Game of My Life Atlanta Braves PDF Download

Author: Jack Wilkinson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1613214286
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 251

View

Book Description
Theirs was a prolonged run of excellence like none other in sports history. From 1991 through 2005, the Atlanta Braves won fourteen consecutive division championships, a streak no team in professional sports has ever come close to approaching. Beginning with the unexpected worst-to-first miracle of 1991, the Braves commenced an era of sustained dominance that Major League Baseball never saw coming. From the wondrous run to the ’91 pennant, to Francisco Cabrera’s two-run single in the ’92 NLCS that returned the Braves to the World Series, to Atlanta’s first world championship in 1995, it’s all here. Captured within these pages are those memories, retold firsthand by the players who delivered the Braves to the pinnacle of pro sports, including David Justice, Terry Pendleton, Ron Gant, Lonnie Smith, Jeff Blauser, Greg Olson, and Tom Glavine. But also chronicled in Game of My Life Atlanta Braves are the franchise’s many dark years of mediocrity that set up such a magical run. Dating back to the Braves’ move from Milwaukee, this newly revised book will catch up with Braves legends like Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Bob Horner, and Dale Murphy, as well as the more recent stars.

Author: Javy Lopez
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1617496200
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 205

View

Book Description
Popular Atlanta Braves catcher Javier “Javy” Lopez opens up in this autobiography to tell his amazing story, from learning to play baseball on a neighborhood basketball court to his record of 42 home runs in a season by a catcher. The product of a lower-middle-class background in Puerto Rico, Javy had to overcome numerous hardships—not the least of which was a language barrier—to fulfill his destiny as one of the most accomplished catchers of the modern era. He tells of bumps along the way to success, including why he overstated his signing bonus as well as the time in the minors when he cried during an all-night meltdown due to his struggles on the field. But he went on to be named MVP of the 1996 National League Championship Series, and played on 12 of the Atlanta Braves' unprecedented 14 straight division-winning teams of the 1990s and 2000s. From his relationship with great teammates such as Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, to his failed comeback attempt with the Braves in 2008, this autobiography tells all about the handsome, warm, engaging Lopez and how he became one of baseball's most popular players.

Author: Chipper Jones
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101984422
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 393

View

Book Description
Atlanta Braves third baseman and National Hall of Famer Chipper Jones—one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history—shares his remarkable story, while capturing the magic nostalgia that sets baseball apart from every other sport. Before Chipper Jones became an eight-time All-Star who amassed Hall of Fame–worthy statistics during a nineteen-year career with the Atlanta Braves, he was just a country kid from small town Pierson, Florida. A kid who grew up playing baseball in the backyard with his dad dreaming that one day he’d be a major league ballplayer. With his trademark candor and astonishing recall, Chipper Jones tells the story of his rise to the MLB ranks and what it took to stay with one organization his entire career in an era of booming free agency. His journey begins with learning the art of switch-hitting and takes off after the Braves make him the number one overall pick in the 1990 draft, setting him on course to become the linchpin of their lineup at the height of their fourteen-straight division-title run. Ballplayer takes readers into the clubhouse of the Braves’ extraordinary dynasty, from the climax of the World Series championship in 1995 to the last-gasp division win by the 2005 “Baby Braves”; all the while sharing pitch-by-pitch dissections of clashes at the plate with some of the all-time great starters, such as Clemens and Johnson, as well as closers such as Wagner and Papelbon. He delves into his relationships with Bobby Cox and his famous Braves brothers—Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, among them—and opponents from Cal Ripken Jr. to Barry Bonds. The National League MVP also opens up about his overnight rise to superstardom and the personal pitfalls that came with fame; his spirited rivalry with the New York Mets; his reflections on baseball in the modern era—outrageous money, steroids, and all—and his special last season in 2012. Ballplayer immerses us in the best of baseball, as if we’re sitting next to Chipper in the dugout on an endless spring day.

Author: Bret Boone
Publisher: Crown Archetype
ISBN: 1101904917
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 282

View

Book Description
From the first third-generation player in Major League history, a sometimes moving, always candid inside look at his family’s seventy years in baseball A five-foot-ten fireball questioned by scouts because of his small stature, supposed lack of power, and cocky attitude, Bret Boone didn’t care about family legacy as he fought his way to the Major Leagues in 1992; he wanted to make his own way. He did just that, building a career that featured three All-Star appearances, four Gold Gloves, a bout with alcohol­ism, and the mixed blessing of being traded three times. But now that he’s coaching minor leaguers half his age—and his fifteen-year-old son has the potential to be the first fourth-generation Major Leaguer—Bret has a new perspective on his remarkable family, with its ten All-Star appearances, 634 home runs, 3,139 RBIs, and countless kitchen-table debates about the game’s great­est players. For the first time, he’s ready to share his adventures as part of the sport’s First Family. Infused with Bret’s candor and deep love of the game, Home Game traces baseball’s evolution—on the field and behind the scenes—from his grandfa­ther Ray’s era in the 1950s to his father Bob’s in the ’70s and ’80s to the one he shared with his brother Aaron in the ’90s and 2000s—sometimes called the PED era—when players made millions, dined on lobster in the clubhouse, and, in some cases, indulged in performance-enhancing drugs. Along the way, his book also touches on Boone family lore, from Ray playing with his hero Ted Williams and Bob winning a World Series with the 1980 Phillies to Bret’s flop in a nationally televised home-run derby and Aaron’s historic home run in the 2003 playoffs. Blending nostalgia, close analysis of the game, insight into baseball’s un­written codes, and controversial thoughts on its future as a sport and a busi­ness, Bret Boone offers a one-of-a-kind look at the national pastime—from the colorful, quotable scion of a family whose business is baseball.

Author: John Smoltz
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062120557
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 282

View

Book Description
John Smoltz was one of the greatest Major League pitchers of the late twentieth / early twenty-first century—one of only two in baseball history ever to achieve twenty wins and fifty saves in single seasons—and now he shares the candid, no-holds-barred story of his life, his career, and the game he loves in Starting and Closing. A Cy Young Award-winner, future Baseball Hall of Famer, and currently a broadcaster for his former team, the Atlanta Braves, Smoltz delivers a powerful memoir with the kind of fascinating insight into game that made Moneyball a runaway bestseller, plus a heartfelt and truly inspiring faith and religious conviction, similar to what illuminates each page of Tim Tebow’s smash hit memoir, Through My Eyes.

Author: Dan Epstein
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250007240
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

View

Book Description
Epstein takes readers on a funky ride through baseball and America in the swinging '70s in this wild pop-culture history of baseball's most colorful and controversial decade. Includes 8-page photo insert.

Author: Matthew Leach
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1613210728
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 225

View

Book Description
This is a book that no Cardinals fan should be without. Read about Ken Boyer’s grand slam in the 1964 World Series against the Yankees, Ozzie Smith game winning dinger in the 1985 NLCS, and David Eckstein and the 2006 World series. And more! Fans will be excited to find out what was going through the heads of their favorite players when it matter most to their teammates and fans: Adam Wainwright on striking out Carlos Beltran, Scott Rolen on beating Roger Clemons with the odds in the Rocket's favor; Jason Isringhausen on putting the team first. Dating back to the Gas House Gang of the 1930s and up to the club’s most recent World Championship in 2006, being a Cardinal has means a style of play, a level of dedication, and a pride in being a member of a special group. This updated edition of Game of My Life St. Louis Cardinals exhibits not always the best game of someone’s career, but rather, the moment that stands out the most.

Author: John Schuerholz
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 0446554170
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 205

View

Book Description
Lost two Cy Young winners in two years, signed a forty-seven-year-old to be his starting first baseman, played seventeen rookies in 2005, and still took his team to the playoffs: baseball is John Schuerholz's world, and everyone else is just playing in it. In Built to Win, the legendary general manager takes you behind the scenes of the Braves' front office—the most successful in baseball since 1990—and shows how his unique philosophies and leadership techniques have helped Atlanta achieve something no team in sports has ever come close to accomplishing. He candidly peels back the curtain, taking you to his first World Series with the Kansas City Royals and the other moments that defined his career, including his eventual departure to the league doormat Atlanta Braves. No sooner did Schuerholz arrive than they won their first title in 1991—and the rest is history. You'll be there on the incredible night in 1992 when Schuerholz improbably traded for Barry Bonds-only to have the deal nixed at the eleventh hour. You'll see how through shrewd negotiation he swooped in to sign reigning Cy Young-winner Greg Maddux out from under the free-spending Yankees. You'll hear how he dealt with the horrific comments made by John Rocker, helping the Braves overcome the biggest PR nightmare in team history to win yet another division crown. Through the eyes of one of the game's sharpest executives, you'll see why Moneyball only scrapes the tip of Schuerholz's time-tested theories, as well as how he developed the premier scouting system in the majors and a free agent strategy that led the Braves to the top of the heap-fourteen years running. And in the end, you'll see what the rest of the baseball world has known for the better part of two decades: that through the brilliance of John Schuerholz, the Braves have lived with one motto, and one motto alone: "All We Do Is Win."

Author: Dave Buscema
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 1582618518
Category : Baseball
Languages : en
Pages : 282

View

Book Description
In Game of My Life: 20 Stories of Yankees Baseball, everyone from stars to supersubs offers personal stories revealing the obstacles they had to overcome in order to succeed on sports' biggest stage. Some of the biggest names to ever don the pinstripes are captured in personal portraits here, from Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to Don Mattingly, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, and all the way back to Yogi Berra and Tommy Henrich, the first Yankee to grow up dreaming of the big ballpark in the Bronx. Along with taking readers behind the scenes of the greatest moments in Yankees history--from Bucky Dent's home run to David Wells's perfect game--the book offers a glimpse of what helped the stars reach their peak. Jorge Posada made up for the dream his father lost as a political prisoner in Cuba. Ron Guidry hunted from the time he was a boy to help his hard-working father put food on the table. Mel Stottlemyre, who lost a son to leukemia, picked a seemingly meaningless regular-season game because my boys didn't think I could do it. Joe Torre first started organizing games in the park as he took refuge from his bully of a father. Don Mattingly recounts the thrill of proving he could perform on the October stage and the decision to walk away from the game without a World Series ring so he could spend time with his family. Reggie Jackson details his difficulty in adjusting to the Yankees, from his battles with Billy Martin to his eventual triumph in making World Series history. Award-winning writer Dave Buscema, who covers the Yankees on a regular basis, paints a personal picture of the Yankees' biggest stars and captures the joy of those who rose from obscurity to history. The game accountsspark memories of the most exciting moments in Yankees history. The players personal stories show that, for many of them, the Game of My Life was often about more than just a game.

Author: Lew Freedman
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1613210698
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

View

Book Description
Whether they wore white stockings or blue helmets, the baseball players of Chicago's North Side have always had great stories to tell. Now fans of this loveable franchise will finally get to hear from twenty-eight of the best players as they relive that singular moment which defined their Cubs career. In this newly updated edition of Game of My Life Chicago Cubs, veteran sportswriter Lew Freedman brings readers off the bench and onto the field with such greats as Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and more.