Baseball Literature

Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball

by Rebecca T. Alpert

New York Oxford University Press, 2011.

www.oup.com/us/

Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen

by Marissa Moss

Illustrated by C. F. Payne

Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books (2004)

For as long as she could remember, Jackie Mitchell’s father had told Jackie she could be good at whatever she wanted, as long as she worked at it. Jackie worked at baseball. She worked hard. And before long Jackie could outplay anyone in her neighborhood — even the boys.

She had one pitch — a wicked, dropping curve ball. But no seventeen-year-old girl could pitch against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. It was unthinkable. Then on April 2, 1931, the New York Yankees stopped in Tennessee for an exhibition game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. And on that day Jackie Mitchell made baseball history.

Marissa Moss tells a true story of determination and heroism, a gem of baseball history sure to inspire ballplayers of all ages. And C. F. Payne’s vibrant, glorious illustrations make the golden age of baseball come alive.

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship

By David Halberstam

Published by Hyperion, NY (2003)

As baseball legend Ted Williams lay dying in Florida, his old Boston Red Sox teammates Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio piled into a car and drove 1,300 miles to see their friend. Another member of the close-knit group, Bobby Doerr, remained in Oregon to tend to his wife who had suffered a stroke. Besides providing a poignant travelogue of the elderly Pesky and DiMaggio’s trip, David Halberstam’s The Teammates goes back in time to profile the men as young ballplayers. Although it is enlightening to learn about Doerr, Pesky, and DiMaggio, the leader of the group and star of the book is Williams. Halberstam portrays the notoriously moody and difficult Williams as a complex man: driven by a rough childhood and a fiercely competitive nature to become perhaps the greatest pure hitter of all time while also being a magnetic personality and loving friend. While there is nothing exceptionally unusual about old men who have stayed friends (plenty of people stay friends, after all), baseball gives this particular relationship a unique makeup. Unlike most friendships, that of Williams, Doerr, Pesky, and DiMaggio was viewed all summer long by hooting, hollering Red Sox fans. As such, their bond is forged both of individual accomplishment, win-loss records, numerous road trips, and, since they played for the Red Sox, annual doses of disappointment. Halberstam, author of Summer of ‘49 and October 1964 is the ideal writer to tell two equally intriguing stories, both rich in America’s pastime. Although he occasionally drops himself into the narrative, one expects that of Halberstam and gladly accepts it in exchange for the highly readable exposition infused with poetic majesty that has become his trademark. —John Moe

Safe at Home (Comeback Kids)

By Mike Lupica

Published by Puffin Books, 2008

Nick Crandall feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere. He doesn’t fit in with his new foster parents. They don’t know the first thing about sports—and he’s not exactly the model student they want him to be. It’s only a matter of time until they realize he’s not the right kid for them. And Nick certainly doesn’t belong playing varsity baseball. He’s only twelve years old! His teammates want a catcher their own age. But Nick needs to prove that he belongs—to his parents, to his team, and to himself.

Jackie Robinson (Trophy Chapter Book)

by Kenneth Rudeen

Illustrated by Michael Hays

HarperCollins (1996)

When Jackie Robinson first stepped up to bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 194 7, he faced a long, hard battle. People called him horrible names. Pitchers aimed the ball right for his head. And players used the spikes on their baseball shoes to cut his legs.

Jackie Robinson didn’t back down. As the first black player in the white major leagues, he had made up his mind to play ball-and to open baseball’s doors to all black men. This is the dramatic story of his triumph.

The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth (On My Own History)

By Jean L.S. Patrick

First Avenue Editions (2000)

Satchel Paige’s America

 “My pitching philosophy is simple; you gotta keep the ball off the fat part of the bat.

www.satchelpaige.com/quote2.html

By William Price Fox

Fire Ant Books (2005)

Publisher

Baseball

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