This comprehensive visitor's guide to the teams of baseball's South Atlantic League lays out the methods needed to plan efficient, cost-effective and rewarding road trips to see home games at ballparks throughout the league. It provides carefully planned travel routes, including lists of interesting eateries and attractions (both baseball-related and otherwise) in or near each team's city. The text traces the history of the league, profiles each current team in detail, describes each ballpark and identifies players who have led the league in batting or pitching. Team profiles list more than 300 players who played with a South Atlantic League team and went on to have a successful major league career. Information about nearby teams outside the SAL is also included for travelers wanting to broaden their baseball road trip experience.

This comprehensive visitor's guide to the teams of baseball's South Atlantic League lays out the methods needed to plan efficient, cost-effective and rewarding road trips to see home games at ballparks throughout the league. It provides carefully planned travel routes, including lists of interesting eateries and attractions (both baseball-related and otherwise) in or near each team's city. The text traces the history of the league, profiles each current team in detail, describes each ballpark and identifies players who have led the league in batting or pitching. Team profiles list more than 300 players who played with a South Atlantic League team and went on to have a successful major league career. Information about nearby teams outside the SAL is also included for travelers wanting to broaden their baseball road trip experience.

An enthusiastic, irreverent, but exhaustive guidebook to all the stadiums of Minor League Baseball, following up on the success of the first Ultimate Baseball Road Trip book, which was dedicated to Major League stadiums.

The perfect travel guide for baseball fans who want to see more of the great ballparks in America’s heartland, this handy guide gives you the tips for best lodging, great restaurants, and local attractions for the Major League and minor league cities and towns that dot the Midwest. With details about every ballpark from Major League Baseball to the Frontier League, this travel companion tells you the best places to sit, the best ballpark food to eat, and the best places to go around town when you are not at the ballpark. From taking in a AAA game with the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines and visiting the Field of Dreams to knowing how to best experience Target Field in the Twin Cities, Baseball Road Trips: The Midwest and Great Lakes is all you need to plan a dream baseball road trip.

The greatest relief pitcher of all time shares his extraordinary story of survival, love, and baseball. Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane, had never heard of Babe Ruth, spoke no English, and couldn't imagine Tampa, the city where he was headed to begin a career that would become one of baseball's most iconic. What he did know: that he loved his family and his then girlfriend, Clara, that he could trust in the Lord to guide him, and that he could throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to, every time. With astonishing candor, Rivera tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The thirteen-time All-Star discusses his drive to win; the secrets behind his legendary composure; the story of how he discovered his cut fastball; the untold, pitch-by-pitch account of the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2001 World Series; and why the lowest moment of his career became one of his greatest blessings. In The Closer, Rivera takes readers into the Yankee clubhouse, where his teammates are his brothers. But he also takes us on that jog from the bullpen to the mound, where the game -- or the season -- rests squarely on his shoulders. We come to understand the laserlike focus that is his hallmark, and how his faith and his family kept his feet firmly on the pitching rubber. Many of the tools he used so consistently and gracefully came from what was inside him for a very long time -- his deep passion for life; his enduring commitment to Clara, whom he met in kindergarten; and his innate sense for getting out of a jam. When Rivera retired, the whole world watched -- and cheered. In The Closer, we come to an even greater appreciation of a legend built from the ground up.

The legendary, record-breaking Hall of Fame pitcher tells his inspiring story Mariano Rivera never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He didn't grow up collecting baseball cards, playing Little League, or cheering on his home team at the World Series. He had never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle. One day, that all changed. From a childhood playing pickup games in Panama to an epic career with the New York Yankees, Mariano's rise to greatness has been anything but ordinary. He's the guy on the mound who doesn't hear the crowd, just the sound of the ump calling, Strike! The teammate you can rely on, even when the bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Whether you know him as Mo or as the Sandman, Mariano is The Closer, and this is his story. Full of tips for young athletes and tales from the Yankee clubhouse, The Closer: Young Readers Edition is an inspiring story of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication that have defined the life of a baseball legend.