"Alex Speier spins a compelling narrative about how great scouting and player development created a perennial contender in baseball's toughest division, without losing sight of the people at the heart of his story." - Keith Law The captivating inside story of the historic 2018 Boston Red Sox, as told through the assembly and ascendancy of their talented young core-the culmination of nearly a decade of reporting from one of the most respected baseball...

A fascinating and charming encyclopedic collection of baseball firsts, describing how the innovations in the game-in rules, equipment, styles of play, strategies, etc.-occurred and developed from its origins to the present day. The book relies heavily on quotations from contemporary sources.

Chronicles the career of Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn who, in 1884, had the winningest single season of any major-league baseball pitcher. Also tells the story of baseball in the 1880s--a brutal, bloody sport played barehanded.

Discusses the intricate relationship between race and baseball, from the integration of the Major Leagues to the resulting decline of the Negro League and contemporary prominence of baseball players from the Caribbean.