The Seventh Inning Stretch: Baseball's Most Essential and Inane Debates

The Seventh Inning Stretch: Baseball's Most Essential and Inane Debates Review

See more picture

The Seventh Inning Stretch: Baseball's Most Essential and Inane Debates Feature

Baseball fans are by nature philosophical creatures, prone to engaging fellow devotees of the Grand Old Game in such inherently subjective, often ridiculous, and thoroughly enjoyable debates as: Who was the best hitting pitcher of all-time? Who are the best players left out of the Hall of Fame? Which team dressed its players in the worst uniforms? What was the most lopsided trade ever? Which movie stands above all others as the best baseball flick? Who was the best female player ever? Such questions fall into a wide range of categories and are pondered during pauses in the game, happy hours at the bar, and commercial breaks at home. 

 

The Seventh Inning Stretch, by noted baseball expert Josh Pahigian, addresses (and answers!) all of the most interesting baseball arguments that fans have been engaging in for decades, and even a few they may have never stopped to consider before.  

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart Review

See more picture

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart Feature

Why would a casino try and stop you from losing? How can a mathematical formula find your future spouse? Would you know if a statistical analysis blackballed you from a job you wanted?

Today, number crunching affects your life in ways you might never imagine. In this lively and groundbreaking new book, economist Ian Ayres shows how today's best and brightest organizations are analyzing massive databases at lightening speed to provide greater insights into human behavior. They are the Super Crunchers. From internet sites like Google and Amazon that know your tastes better than you do, to a physician's diagnosis and your child's education, to boardrooms and government agencies, this new breed of decision makers are calling the shots. And they are delivering staggeringly accurate results. How can a football coach evaluate a player without ever seeing him play? Want to know whether the price of an airline ticket will go up or down before you buy? How can a formula outpredict wine experts in determining the best vintages? Super crunchers have the answers. In this brave new world of equation versus expertise, Ayres shows us the benefits and risks, who loses and who wins, and how super crunching can be used to help, not manipulate us.

Gone are the days of solely relying on intuition to make decisions. No businessperson, consumer, or student who wants to stay ahead of the curve should make another keystroke without reading Super Crunchers.

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

The Boston Red Sox Fan Book: Revised to Include the 2004 Championship Season!

The Boston Red Sox Fan Book: Revised to Include the 2004 Championship Season! Review

See more picture

The Boston Red Sox Fan Book: Revised to Include the 2004 Championship Season! Feature

Little-known facts, statistics, stories, quotes, nicknames, all-time leaders, rosters, puzzles, and more from over one hundred years of Red Sox history

The Boston Red Sox were originally named the Pilgrims--but for over one hundred years they have always been Beantown's favorite team, with a history that has been celebrated and mourned by generations of fans.

If you love the Red Sox, you'll find hours of challenging trivia in this book. Packed with text and information, it includes: *A history of the Red Sox from their origins to the present * Trvia questions designed to test your baseball memory * Corssword puzzles, word games, unusual quotes, funny nicknames, and anecdotes about the Sox *Complete all-time Red Sox roster of players, with stats * Comprehensive leader tables for batters and pitchers *Award winners, Hall of Famers, and other honors *And much more!

Do You Know...
- Who was the first pitcher to throw a perfect game in the twentieth century?
- Who decided to turn Babe Ruth into an outfielder?
- What was Ted Williams's batting average with one day left in the 1941 season: .406, .399, .3996, or .4001? What happened on that day?
- How many batting titles did Carl Yastrzemski win in his career?
- Which team Roger Clemens's had 20 strikeouts against in a 1986 game?

Bring this book to Fenway, or keep it next to your favorite armchair at home, to liven up commercial breaks and rain delays. In no time you'll be an expert on Red Sox trivia!

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

Smart Baseball: How Professionals Play the Mental Game

Smart Baseball: How Professionals Play the Mental Game Review

See more picture

Smart Baseball: How Professionals Play the Mental Game Feature

What goes on in a baseball player's mind is critical to the outcome of the game. Since most major leaguers are in peak physical condition, the difference between success and failure on the field often depends on a player's mental approach.

Looking at everything from a player's confidence to his leadership skills, instincts, and hunches, Smart Baseball uses entertaining anecdotes to get inside the mind of baseball's greats and show fans what goes through a player's head when he steps onto the field.

Smart Baseball presents the knowledge and accumulated experience of one of the few three-generation baseball families---the Bells. In addition, this book is full of insights from more than one hundred of Major League Baseball's greatest players---from Willie Mays to Barry Bonds to Ferguson Jenkins.

A fascinating and informative look at what goes on in the psyche of professional baseball players as they play the game, Smart Baseball is a unique chance for baseball fans to see what it takes for ballplayers to succeed at the Major League level.

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

The Dark Side of the Diamond: Gambling, Violence, Drugs and Alcoholism in the National Pastime

The Dark Side of the Diamond: Gambling, Violence, Drugs and Alcoholism in the National Pastime Review

See more picture

The Dark Side of the Diamond: Gambling, Violence, Drugs and Alcoholism in the National Pastime Feature

Roger Abrams latest book discusses the vices of baseball and how they reflect American society. The Dark Side of the Diamond relates little-known parts of baseball history, presenting evidence of game-fixing and gambling dating to the mid-19th century. Cobb, Ruth, Mantle, Rose, and Bonds are both idols and flawed human beings. While baseball can teach young people resourcefulness, fortitude, teamwork and pride, it is just as likely to instruct them in violence, disparagement, cheating, and human frailty.

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

The Business of Sports [Three Volumes] [3 volumes]: Volume 1, Perspectives on the Sports Industry, Volume 2, Economic Perspectives on Sport, Volume 3, ... Research and Practice (Praeger Perspectives)

The Business of Sports [Three Volumes] [3 volumes]: Volume 1, Perspectives on the Sports Industry, Volume 2, Economic Perspectives on Sport, Volume 3, ... Research and Practice (Praeger Perspectives) Review

See more picture

The Business of Sports [Three Volumes] [3 volumes]: Volume 1, Perspectives on the Sports Industry, Volume 2, Economic Perspectives on Sport, Volume 3, ... Research and Practice (Praeger Perspectives) Feature

The sports industry is large, visible, and growing—and it has a huge impact on society. That's obvious to die-hard fans who not only watch sporting events but buy everything from balls to ties to paperweights with their favorite team's logo. But even sports haters can't escape the onslaught of professional sports: They are asked to chip in as taxpayers to build public stadiums, and their children are, like it or not, exposed to events sponsored by alcohol and tobacco companies, not to mention the juvenile antics of star athletes. Businesses, of course, take a hit in productivity when the Olympics—or World Series or Super Bowl or World Cup—rolls around. Yet most of us love to watch, and play. The Business of Sports takes on this endlessly fascinating behemoth of an industry to make sense of it all.

Yes, sports is big business. How big? Estimates of total annual U.S. spending on sporting goods and services range from $250 to $560 billion a year, and spending related to organized sport alone has been estimated at $200 billion per year. And it's getting bigger, casting an ever-larger shadow over the entire globe. The Business of Sports throws light on the subject by exploring the business and economic dynamics of the industry from a diverse array of perspectives that cover the industry's macroeconomic, management, and marketing/promotion issues. —Volume 1, Perspectives on the Sports Industry, documents the current size, scope, and magnitude of the sports industry in the U.S. and abroad—including the U.K. and China. It also examines the importance of the world's most visible sporting events, like the Olympics, and the impact of sporting events broadcast around the world. —Volume 2, Economic Perspectives on Sport, takes an in-depth look at the sports industry from an economic perspective. The volume delves into the inner workings of leagues and teams, covering economic issues from the design of sports leagues to franchise financial valuations to salary caps to labor relations. —Volume 3, Bridging Research and Practice, fills the gap between scholarly research on sport and practitioners working in the industry. Topics include evaluating talent, maintaining managerial efficiency, analyzing statistical performance indices, and assessing the noneconomic benefits of professional sports. Business and sports are a potent mix of two of the strongest forces moving our society today. And, as the stratospheric salaries of professional athletes indicate, the industry is going through major growth and change. To make sense of it all, it helps to understand the underlying economic principles driving the business decisions made daily by owners and managers in all corners of the world. The unique, multivolume format of The Business of Sports allows sports nuts, journalists, business people, and students to explore the wide variety of issues that fuel the world's crazy passion for all things athletic.

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review

Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education

Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education Review

See more picture

Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education Feature

We often hear about the growing divide between rich and poor in America. This compelling exposé, backed by up-to-date research, locates the source of this trend where we might least expect to find it--in our schools. Written for a wide audience, Tearing Down the Gates is a powerful indictment of American education that shows how schools, colleges, and universities exacerbate inequality by providing ample opportunities for advantaged students while shutting the gates on the poor--and even the middle class. Peter Sacks tells the stories of young people and families as they struggle to negotiate the educational system. He introduces students like Ashlea, who grew up in a trailer park and who would like to attend college, though she faces constant obstacles that many of her more privileged classmates can't imagine. Woven throughout with voices of Americans both rich and poor, Tearing Down the Gates describes a disturbing situation that has the potential to undermine the American dream, not just for some, but for all of us. At the heart of this book is a question of justice, and Sacks demands that we take a hard look at what equal opportunity really means in the United States today.

Check price now

Rerate Products

Customer Review