Focusing on the unusual friendship between John McGraw and Christy Mathewson, "The Old Ball Game" is a masterful chronicle of the early days of baseball from America's most beloved sportswriter. Illustrations throughout.

Before multimillion-dollar salaries, luxury boxes, and player strikes became synonymous with professional sports, there existed the belief in playing simply "for the love of the game." Nothing captures that spirit better than these twenty classic pieces about America's favorite pastime. Collected here are the writings of Ring Lardner, Zane Grey, the Giants' immortal Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Finley Peter Dunne (who for a time was America's most popular humorist after Mark Twain), Burt Standish (creator of that all-American hero, Frank Merriwell), and many more. Baseball's golden era may have long since passed, but in the pages of CLASSIC BASEBALL STORIES, you can still sit in the bleachers for a nickel. Relive the golden era of baseball with timeless classics from: Albert G. Spalding Henry Chadwick Ernest Lawrence Thayer Grantland Rice Sol White Brig. Gen. Fredrick Funston Zane Grey Candy Cummings Alfred H. Spink Burt L. Standish Lester Chadwick Finley Peter Dunne Christy Mathewson Damon Runyon Grover Cleveland Alexander Gerald Beaumont Ring Lardner Hugh Fullerton Ralph D. Blanpied Charles E. Van Loan P.G. Wodehouse

A grandmother takes her two granddaughters to a ballgame. Includes music and text to the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (words by Jack Norworth; music by Albert von Tilzer).

A school, sports, and friendship story perfect for fans of Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids.

Mr. Putter and his cat go out to the ballgame in this book by the Newbery Medal-winning author: “A home run.”—Kirkus Reviews Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, love to take naps — too many naps. What they need is a sport! Luckily Mrs. Teaberry and her good dog, Zeke, know of a baseball team they can join. It's not long before Mr. Putter is ready to play ball, but will his creaky knees cooperate? And can Zeke avoid wreaking havoc on the field? Win or lose, this baseball team will never be the same! “Another winner…The artwork, done in pencil, watercolor, and gouache, is expressive and quite hilarious.”—School Library Journal “Rylant’s sympathetic characters work their usual magic, entertaining all ages with a text well suited to beginning readers.”—Booklist

Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to thefarthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancientpast to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?" From Mexican jungles to the small-town gridirons of Ohio, frommedieval villages and royal courts to modern soccer pitches andbaseball parks, The Ball explores the little-known origins ofour favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simpleinvention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on ourpassions, our money, and our lives. Equal parts history and travelogue,The Ball removes us from the scandals and commercialism of today'ssports world to uncover the true reasons we play ball, helping us reclaimour universal connection to the games we love.

On deck and ready for your reading lineup, New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies’s ode to “batty” baseball fans. You think humans are the only ones who enjoy America’s national pastime? Grab your bat—the other kind—and your mitt, because it’s a whole new ballgame when evening falls and bats come fluttering from the rafters to watch their all-stars compete. Get set to be transported to the right-side-up and upside-down world of bats at play, as imagined and illustrated by bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies. Hurry up! Come one—come all! We’re off to watch the bats play ball!