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.

The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Bullpen Gospels. “A humorous, candid and insightful memoir . . . Grade: Home Run.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer After six years in the minors, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst hopes 2008 is the year he breaks into the big leagues. But every time Dirk looks up, the bases are loaded with challenges—a wedding balancing on a blind hope, a family in chaos, and paychecks that beg Dirk to ask, “How long can I afford to keep doing this?” Then it finally happens—Dirk gets called up to the Majors, to play for the San Diego Padres. A dream comes true when he takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants, kicking off forty insane days and nights in the Bigs. Like the classic games of baseball’s history, Out of My League entertains from the first pitch to the last out, capturing the gritty realities of playing on the big stage, the comedy and camaraderie in the dugouts and locker rooms, and the hard-fought, personal journeys that drive our love of America’s favorite pastime. “A rare gem of a baseball book.”—Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated “Observant, insightful, human, and hilarious.”—Bob Costas “A fun read . . . This book shows why baseball is so often used as a metaphor for life.”—Keith Olbermann “Entertaining and engaging . . . reminiscent of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.”—Booklist “The book is a terrific read. If you loved Bullpen Gospels (I’d have a hard time believing you are a baseball fan if you didn’t) you will love Out of My League too.”—Bluebird Banter

Matt McCarthy never expected to get drafted by a Major League Baseball team. A biophysics major at Yale, he was a decent left-handed starter for a dismal college team. But good southpaws are hard to find, and when the Anaheim Angels selected him in the 21

Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.

Playing team sports has many benefits, and yet high-contact sports such as football and rugby have also been linked to serious injuries, including concussions, and a higher risk of dementia, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. How can we weigh the potential benefits of contact sports with their potentially serious risks? This text provides primary source evidence from doctors, scientists, and experts in the field of sports medicine, as well as ordinary people’s viewpoints, in order to help students reach their own conclusions about the risks related to high-contact sports.

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

Screening Minors in Latin American Cinema is the first volume to delve into the construction of children's subjectivity and agency in Latin American film, and addresses such questions as: How and to what extent do films express the point of view of the child? How do plots and film practices represent children’s subjectivity and agency? Childhood studies has demonstrated the importance of examining the lives of children. Building on those insights, together with current research from film studies and Latin American cultural studies, the essays in this volume analyze the development of agency and voices of minors in contemporary Latin American film. The theoretical perspectives used—gender studies, psychoanalytic and postcolonial theory, film studies, play and performance studies, and emotion studies, among others—take into account innovative approaches to filmic techniques as they explore the varied representations of children.

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.

Was Abner Doubleday the architect of baseball? What exactly did it mean to be a “professional” baseball player in the 1870s? What goes on in the front office? What exactly is the Eephus pitch? What are “the tools of ignorance”? Readers will find the answers to these questions – and many others – in the pages of this remarkable baseball reference that's essential reading for fans of the game. Part history book, part instructional guide, and part reference manual, Baseball FAQ covers all the bases – from the rules of the game to the ballparks of yesterday and today, from the minors to the major league, from the stats to the food. This engaging, compulsively readable tome offers baseball fans of all ages a wealth of fun facts and anecdotes on America's favorite pastime, including sections on the All-American Girls Professional Ball League, the Negro Leagues, the basic skills of baseball, baseball in the movies, the scandals, and the Hall of Famers.