Christian Perspective. Utilizing twelve messages or themes of hope (one from each of the minor prophets), as well as the teachings of Jesus, he formulates a plan. This plan incorporates both small group ministry within the local church and neighborhood outreach to the surrounding community where these societal evils rear their ugly heads and have devastated individuals for generations. These twelve messages, as well as a unique perspective and insights that he has gained over forty-two years of police work and active ministry, he formulates a blueprint of hope that encourages individuals to catch a vision of what might be if people begin to look at each other through eyes of love and hope, rather than hate and despair.

There are many sports-related books about what happens on the playing field, but few are written about the equally interesting stories of what happens on the business side. Why acquire a professional sports team? What goes into the branding, marketing and entertainment that make some teams successful, and others not? What are the challenges that managers and staff face? Are there valuable lessons from the major and minor leagues for university, high school and other amateur sports programs? How do sports teams generate a profit? While the examples are drawn from the business of baseball, the lessons are applicable to other sports and many retail businesses.

For the reader interested in learning more about working in sports--or the fan that wants a look at what those inside the radio booth go through day-to-day--this book contains the secrets and successes of minor league baseball broadcasters with a combined century of experience telling the story of America's pastime. A host of decorated industry veterans discuss their careers, sharing tales of baseball greats from before they were famous, players who didn't make it past Class-A, the zaniest promotional exercises to hit the market, some of small-town America's greatest cuisine, the highs of winning a championship and the lows of being stranded on the highway for hours.

Mapping out his personal journey, the author reminisces about living his dream when he acquired a minor league baseball team.

Using the 1973 season of the San Jose Bees as an example, examines the organization, management, and daily struggles of a minor league team.

Alden Jones is humorous like Twain without being cynical; she treats all her amazing encounters and strangers with mucho love. She makes highly entertaining and fresh stories out of culture clash, traveling as an observant gringa, fluent in Spanish. She arrives at many deep insights about other cultures and ours, while transcending the form of travelogue into amazing and dramatic storytelling. - Josip Novakovich, Man Booker International Prize Finalist and author of April Fool's Day