Baseball

Baseball season has arrived and for the first time since 1968, all 30 teams are on the schedule for opening day.  The first of 15 games will begin at 1:05 p.m. Eastern time, with the Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees.  Chicago's own White Sox will begin the season by facing off against the 2022 World Series Champion, Houston Astros.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2023/01/31/mlb-opening-day-schedule-when-does-2023-baseball-season-start/11155102002/

Baseball: A History of America's Game by Rader, Benjamin G.

In this fourth edition, Benjamin G. Rader updates the text with a portrait of baseball's new order. He charts an on-the-field game transformed by analytics, an influx of Latino and Asian players, and a generation of players groomed for brute power both on the mound and at the plate. He also analyzes the behind-the-scenes revolution that brought in billions of dollars from a synergy of marketing and branding prowess, visionary media development, and fan-friendly ballparks abuzz with nonstop entertainment. The result is an entertaining and comprehensive tour of a game that, whatever its changes, always reflects American society and culture.

A History of Baseball in 100 Objects: A Tour Through the Bats, Balls, Uniforms, Awards, Documents, and Other Artifacts that Tell the Story of the National Pastime by Leventhal, Josh

A visual and historical record of the game as told through essential documents, letters, photographs, equipment, memorabilia, food and drink, merchandise and media items, and relics of popular culture, each of which represents the history and evolution of the game.

Baseball in Rockford by Griswold, Kenny.

Rockford, IL, and the surrounding area, the Rock River Valley, is rich in baseball history. The town first attracted national baseball attention in 1867 when its Forest City team defeated the touring Washington Nationals, who were previously undefeated. Rockford's young pitcher, Albert G. Spalding, quickly became recognized as a legend, as he dominated all aspects of the game.

Rockford's baseball history continued with minor league teams, industrial league teams, and other teams both semi-pro and amateur. The city again gained national attention with the four-time champion Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-1954). The excitement of professional ball in the Forest City continues today with the Rockford River Hawks of the Frontier League. Baseball in Rockford tells the players' stories from 1865 to the present, illustrated with vintage photographs throughout.

 

Series: Creative Sports: Veterans.

Baseball's Best Traditions and Weirdest Superstitions by Smith, Elliott

Going to a baseball game? Don't expect the teams to care about a rookie's first home run. But do watch for Bryce Harper's bat tapping ritual each time he's up for bat. But first, slide into the ins and outs of good fun and good luck in baseball. With engaging text and striking photos, this book will delight young sports fan with some of the best and weirdest practices on the field and in the stands.

Moon Baseball Road Trips: The Complete Guide To All the Ballparks, with Beer, Bites, and Sights Nearby by Malcolm, Timothy

Sunshine, hot dogs, friends, and the excitement of the game: Baseball is called America's pastime for a reason. Experience the best of the MLB cities and stadiums with Moon Baseball Road Trips.

Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black freedom fighter by Williams, Yohuru

According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was "a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides." According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie--the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. And throughout his whole life, Jack Robinson was a fighter for justice, an advocate for equality, and an inspiration beyond just baseball.

From prominent Robinson scholars Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long comes Call Him Jack, an exciting biography that recovers the real person behind the legend, reanimating this famed figure's legacy for new generations, widening our focus from the sportsman to the man as a whole, and deepening our appreciation for his achievements on the playing field in the process.

Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues by Williams, Andrea

"The true story of Effa Manley, the first and only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and her ownership role in the Negro Leagues leading up to the integration of Major League Baseball"-- Provided by publisher.

Dinner with Dimaggio: Memories of an American Hero by Positano, Rock G.

"Revealing and little-known stories of the great Yankees Hall of Famer from the man who knew him best in the last ten years of his life -- from Ted Williams and his Yankees teammates on the field to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other great celebrities off the field"-- Provided by publisher.

Baseball: A Literary Anthology

Poems in Baseball: A Literary Anthology include indispensable works whose phrases have entered the language-Ernest Thayer's "Casey at the Bat" and Franklin P. Adams's "Baseball's Sad Lexicon"-as well as more recent offerings from May Swenson, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Martin Espada. Testimonies from classic oral histories offer insights into the players who helped enshrine the sport in the American imagination. Spot reporting by Heywood Broun and Damon Runyon stands side by side with journalistic profiles that match baseball legends with some of our finest writers: John Updike on Ted Williams, Gay Talese on Joe DiMaggio, Red Smith on Lefty Grove.