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| kc royals spring training: The Cactus League Emily Nemens, 2020-02-04 Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and Lit Hub. A Los Angeles Times Bestseller. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice In The Cactus League [Emily Nemens] provides her readers with what amounts to a miniature, self-enclosed world that is funny and poignant and lovingly observed. --Charles McGrath, The New York Times Book Review An explosive, character-driven odyssey through the world of baseball Jason Goodyear is the star outfielder for the Los Angeles Lions, stationed with the rest of his team in the punishingly hot Arizona desert for their annual spring training. Handsome, famous, and talented, Goodyear is nonetheless coming apart at the seams. And the coaches, writers, wives, girlfriends, petty criminals, and diehard fans following his every move are eager to find out why—as they hide secrets of their own. Humming with the energy of a ballpark before the first pitch, Emily Nemens's The Cactus League unravels the tightly connected web of people behind a seemingly linear game. Narrated by a sportscaster, Goodyear’s story is interspersed with tales of Michael Taylor, a batting coach trying to stay relevant; Tamara Rowland, a resourceful spring-training paramour, looking for one last catch; Herb Allison, a legendary sports agent grappling with his decline; and a plethora of other richly drawn characters, all striving to be seen as the season approaches. It’s a journey that, like the Arizona desert, brims with both possibility and destruction. Anchored by an expert knowledge of baseball’s inner workings, Emily Nemens's The Cactus League is a propulsive and deeply human debut that captures a strange desert world that is both exciting and unforgiving, where the most crucial games are the ones played off the field. |
| kc royals spring training: Spring Training Dan Shaughnessy, Stan Grossfeld, 2003 Before the purpose-pitch that zips inches from the batter's head, before greenfly autograph-seekers stalk hotel lobbies, before thousands of fans stand up and boo in 50,000-seat stadiums, before the proverbial dog days of summer and the pressure-packed moments of October . . . there is sweet spring. The long hello. Baseball's early season. The words spring training have long held special power over baseball fans. They signal the arrival of fresh air and sunshine after a long winter devoid of bare feet and box scores. The chance to see the game up close and personal, in beautiful slow motion. No other sport undergoes this slow, glorious unfolding. And no other book captures baseball's rite of passage in all its magic. Come on a wild ride through spring training's many attractions and peculiarities, from Florida to Arizona, the National to the American League, the dugouts to Section D. Glimpse retirees in Hawaiian shirts singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, million-dollar players taking it easy on the field and in the bars, young rookies flashing their skills, grizzled vets going through the motions, wide-eyed children dressed from head to toe in their favorite team's garb. It's all here, from Alligator Alley to Cactus Way, sit-ups to sunblock, home runs to hangovers -- a lively tribute to America's favorite pastime in its purest, most wonderful form. |
| kc royals spring training: Kansas City Royals Paul Bowker, 2011-01-01 Presents a history of the Kansas City Royals, profiling star players and detailing team facts and statistics. |
| kc royals spring training: Spring Training Handbook Josh Pahigian, 2013-05-29 Spring training is a time of renewal for baseball, when teams and fans descend on Florida and Arizona to begin the ever hopeful new season. The pace is a little slower, the fans are closer to the action, and the players are more accessible: the sport returns to its idyllic roots. When the first edition of this book was released, 18 of the MLB teams trained in Florida and 12 in Arizona. As 2013 arrives each league consists of 15 teams; together they utilize 14 parks in Florida and 10 in Arizona. This heavily illustrated work dedicates a chapter to each park, including modern Cactus League marvels like Camelback Ranch and Salt River Fields, and Grapefruit League bastions like Joker Marchant Stadium and McKechnie Field. Florida's Fenway Park replica, which opened in 2012, is included. In addition to profiling the five parks that have opened since the first edition, the author has updated the other chapters. Each provides a description of the park, and a recounting of its history, followed by a summary of the home team or teams' spring history. Next is a review of the park's seating, concessions and fan traditions. Each chapter concludes with information about nearby baseball landmarks and attractions. |
| kc royals spring training: More Than a Season Dayton Moore, Matt Fulks, Alex Gordon, Ned Yost, 2016-04-01 Provides a blueprint for becoming a champion, both on and off the field When Dayton Moore arrived in Kansas City in 2006, the Royals hardly resembled a contender. The general manager inherited a major league club that had just one winning season in the previous decade. Moore, a Kansas native who grew up as a Royals fan, implemented a plan to return the franchise to its glory years. Though not without a few bumps in the road, that plan came to fruition in 2014 and 2015, as the Royals reached the World Series both years and were corned 2015 World Series champions. In More Than a Season, Moore shares how his faith and leadership principles guided his rebooting of the Royals. The general manager describes how he built one of baseball's best farm systems and international scouting departments of out nothing. He shares insight on how he persevered through six consecutive losing seasons and the critical response to controversial trades of Zack Greinke and Wil Myers—transactions that ultimately yielded the foundation of a champion. Full of never-before-told stories from inside the Royals organization More Than a Season features an introduction by William F. High, CEO of the National Christian Foundation Heartland. This updated edition features an all-new prologue and an additional chapter celebrating the 2015 World Series championship season. |
| kc royals spring training: You Herd Me! Colin Cowherd, 2013-11-19 There are really two games, the one you see and the one you don't. The way I see it, the best way to use access to both worlds is to illuminate and reveal, not idolize and adore. It's better to be wrong than to be played for a fool. – Colin Cowherd In this age of billion dollar athletic marketing campaigns, “feel good” philosophy with no connection to reality, and a Sports Media echo chamber that’s all too eager swallow whatever idiotic notion happens to be in vogue at the moment, it’s tough to find people who aren’t afraid to say what they’re really thinking. But that’s where Colin Cowherd comes in. As his millions of fans on ESPN Radio and ESPNU already know, Colin is the rare sports analyst who’s brave (or crazy) enough to speak his mind—even if it pisses some people off. Of course, it helps that a lot of what Colin has to say is simply hilarious. Lots of writers can tell you about Boston’s storied sports history. But how many can tell you why the city of Boston is America’s five year old? Lots of writers will brag about the stuff they got right, but how many will happily list all the calls they got completely and utterly wrong? Whether he’s pointing out the stupidity of conspiracy theories, explaining why media bias isn’t nearly as big a deal as many assume, or calling out those who prize short term wins over sustainability, Colin is smart, thought-provoking, and laugh-out-loud funny. Some of the questions he’s not afraid to ask in You Herd Me! include: Is Tiger Woods really a sex addict—or does he just have good PR? Is “work-life balance” really the ideal we should all strive for—or is that just a way for people feel better about mediocrity? Is talent really all it’s cracked up to be—or can too much talent actually be counterproductive? Is the X games really a sport—or would we all be better off if we admitted it’s something else entirely? Is Hell really a supernatural place of fire and brimstone—or is it actually just another word for living in Tampa? Unapologetically entertaining and packed with behind-the-scenes insights you won’t get anywhere else, You Herd Me! is unlike any other sports book ever written. |
| kc royals spring training: One Last Strike Tony La Russa, Rick Hummel, 2012-09-25 One Last Strike by legendary baseball manager Tony La Russa is a thrilling sports comeback story. La Russa, the winner of four Manager of the Year awards—who led his teams to six Pennant wins and three World Series crowns—chronicles one of the most exciting end-of-season runs in baseball history, revealing with fascinating behind-the-scenes details how, under his expert management, the St. Louis Cardinals emerged victorious in the 2011 World Series despite countless injuries, mishaps, and roadblocks along the way. Talking candidly about the remarkable season—and his All-Star players like Albert Pujols and David Freese—the recently retired La Russa celebrates his fifty years in baseball, his team’s amazing recovery from 10 ½ games back, and one final, unforgettable championship in a book that no true baseball fan will want to miss. |
| kc royals spring training: Max & Ollie's Guide to Baseball Stephanie Montgomery, 2024-12-21 A children's picture book about baseball |
| kc royals spring training: High and Inside Lou Gorman, 2007-10-24 Lou Gorman is best known for having assembled the great but star-crossed Red Sox team of 1986. Few, perhaps, know that he also laid the foundation for the Mets club that clawed past them. Or that he is the only baseball executive involved in the start-up of two teams (the expansion Mariners and Royals), that he won a World Series with the Orioles, or that he has drafted Roger Clemens, signed George Brett, developed Jim Palmer, and traded away Jeff Bagwell. In all, Gorman has spent parts of five decades in the front offices of five major league franchises, directly involved in the development of clubs that won three World Series, five pennants and eight division titles. The stories behind those teams and Gorman's dealings with players, managers, and other of baseball's higher-ups are shared here for the first time. |
| kc royals spring training: Under the March Sun Charles Fountain, 2009-03-04 There is nothing in all of American sport quite like baseball's spring training. This annual six-week ritual, whose origins date back nearly a century and a half, fires the hearts and imaginations of fans who flock by the hundreds of thousands to places like Dodgertown to glimpse superstars and living legends in a relaxed moment and watch the drama of journeyman veterans and starry-eyed kids in search of that last spot on the bench. In Under the March Sun, Charles Fountain recounts for the first time the full and fascinating history of spring training and its growth from a shoestring-budget roadtrip to burn off winter calories into a billion-dollar-a-year business. In the early days southern hotels only reluctantly admitted ballplayers--and only if they agreed not to mingle with other guests. Today cities fight for teams by spending millions in public money to build ever-more-elaborate spring-training stadiums. In the early years of the 20th century, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, Al Lang, first realized that coverage in northern newspapers every spring was publicity his growing city could never afford to buy. As the book demonstrates, cities have been following Lang's lead ever since, building identities and economies through the media exposure and visitors that spring training brings. An entertaining cultural history that taps into the romance of baseball even as it reveals its more hard-nosed commercial machinations, Under the March Sun shows why spring training draws so many fans southward every March. While the prices may be growing and the intimacy and accessibility shrinking, they come because the sunshine and sense of hope are timeless. |
| kc royals spring training: Dick Bremer: Game Used Dick Bremer, Jim Bruton, Bert Blyleven, 2020-03-17 An unforgettable look at a lifetime of Twins baseball packed with Bremer's self-deprecating humor and passion for the game ? Dick Bremer's distinctive baritone has served as the soundtrack of Minnesota Twins baseball for over three decades. Millions of fans have enjoyed his observations, insight, and magical storytelling on television broadcasts. Now, in this striking memoir, the Minnesota native and lifelong Twins fan takes fans behind the mic, into the clubhouse, and beyond as only he can. Told through 108 unique anecdotes—one for each stitch in a baseball—Bremer weaves the tale of a lifetime, from childhood memories of the ballfield in smalltown Dumont, Minnesota, to his early radio days as The Duke in the Dark, to champagne-soaked clubhouses in 1987 and 1991, and his encounters with Twins legends ranging from Calvin Griffith and Harmon Killebrew, to Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, to Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. This honest and engaging autobiography gives fans a rare seat alongside Bremer and his broadcast partners, including Killebrew, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Jim Kaat, Tom Kelly, and other Twins legends. |
| kc royals spring training: Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America Sharon Robinson, 2016-11-29 The bestselling classic biography of Jackie Robinson, America's legendary baseball player and civil rights activist, told from the unique perspective of an insider: his only daughter. Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this warm loving biography of the man who broke the color barrier in baseball -- and taught his children that the only measure of life is the impact you have on others lives'. Promises to Keep is the story of Jackie Robinson's hard-won victories in baseball, business, politics, and civil rights. It looks at the inspiring effect the legendary Brooklyn Dodger had on his family, his community ... his country. Told from the unique perspective of Robinson's only daughter, this intimate and uplifting book includes photos from the Robinson family archives and family letters never published before. Jackie Robinson is one our great national heroes. Promises to Keep reminds us what made him a champion -- on and off the field! |
| kc royals spring training: Faithful Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King, 2005-09-06 Now in paperback, two fiercely avid Red Sox fans document one of the most eagerly anticipated baseball seasons of all time. From devoted fans O'Nan and King comes this unique chronicle of one baseball team's journey from spring training to post-season play. |
| kc royals spring training: Under the March Sun Charles Fountain, 2009-03-04 There is nothing in all of American sport quite like baseball's spring training. This annual six-week ritual, whose origins date back nearly a century and a half, fires the hearts and imaginations of fans who flock by the hundreds of thousands to places like Dodgertown to glimpse superstars and living legends in a relaxed moment and watch the drama of journeyman veterans and starry-eyed kids in search of that last spot on the bench. In Under the March Sun, Charles Fountain recounts for the first time the full and fascinating history of spring training and its growth from a shoestring-budget roadtrip to burn off winter calories into a billion-dollar-a-year business. In the early days southern hotels only reluctantly admitted ballplayers--and only if they agreed not to mingle with other guests. Today cities fight for teams by spending millions in public money to build ever-more-elaborate spring-training stadiums. In the early years of the 20th century, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, Al Lang, first realized that coverage in northern newspapers every spring was publicity his growing city could never afford to buy. As the book demonstrates, cities have been following Lang's lead ever since, building identities and economies through the media exposure and visitors that spring training brings. An entertaining cultural history that taps into the romance of baseball even as it reveals its more hard-nosed commercial machinations, Under the March Sun shows why spring training draws so many fans southward every March. While the prices may be growing and the intimacy and accessibility shrinking, they come because the sunshine and sense of hope are timeless. |
| kc royals spring training: The Pine Tar Game Filip Bondy, 2016-08-02 On July 24, 1983, during the finale of a heated four-game series between the dynastic New York Yankees and small-town Kansas City Royals, umpires nullified a go-ahead home run based on an obscure rule, when Yankees manager Billy Martin pointed out an illegal amount of pine tar, the sticky substance used for a better grip, on Royals third baseman George Brett's bat. Brett wildly charged out of the dugout and chaos ensued. The call temporarily cost the Royals the game, but the decision was eventually overturned, resulting in a resumption of the game several weeks later that created its own hysteria. The Pine Tar Game chronicles this watershed moment, marking a pivot in the sport, when benign cheating tactics, like spitballs, Superball bats, and a couple extra inches of tar on an ash bat, gave way to era of soaring salaries, labor struggles, and rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs. Filip Bondy paints a portrait of the Yankees and Royals of that era, featuring two diametrically opposed owners, in George Steinbrenner and Ewing Kauffman; a host of bad actors and phenomenal athletes; and lots of yelling. Players and club officials like Brett, Goose Gossage, Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, David Cone, and John Schuerholz offer fresh commentary on the events along with their take on a rivalry that culminated in one of the most iconic baseball tantrums of all time. Rush Limbaugh, employed by the Royals at the time as a promotions director, offers his own insider's perspective. Through this one fateful game, the ensuing protest, and ultimate fallout, The Pine Tar Game examines a more innocent time in professional sports, as well as the shifting tide that gave us today's modern iteration of baseball. |
| kc royals spring training: Living Out Loud Craig Sager, II, Craig Sager, Brian Curtis, 2016-11-08 Whether he's sprinting across Wrigley Field mid-game as a college student with cops in pursuit, chasing down Hank Aaron on the field for an interview after Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record, running with the bulls in Pamplona, or hunkering down to face the daunting physical challenges of fighting leukemia, Sager is always ready to defy expectations, embrace life, and live it to the fullest. Here he shares incredible stories from his remarkable career-- and chronicles his heroic battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). |
| kc royals spring training: Focus on the Good Stuff Mike Robbins, 2010-12-07 The author and professional coach teaches readers to find greater happiness through gratitude in this book of personal stories and practical advice. Before he became a successful author and professional coach, Mike Robbins was a professional baseball player. But at twenty-three years old, he suffered an injury that ended his promising career as a pitcher. Instead of quitting, Mike took stock of the good things in his life and began a new path. In Focus on the Good Stuff, Mike offers a step-by-step program with exercises for overcoming negative influence and obstacles, creating a truly grateful approach to life, and establishing an environment that can support success and peace of mind. Filled with passion, authenticity, and humor, this guide will teach you to move beyond the cycle of negativity and discover the happiness you deserve. |
| kc royals spring training: The Hall Ball Ralph Carhart, 2020-06-18 Rescued in 2010 from the small creek that runs next to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, a simple baseball launched an epic quest that spanned the United States and beyond. For eight years, The Hall Ball went on a journey to have its picture taken with every member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, both living and deceased. The goal? To enshrine the first crowd-sourced artifact ever donated to the Hall. Part travelogue, part baseball history, part photo journal, this book tells the full story for the first time. The narratives that accompany the ball's odyssey are as funny and moving as any in the history of the game. |
| kc royals spring training: Closer Kevin Neary, Leigh A. Tobin, 2013-03-05 The closer is the ace reliever who specializes in closing out the game without surrendering the lead. Facing a power hitter in the ninth inning with a man on base and no outs takes nerves of steel. The pressure on the mound is intense. It takes a special breed to hold it together in these situations. Legendary manager Tony LaRusso said Sure, games can get away from you in the seventh and eighth, but those last three outs in the ninth are the toughest. It wasn't until the creation of the save, the successful maintenance of a lead by a relief pitcher, in 1960 that the position of closer began to rise in prominence. Today, closers are seen as some of the most intense athletes in all of sports. Neary and Tobin explore the unique personalities of major leagues' most prominent relief pitchers from Bruce Sutter (Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves) to Mariano Rivera (Yankees). Closer is an insider's look into the role of the closing pitcher, how the position has evolved, and how legends-Trevor Hoffman, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, John Smoltz, Rich Goose Gossage, Mariano Rivera, Brian Fuentes, and many more-coped with the stress on the mound such as when facing the .340 batter in the bottom of the ninth with only a one run lead. |
| kc royals spring training: Small Ball Big Results Joel Goldberg, 2020-12-09 A page-turning blend of business and baseball that inspires and entertains Small Ball Big Results is about the little things that add up to the big wins in baseball, business and life. Leaders and team players alike will draw vital lessons from stories that transport you from the baseball field to the board room, revealing what it takes to build an unbeatable culture. Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Joel Goldberg shares tales of perseverance, patience, grit and gratitude from soldiers, executives, entrepreneurs, baseball players and many more. The essence of a strong culture shines through with chapters like Purpose, Trust, Do the Right Thing and Every Role Matters. Structured like a baseball game - including extra innings and pre- and post-game shows - Joel is an unending well of stories that will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly, take action in your own life or business. |
| kc royals spring training: Field of Schemes Neil deMause, Joanna Cagan, 2015-03 |
| kc royals spring training: The Matheny Manifesto Mike Matheny, Jerry B. Jenkins, 2015-02-03 St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny's New York Times bestselling manifesto about what parents, coaches, and athletes get wrong about sports; what we can do better; and how sports can teach eight keys to success in sports and life. Mike Matheny was just forty-one, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason four times in his first four years−a Major League record−people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results. Instead, it’s based on a frankly worded letter he wrote to the parents of a Little League team he coached, a cry for change that became an Internet sensation and eventually a “manifesto.” The tough-love philosophy Matheny expressed in the letter contained his throwback beliefs that authority should be respected, discipline and hard work rewarded, spiritual faith cultivated, family made a priority, and humility considered a virtue. In The Matheny Manifesto, he builds on his original letter by first diagnosing the problem at the heart of youth sports−it starts with parents and coaches−and then by offering a hopeful path forward. Along the way, he uses stories from his small-town childhood as well as his career as a player, coach, and manager to explore eight keys to success: leadership, confidence, teamwork, faith, class, character, toughness, and humility. From “The Coach Is Always Right, Even When He’s Wrong” to “Let Your Catcher Call the Game,” Matheny’s old-school advice might not always be popular or politically correct, but it works. His entertaining and deeply inspirational book will not only resonate with parents, coaches, and athletes, it will also be a powerful reminder, from one of the most successful new managers in the game, of what sports can teach us all about winning on the field and in life. |
| kc royals spring training: Musings and Adventures of a Baby Boomer, That Generation Before X, Y, and Z Kay Hoflander, 2020-11-18 As Kay Hoflander personally knows, Baby Boomers are a generation all of their own. From having parents known as the Greatest Generation to witnessing the moon landing and ushering in the digital age, this generation has experienced it all. This collection columns are a compilation of the musings and adventures she has experienced as a Baby Boomer in a world more virtual than reality. The humorous and whimsical approach she brings to life leads readers to reminisce the writings of Erma Bombeck. Tackling everything from aging to going viral, her columns remind us not to take life too seriously and maintain focus on the things that really matter. Join Kay Hoflander on a honest and refreshing look back on the experiences of this unique generation and the challenges of aging digital. |
| kc royals spring training: Baseball in New Orleans S. Derby Gisclair, 2004 In July of 1859, seventy-five young New Orleanians came together to form the seven teams that comprised the Louisiana Base Ball Club. They played their games in the fields of the de la Chaise estate on the outskirts of New Orleans near present-day Louisiana Avenue. As America's population grew through immigration, so did the popularity of what the largest newspaper in New Orleans, the Daily Picayune, called in November of 1860 the National Game. Baseball quickly replaced cricket as the city's most popular participant sport. In 1887, local businessmen and promoters secured a minor league franchise for the city of New Orleans in the newly formed Southern League, beginning the city's 73-year love affair with the New Orleans Pelicans. From Shoeless Joe Jackson, to Hall of Famers Dazzy Vance, Joe Sewell, Bob Lemon, and Earl Weaver, to today's stars such as Jeff Cirillo and Lance Berkman, the road to the majors brought many notable players through New Orleans. From these early beginnings to the present-day New Orleans Zephyrs of the AAA Pacific Coast League, local fans have continued the tradition of baseball in New Orleans. |
| kc royals spring training: Multilingual Baseball Brendan H. O'Connor, 2023-04-06 What can baseball teach us about language, culture, and society? The first book-length exploration of multilingualism in professional sports, Multilingual Baseball provides an intimate look at language diversity in the transnational world of baseball. Based on extensive interviews and observations in the US and the Dominican Republic, the book foregrounds the voices of current and former players, coaches, front office personnel, international scouts, language teachers, and interpreters, with baseball experience in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Engaging a wide range of foundational concepts within sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and linguistic and cultural anthropology, the analysis reveals the relevance of bilingualism to the social and economic realities of professional baseball as a transnational business. It also illuminates day-to-day encounters with linguistic and cultural difference on the field, in clubhouses, and in communities around the world. Through this linguistic lens, the book delves into social issues in diverse societies by connecting interactions within baseball to the broader challenges of immigration, race, and demographic change. While grounded in the experiences of Spanish and English speakers in US Major League Baseball organizations, Multilingual Baseball presents the transnational game as a microcosm of globalizing societies around the world, inviting readers to consider what we can learn from the bilingual understandings and misunderstandings that arise in everyday baseball interactions. |
| kc royals spring training: The Hidden Language of Baseball Paul Dickson, 2019-09-01 Baseball is set apart from other sports by many things, but few are more distinctive than the intricate systems of coded language that govern action on the field and give baseball its unique appeal. During a nine?inning game, more than one thousand silent instructions are given--from catcher to pitcher, coach to batter, fielder to fielder, umpire to umpire--and without this speechless communication the game would simply not be the same. Baseball historian Paul Dickson examines the rich legacy of baseball's hidden language, offering fans everywhere a smorgasbord of history and anecdote. Baseball's tradition of signing grew out of the signal flags used by ships and hand signals used by soldiers during battle and were first used in games during the Civil War. The Hartford Dark Blues appear to be the first team to steal signs, introducing a larcenous obsession that, as Dickson delightfully chronicles, has given the game some of its most historic--and outlandish--moments. In this revised and expanded edition through the 2018 season, Dickson discusses recent developments and incidents, including the illegal use of new technology to swipe signs. A roster of baseball's greatest names and games, past and present, echoes throughout, making The Hidden Language of Baseball a unique window on the history of our national pastime. |
| kc royals spring training: Jet , 1986-04-07 The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news. |
| kc royals spring training: American Icon Teri Thompson, Nathaniel Vinton, Michael O'Keeffe, Christian Red, 2009-05-12 It was an epic downfall. In twenty-four seasons pitcher Roger Clemens put together one of the greatest careers baseball has ever seen. Seven Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships, and 354 victories made him a lock for the Hall of Fame. But on December 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report laid waste to all that. Accusations that Clemens relied on steroids and human growth hormone provided and administered by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, have put Clemens in the crosshairs of a Justice Department investigation. Why did this happen? How did it happen? Who made the decisions that altered some lives and ruined others? How did a devastating culture of drugs, lies, sex, and cheating fester and grow throughout Major League Baseball's clubhouses? The answers are in these extraordinary pages. American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime is about much more than the downfall of a superstar. While the fascinating portrait of Clemens is certainly at the center of the action, the book takes us outside the white lines and inside the lives and dealings of sports executives, trainers, congressmen, lawyers, drug dealers, groupies, a porn star, and even a murderer—all of whom have ties to this saga. Four superb investigative journalists have spent years uncovering the truth, and at the heart of their investigation is a behind-the-scenes portrait of the maneuvering and strategies in the legal war between Clemens and his accuser, McNamee. This compelling story is the strongest examination yet of the rise of illegal drugs in America’s favorite sport, the gym-rat culture in Texas that has played such an important role in spreading those drugs, and the way Congress has dealt with the entire issue. Andy Pettitte, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Chuck Knoblauch are just a few of the other players whose moving and sometimes disturbing stories are illuminated here as well. The New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team has written the definitive book on corruption and the steroids era in Major League Baseball. In doing so, they have managed to dig beneath the disillusion and disappointment to give us a stirring look at heroes who all too often live unheroic shadow lives. |
| kc royals spring training: George Brett Kansas City Star Staff, 2001-04 George Brett: A Royal Hero is the most complete volume ever compiled about the 1999 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. His legendary career is reviewed in precise detail through articles that appeared in The Kansas City Star from the early 1970s through 1999. No one followed George Brett with greater interest nor wrote of his exploits with greater insight than the sportswriters of the Royals' hometown daily newspaper. Brett's career, 21 years with the Kansas City Royals, included 12 All-Star appearances and one batting title in each of the three decades in which he played. |
| kc royals spring training: Neighboring on the Air Evelyn Birkby, 1991 In 1925 Earl May began broadcasting KMA Radio-960 from Shenandoah, Iowa, to boost his fledgling seed business. The station aired practical information designed to help with the day-to-day activity in midwestern farmhouse kitchens. Before long KMA was a trusted friend throughout the wide listening area, offering inspiration, companionship, and all manners of domestic counsel. Hosting the daily radio programsOCoHome Hour, the Stitch and Chat Club, and the KMA Party LineOCoand the live cooking demonstrations that drew thousands to the KMA auditorium was a changing roster of personable, lively women who quickly became known as the KMA Radio Homemakers. Now, in Neighboring on the Air, we can hear the voices of the KMA homemakers and sample their philosophy andOCobest of allOCocooking. Through recipes, biographies, and household advice we get to know such enduring women as The Little Minister, the Reverend Edythe Stirlen, and Leanna Driftmier and the whole Kitchen-Klatter family, part of the longest-running homemaker program in the history of radio. Learn how to make Sour Cream Apple Pie from The Farmer's Wife, Florence Falk; Varnished Chicken from the first long-term KMA Radio Homemaker, Jessie Young; and E.E.E. Missouri Dessert (nobody can remember what the E.E.E. stands for) from the indomitable host of the Edith Hansen Kitchen Club. This endearing scrapbook of people, places, and foods charts the continuing adventure of the KMA homemakers as they broadcast into the 1990s. Neighboring on the Air is an enchanting piece of Americana. Anyone interested in cooking, cultural history, or the Midwest will want to own and use this book. |
| kc royals spring training: I Felt the Cheers Curtis Pride, 2025-02-25 From the deaf baseball legend and former MLB Ambassador for Inclusion, a powerful anthem of ability diversity and overcoming the odds for readers of Nyle DiMarco’s Deaf Utopia and sports memoirs such as Imperfect by Jim Abbott, Des Linden’s Choosing to Run, and Limitless by Mallory Weggemann. FOREWORD BY NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME MEMBER CAL RIPKEN, JR. On a September night in Montreal in 1993, Curtis Pride got his first Major League hit, prompting a long, emotional standing ovation from the crowd of 45,757 fans. Profoundly deaf since birth, Pride couldn’t hear their thunderous applause. But as the cheers grew louder and more insistent, he realized he was feeling those vibrations within his chest—an undeniable acknowledgment of an extraordinary achievement. Pride went on to play in 420 more major-league games over eleven different seasons with the Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and New York Yankees. He was then hired as head baseball coach at Gallaudet, the world’s leading university for deaf and hard of hearing students and was also named Major League Baseball’s Ambassador for Inclusion. Pride has received countless national and local awards for his achievements and his service in inspiring and educating others. With candor, warmth, and humor, Pride writes from the heart in I Felt the Cheers. From the first time he played T‑ball at age six and got a couple of hits, he dreamed of playing in the major leagues. No matter how unlikely it seemed, or how much skepticism he faced from teammates or coaches, Pride stayed resolute. Far from it being a disadvantage, he came to see that his deafness could sometimes be a secret weapon, forcing him to use senses that other players take for granted. Curtis’s personal journey is unique, but his message is a powerful, universal one, sure to resonate deeply with everyone who has faced difficult challenges. I Felt the Cheers is living proof that dreams can come true, no matter how impossible they seem. |
| kc royals spring training: The Long Season Jim Brosnan, 2016-03-15 One of the best baseball books ever written. It is probably one of the best American diaries as well. —New York Times A timeless classic from baseball's golden era, legendary pitcher Jim Brosnan's witty and candid chronicle of the 1959 Major League Baseball season, which set the standard for all sports memoirs to follow. The Long Season was a revelation when it was first published in 1960. Here is an insider's perspective on America's national pastime that is funny, honest, and above all, real. The man behind this fascinating account of baseball and its players was not a sportswriter but a self-proclaimed average ballplayer—a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Called Professor by his teammates and Meat by his wife, Jim Brosnan turned out to be the ideal guide to the behind-the-scenes world of professional baseball with his keen observations, sharp wit, and clear-eyed candor. His player's diary takes readers on the mound and on the road; inside the clubhouse and most enjoyably inside his own head. While solving age-old questions like Why can't pitchers hit? and what makes for the best chewing tobacco, Brosnan captures the game-to-game daily experiences of an ordinary season, unapologetically, the way I saw it—from sweating it out in spring training to blowing the opening game to a mid-season trade to the Cincinnati Reds. In The Long Season, Brosnan reveals, like no other sportswriter before him, the human side of professional ballplayers and has forever preserved not only a season, but a uniquely American experience. |
| kc royals spring training: It Happens Every Spring Ira Berkow, 2017-04-15 Culled from 50 years' worth of columns from one of the country's most popular sportswriters, It Happens Every Spring stands as a remarkable and evocative anthology that is guaranteed to delight baseball fans of all ages. Former New York Times columnist Ira Berkow captures the spirit of America's pasttime in this collection of opinions, stories, and observations from his long and distinguished career. From memories of Ted Williams and Satchel Paige to reflections on Jackie Robinson, Barry Bonds, and the soul of the beloved game, this work combines Berkow's eye for detail with the comedy and drama revealed by the subjects themselves, bringing to life some of the most famous baseball personalities from the last half century. |
| kc royals spring training: This Old Man Roger Angell, 2015-11-17 Roger Angell, the acclaimed New Yorker writer and editor, returns with a selection of writings that celebrate a view from the tenth decade of an engaged, vibrant life. Long known for his range and supple prose (he is the only writer elected to membership in both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Arts and Letters), Angell won the 2015 American Society of Magazine Editors’ Best Essay award for “This Old Man,” which forms a centerpiece for this book. This deeply personal account is a survey of the limitations and discoveries of great age, with abundant life, poignant loss, jokes, retrieved moments, and fresh love, set down in an informal and moving fashion. A flood of readers from different generations have discovered and shared this classic piece. Angell’s fluid prose and native curiosity make him an amiable and compelling companion on the page. The book gathers essays, letters, light verse, book reviews, Talk of the Town stories, farewells, haikus, Profiles, Christmas greetings, late thoughts on the costs of war. Whether it’s a Fourth of July in rural Maine, a beloved British author at work, Derek Jeter’s departure, the final game of the 2014 World Series, an all-dog opera, editorial exchanges with John Updike, or a letter to a son, what links the pieces is the author’s perceptions and humor, his utter absence of self-pity, and his appreciation of friends and colleagues—writers, ballplayers, editors, artists—encountered over the course of a full and generous life. |
| kc royals spring training: Extra Innings Joe Boschi, 2010-01-22 Whats this book about? The short answer is that it is about Bull Durham and the Godfather joining to play some golf with Tin Cup. At one time or another, youve probably heard expressions like Youre a product of your environment, More is better, and Timing is everything. Extra Innings is the story of Bobby Winston and Pep Woodson. It chronicles their youth and the influence of their environment on their lives and careers in Major League Baseball (Bobby) and the aerospace industry (Pep). Each of them enjoyed enough success in their individual careers to enable them to retire comfortably, but it seemed that they were a step ahead of the boom times in each industry. Bobby and Pep meet in retirement and work together at a golf course, where their interests in golf are focused. It doesnt take long for them to exchange stories of their past and recognize the similarities in their lives. The compensation landscape changes around them in some of the same ways. An opportunity for each of them to get a second bite of the apple arises when they join forces. |
| kc royals spring training: Sporting Spaces 1 Images Publishing Group, 1999 Vast amounts of money are poured into the facilities in which our athletes compete. This translates into spectacular arenas which could perhaps be regarded as the modern day equivalent to temples of the Gods. Architecture |
| kc royals spring training: Baseball Parks Tom Owens, 2001-01-01 Presents the history of the American ballpark and examines the planning and developing that goes into creating new stadiums. |
| kc royals spring training: Game of My Life: Dallas Cowboys Jean-Jacques Taylor, 2006 Game of My Life: Dallas Cowboys takes you inside the most memorable game of 24 players and of head coach Jimmy Johnson that earned each of them a place in the history and lore of America?s Team. Each chapter provides colorful detail on the player?s favorite game and its significance to the history of one of the world?s most recognized franchises.Learn how these men joined the Cowboys fraternity. Recount with them the mood of the team and of each player leading up to his memorable moment and his thoughts on the game?told in his own words?as well as how his career fared and what he is doing today. Listen to Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett describe how he almost missed the game in which he turned in the most prolific performance of his career, and learn how Emmitt Smith, the NFL?s all-time leading rusher, learned to play with pain and how that helped him lead Dallas to a division-clinching win over the New York Giants despite a dislocated shoulder. Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach talks about his frustration with coach Tom Landry shuffling him in and out of the lineup, and Hall of Fame defensive tackle Randy White remembers the transition out of college linebacker. Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman relives his most emotional moment on the football field, and receiver Drew Pearson talks about the infamous Hail Mary. Receiver Tony Hill relives a thrilling 31-30 comeback win over the rival Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. Safety James Washington talks about his heroic performance in Super Bowl XXVIII, and little-known running back Paul Palmer discusses his role in coach Jimmy Johnson?s first NFL victory. Other story standouts include those of cornerback Deion Sanders, Ring of Honor linebacker Chuck Howley, Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown, Ring of Honor running back Don Perkins, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly, and special teams star Bill Bates among others. |
| kc royals spring training: Bat, Scalpel, Sheepskin, Beneath the Cross Thomas H. Olbricht, Leah G. Hopkins, 2018-07-24 Dr. Hopkins played major league baseball, became an orthopedic surgeon, and obtained graduate degrees in the sciences and Biblical Studies. He perceived his central commitment to be to Jesus Christ. He has served as an elder in Churches of Christ and on the board of Christian Colleges. Dr. Hopkins’ life is told by admiring relatives and friends. |
| kc royals spring training: Cactus League Susie Steckner, The Mesa Historical Museum, 2012 Arizona's baseball roots run long and deep, but the star of the show is the Cactus League. The state's spring training history is filled with social, political, and cultural intrigue, not to mention a roster of baseball greats. Early on, fans watched Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, and the American League's first black player, Larry Doby. Beyond the field, baseball became part of the state's social fabric, as players and fans alike flocked to watering holes, hotels, parades, and a desert resort famous for its mineral baths. History also saw a political battle to save the Cactus League and fend off Florida's attempts to dominate spring training. Today, the Cactus League is a 15-team powerhouse that holds court in Arizona each spring. |
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Kansas City, Missouri - Wikipedia
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by population and area. The city lies within Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties, with a small …
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