With its iconic stars and gleaming ballparks, baseball has been one of the most captivating forms of modern popular culture. In Expanding the Strike Zone, Daniel A. Gilbert examines the history and meaning of the sport's tumultuous changes since the mid-twentieth century, amid Major League Baseball's growing global influence. From the rise of ballplayer unionism to the emergence of new forms of scouting, broadcasting, and stadium development, Gilbert shows that the baseball world has been home to struggles over work and territory that resonate far beyond the playing field. Readers encounter both legendary and unheralded figures in this sweeping history, which situates Major League Baseball as part of a larger culture industry. The book examines a labor history defined at once by the growing power of big league stars -- from Juan Marichal and Curt Flood to Fernando Valenzuela and Ichiro Suzuki -- and the collective struggles of players working to make a living throughout the baseball world. It also explores the territorial politics that have defined baseball's development as a form of transnational popular culture, from the impact of Dominican baseball academies to the organized campaign against stadium development by members of Seattle's Asian American community. Based on a rich body of research along with new readings of popular journalism, fiction, and film, Expanding the Strike Zone highlights the ways in which baseball's players, owners, writers, and fans have shaped and reshaped the sport as a central element of popular culture from the postwar boom to the Great Recession.

America has steadily regressed from a Republic under the Sign of the Cross towards a mobacracy under the Sign of the Scorpion. Social responsibility and the ethics of conscience have vacated the Field of Dreams like a Baroid tater -- an all about me cult of celebrity has evolved. Reclaiming the Strike Zone traces the metaphorical cleat marks through forbidden history. The Inside Baseball version of the Soviet Socialist Paradise and Nazi Germany is pitched shekel free. Sub-systems of the American superstructure featuring education, entertainment, youth activities and family are explored in-depth. The search for something that has been lost -- the secret of the American Dream and American Exceptionalism -- is pursued. All base paths lead to the Christian Church and Jewish Nation. Wise Christian philosophy has been Billy-Goated off the playing field -- secular humanism has taken The Hill. Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud have taken a turn at-bat and gone long. Red tide has been harnessed into Economic Determinism by the F&F Boys. The hidden ball trick has been pulled on the sheeple. Disciples of General Zod lack American patriotism. Time is of the essence to restore what has been taken -- its the bottom of the 9th with two away. DO IT AMERICAN and dont give up the ship are battle cries. Intellectual Millenials must step up to the plate and reclaim what their baby booming Spock baby parents baptized in Dewey waters booted. Identifying the proton pseudos and resetting is the task. Restoring sub-systems [especially education] while playing small ball is the answer. Truth and patriotic leadership are catalysts. A burning desire to be an American -- free and independent -- without getting JFKd is the secret. There is a happy ending -- it is certain. The Good News delivers that promise.

This little book will teach you all you need to know about the most frustrating yet entertaining pitch in baseball: the knuckleball. "Clark masterfully breaks down the pitch, the mindset, and could save the pitch from extinction with this important work."--Will Carroll.

A biography of Sandy Koufax, considered by some to be the best left-handed pitcher of all time, drawing from interviews with friends, former teammates and opponents, and sports journalists to examine Koufax's life growing up as a Jew in Brooklyn, his career achievements, and his retirement.

"Joe Morgan again shows himself a rare bird: an ex-jock with savvy and the ability to communicate it." —People "This book has something for everybody, from longtime fans to Little Leaguers." —New York Newsday Baseball For Dummies, Third Edition, is for baseball fans at all levels, from players and coaches to spectators who love the game. Baseball Hall of Fame player and ESPN baseball analyst Joe Morgan explains baseball with remarkable insight, using down-to-earth language so everyone from the casual observer to the die-hard fan can gain a fuller appreciation of the sport. This updated edition features: Everything you need to know about the game, from what it takes to play each position and how to hit and run the bases to what to watch for in the game and how to appreciate the finer points of the sport Coverage of new star players, new stadiums, and game milestones The lowdown on today’s baseball Web resources The latest on stats and sabermetrics The inside story on the new steroid rules From how to throw a knuckleball or hit an inside pitch to how to keep a scorecard or pick a winning fantasy league team, Morgan covers all the bases, showing you how to get the most out of the game. You’ll see how to: Improve your hitting, pitching, and fielding Find a team to play on, from Little League on up Evaluate stats, players, and records Coach or umpire effectively Get more out of a trip to the ballpark Complete with Morgan’s personal lists of top-ten pitchers, fielders, and relievers, as well as new quotes from Derek Jeter and Keith Hernandez, Baseball For Dummies gives you all the inside tips, facts, and stats so you can play like a Major Leaguer!

FIELD & STREAM, America’s largest outdoor sports magazine, celebrates the outdoor experience with great stories, compelling photography, and sound advice while honoring the traditions hunters and fishermen have passed down for generations.

Great baseball pitchers possess more than sound mechanics, a blazing fastball, and a good arm. They know how to "pitch"--What ball to throw, when to throw it and where to aim it. This book takes you inside the art and science of pitching. It covers topics ranging from pre game warm-ups to cultivating the pitcher/catcher relationship.