Kirjahaku

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.

A visually stunning road trip through pro baseball’s wacky, wondrous, and revered ballpark attractions Exploding scoreboards, treetop seats, and neon skylines are just three of the more than 100 ballpark design features, field eccentricities, historic displays, traditions, concession items, and even super-fans and mascots profiled in this armchair baseball journey. Combining engaging storytelling with fun sidebars and beautiful color photos, author Josh Pahigian captures the essence of each ballpark treasure—from the retractable lighthouse at the Portland Sea Dogs’ Hadlock Field to the Sausage Race at the Brewers’ Miller Park to Fenway Park’s Green Monster and even to the delicious biscuits served by the aptly named Montgomery Biscuits. From the Rookie Leagues to the Majors, there are more than 250 professional baseball parks in the United States where fans partake in special game-day rituals, eat unique foods, laugh along with the zany mascot, marvel at the park’s special features, and revel in a communal experience that removes them for a few hours from life’s daily grind. The Amazing Baseball Adventure brings to life the very best of these cherished ballpark features, the ones that motivate fans to return again and again to baseball cathedrals large and small.

Set in the summertime tourist mecca of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, this mystery/suspense novel crosses the storylines of affluent summer tourists and struggling year-round residents when a famed and wealthy adventurer gets stranded in town after an incident at sea. When eccentric billionaire Ferdinand Sevigny's latest stunt, to sail around the world blindfolded, goes awry, he lands in Maine just as the summer tourist season is beginning. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary and an investigation by local police, Sevigny, while holing up in one of the town's grand hotels refuses to admit foul play was involved in his mishap. As the tourists arrive, including two intriguing strangers, a troubled local teenager inadvertently uncovers evidence that presents him with the opportunity to change his lot. The teenager, adventurer, and a host of townspeople will be forced to make decisions that will define them forever.

The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan's dream road trip-including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition-revised and completely updated!

Why I Hate the Yankees offers a humorous take on the most beloved--and at the same time, most reviled--franchise in American professional sports. The book attempts to answer the question: Do we hate the Yankees merely because they always win, or is there more to it than just that? The authors deconstruct the origins of the so-called Yankee mystique, offer countless examples of Yankee arrogance, and critique the Yankees' easy-way-out business model whereby they merely outspend other teams for talent. The authors leave no one exempt from blame, parodying the Yankees' fans, players, and overbearing owner, and questioning the motives of the national media and Major League Baseball. The tongue-in-cheek narrative is interspersed with revealing quotes from Yankee players, fans, media members, and other writers. A must-read for any hater--or lover--of the Yankees.

Diehard sports fans are arguably the beating heart of the sports industry. In good times and in bad, they file into stadiums and arenas of all shapes and sizes ready to expend financial and emotional currency on a hobby that goes horribly wrong half of the time. Does the payoff from the good times - the thrilling victories, championship glory and miraculous performances - outweigh the trauma inflicted by the bad? Why do diehards invest so fully in sports teams and players when that commitment, love and adoration is seldom reciprocated - if ever? Through the lens of baseball, Diehards unravels the mystery of sports fans and provides context for what fuels the evolution from casual fan to diehard. In Diehards, Chip Scarinzi canvasses experts about the impact of sports fandom on fan psyche, health, and family life while also sharing personal accounts of deep-seated sports passion from the most dedicated of fans. PRAISE FOR DIEHARDS "For the true fan of baseball, reading Diehards is like sitting in your season seats and trading stories of euphoria and defeat with the other fanatic regulars around you. Scarinzi is amusingly confessional and unapologetic about his own fandom as he explores the social and psychological causes and effects of loving a sport and a team. He is one of those overly informed, nostalgic and even romantic bleacher creatures that are the characteristics of baseball lovers everywhere, yet he cleverly couples anecdotes and historic moments with quantitative data and cultural analysis to make this a very smart and authentic take on baseball's place in the cultural fabric of America. Diehards confirms for every true baseball lover that they are not crazy, or at least not alone in their fanaticism for the game. If you list your bobblehead collection in your will, this book is for you. - Heidi Watney, MLB Network "Through this fine book - that is as lively and humorous as it is well researched and insightful - Chip Scarinzi has brought me to a deeper understanding of my own obsession. The author does a remarkable job deconstructing the excitement, joy, frustration, heartbreak, and range of other emotions sports bring into our lives." - Josh Pahigian, author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out