Navigating Travel Baseball - 7U to 14U: What Parents and Players Need to Know Right Now!
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tony Midea
-
Mitch Midea
About this listen
A year-by-year guide of what to expect and how to find the best team for your son, plus a player's perspective on many aspects of travel baseball.
Your son has been invited to join a travel team, and your life is about to change in ways large and small. Enjoy the ride, and let us help you navigate. We’ve been part of a travel-baseball family for many years now, and it has been a wonderful experience. But it would’ve been nice to know what we were getting into and how this would change year after year.
There are plenty of “little league” guides in the marketplace. But you would be hard pressed to find a detailed year-by-year guide on firsthand travel baseball experiences you could use to prepare you for each season and even to help you choose the right team for your son. This audiobook is the guide you’ve been looking for and will help you make the most of your travel baseball life and experiences.
Your travel baseball experience will be closely tied to your relationship with your coaching staff. This guide provides a list of questions to ask the coach before agreeing to play with a travel team. Questions such as player fees, practice schedules, fundraiser opportunities, outside training requirements, if family vacations are allowed during the season, pitching philosophies, and many more are included. Gain an understanding of how the game changes year after year.
This audiobook devotes a chapter to each age division, beginning with seven and under and continuing through 14 and under, and provides guidance on rule changes, field dimensions, and coaches' expectations. It includes techniques of how to effectively advocate for your son (and how to not be the problem parent). We also discuss avenues to avoid having your son overpitched.
Learn what the coaching staff will expect from your son...and your family.
Expectations at this level of competitive play are far higher than in community recreation leagues. Players are expected to come to practice ready for action, and training outside of practice will be expected. These expectations will increase each year. Learn what will be expected at each age range.
Learn sources for discounted baseball gear.
The costs associated with travel baseball are often in the thousands of dollars for players’ fees in addition to the necessary baseball gear. We provide some of our favorite sources for discounted quality baseball gear from local and online retailers. Did you know taking your bat to your local batting cage voids the warranty? Also included are dos and don’ts for one of the most expensive purchases - your bat.
About the authors: We love to write. We love to share and communicate. We love baseball. So this audiobook is a natural endeavor for us as we can combine all of our loves into one very useful work of art that will benefit anyone who chooses to spend some time with us.
©2015 Tony Midea (P)2018 Tony MideaListeners also enjoyed...
-
Ninety Percent Mental
- By: Bob Tewksbury, Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Bob Tewksbury
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Ninety Percent Mental, Bob Tewksbury shows listeners a side of the game only he can provide, given his singular background as both a longtime MLB pitcher and a mental skills coach for two of the sport's most fabled franchises, the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. Fans watching the game on television or even at the stadium don't have access to the mind games a pitcher must play in order to get through an at-bat, an inning, a game.
-
-
Unique and fascinating perspective
- By elizabeth on 04-11-18
By: Bob Tewksbury, and others
-
Fun over Fear
- Myths and Realities of Youth Baseball. Ages 3-9
- By: Walter A. Beede
- Narrated by: Frank Gerard
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the parent of two sons who went on to play baseball in college as well as a former head baseball coach at the NCAA level, I want to share alternatives with parents that will allow their children to avoid the anxiety and stress that many face within the overstructured and overorganized world of travel baseball. The hamster wheel of travel ball is a business model and not a baseball development model. For kids, baseball should be all about one thing—having fun! We play it as kids, watch and listen to it as adults, and pass down our love of it through generations.
-
-
Tons of things I didn't know before
- By hudlocke on 05-20-22
By: Walter A. Beede
-
The Process
- A Family's Guide to Developing College Ready Recruits from Little League through High School
- By: Walter Beede
- Narrated by: Brad Parsons
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by former a NCAA head coach and most importantly a baseball dad, The Process shares with you what it takes to get there from little league ages through high school. Walter is a baseball dad who played and coached for the last 40 years and helped develop both of his sons to play in college and helped his son Tyler play for the San Francisco Giants. Having lived through the entire process as a student athlete, college head coach, and father, Walter knows what matters most for your child.
-
-
Amazing insights to youth baseball and beyond
- By Scott Storey on 06-29-24
By: Walter Beede
-
The Matheny Manifesto
- A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life
- By: Mike Matheny, Jerry B. Jenkins
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Matheny was just 41, 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 three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results.
-
-
If your a youth coach, get this book
- By Brady on 12-11-15
By: Mike Matheny, and others
-
History of Baseball for Kids
- Basic Knowledge of Baseball with Some Fun Facts and Records
- By: William Lawson
- Narrated by: George Pettingell
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s no surprise that, with so much exposure to the game, your child has developed an interest in the sport. Every single time they’re around someone who loves baseball, they’re going to hear excited conversations about scores, player performance, and historical clashes between top players. And when your child starts to get curious and ask out-of-the-box questions, they’re going to turn to you for answers.
-
-
Informative and Engaging
- By Bobby Jane on 08-03-23
By: William Lawson
-
The Science of Hitting
- By: Ted Williams, John Underwood
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Williams was arguably the greatest pure hitter who ever lived. A lifelong student of hitting, he sought advice from every great hitter - and pitcher - he met. Drawing on that advice, as well as his own legendary life in baseball, Williams produced the all-time batting classic, The Science of Hitting. Using its detailed and concise coaching, players of all skill levels will learn how to improve their fundamentals and gain keen insights into the finer points of hitting.
-
-
Excellent take on hitting
- By Josh Watson on 07-22-24
By: Ted Williams, and others
-
Ninety Percent Mental
- By: Bob Tewksbury, Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Bob Tewksbury
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Ninety Percent Mental, Bob Tewksbury shows listeners a side of the game only he can provide, given his singular background as both a longtime MLB pitcher and a mental skills coach for two of the sport's most fabled franchises, the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. Fans watching the game on television or even at the stadium don't have access to the mind games a pitcher must play in order to get through an at-bat, an inning, a game.
-
-
Unique and fascinating perspective
- By elizabeth on 04-11-18
By: Bob Tewksbury, and others
-
Fun over Fear
- Myths and Realities of Youth Baseball. Ages 3-9
- By: Walter A. Beede
- Narrated by: Frank Gerard
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the parent of two sons who went on to play baseball in college as well as a former head baseball coach at the NCAA level, I want to share alternatives with parents that will allow their children to avoid the anxiety and stress that many face within the overstructured and overorganized world of travel baseball. The hamster wheel of travel ball is a business model and not a baseball development model. For kids, baseball should be all about one thing—having fun! We play it as kids, watch and listen to it as adults, and pass down our love of it through generations.
-
-
Tons of things I didn't know before
- By hudlocke on 05-20-22
By: Walter A. Beede
-
The Process
- A Family's Guide to Developing College Ready Recruits from Little League through High School
- By: Walter Beede
- Narrated by: Brad Parsons
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by former a NCAA head coach and most importantly a baseball dad, The Process shares with you what it takes to get there from little league ages through high school. Walter is a baseball dad who played and coached for the last 40 years and helped develop both of his sons to play in college and helped his son Tyler play for the San Francisco Giants. Having lived through the entire process as a student athlete, college head coach, and father, Walter knows what matters most for your child.
-
-
Amazing insights to youth baseball and beyond
- By Scott Storey on 06-29-24
By: Walter Beede
-
The Matheny Manifesto
- A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life
- By: Mike Matheny, Jerry B. Jenkins
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Matheny was just 41, 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 three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results.
-
-
If your a youth coach, get this book
- By Brady on 12-11-15
By: Mike Matheny, and others
-
History of Baseball for Kids
- Basic Knowledge of Baseball with Some Fun Facts and Records
- By: William Lawson
- Narrated by: George Pettingell
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s no surprise that, with so much exposure to the game, your child has developed an interest in the sport. Every single time they’re around someone who loves baseball, they’re going to hear excited conversations about scores, player performance, and historical clashes between top players. And when your child starts to get curious and ask out-of-the-box questions, they’re going to turn to you for answers.
-
-
Informative and Engaging
- By Bobby Jane on 08-03-23
By: William Lawson
-
The Science of Hitting
- By: Ted Williams, John Underwood
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Williams was arguably the greatest pure hitter who ever lived. A lifelong student of hitting, he sought advice from every great hitter - and pitcher - he met. Drawing on that advice, as well as his own legendary life in baseball, Williams produced the all-time batting classic, The Science of Hitting. Using its detailed and concise coaching, players of all skill levels will learn how to improve their fundamentals and gain keen insights into the finer points of hitting.
-
-
Excellent take on hitting
- By Josh Watson on 07-22-24
By: Ted Williams, and others
-
Moneyball
- The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of major league teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.
-
-
Excellent Book, Outstanding Narration, Sloppy Edit
- By Dirk Turgid on 03-05-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
The Captain
- A Memoir
- By: David Wright, Anthony DiComo
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Wright played his entire Major League Baseball career for one team, the team he dreamed of playing for as a kid: the New York Mets. A quick fan favorite from Virginia who then earned his stripes in New York, Wright came back time and again from injury and demonstrated the power of hard work, total commitment, and an infinite love of the game.
-
-
Literal Chills
- By Billy Schutt on 11-15-20
By: David Wright, and others
-
The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
-
-
Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
-
The F*It List
- Life Lessons from a Human Crash Test Dummy
- By: Eric Byrnes
- Narrated by: Eric Byrnes
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is more than just an audiobook. It's an attitude. It's a mentality. It's a lifestyle. The F*It List is my journey, my life, my lessons, my successes, and my many failures...in my own words. The F*It List forces action. It promotes energy and gives life. It allows you to stand up for what you believe but also helps give perspective on external situations and opinions outside of your control. It's not always comfortable, and in many instances, it is downright scary. Yet, instead of searching for the meaning of life, you will be authentically living it.
-
-
Find something else.
- By David E. on 11-04-19
By: Eric Byrnes
-
Papi
- My Story
- By: David Ortiz, Michael Holley
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David "Big Papi" Ortiz is a baseball icon and one of the most popular figures ever to play the game. As a key part of the Boston Red Sox for 14 years, David has helped the team win three World Series, bringing back a storied franchise from "never wins" to "always wins". He helped them upend the doubts, the naysayers, and the nonbelievers and captured the imagination of millions of fans along the way, as he launched balls into the stands again and again and again.
-
-
Great Story Cover To Cover
- By Rich Gasser on 03-20-18
By: David Ortiz, and others
-
Get in the Game
- 8 Principles of Perseverance That Make the Difference
- By: Cal Ripken Jr., Donald T. Phillips
- Narrated by: Cal Ripken Jr.
- Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Baseball's all-time Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr., retired from baseball in 2001 after breaking countless records, including Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. Ripken is admired by thousands of fans not only for his relentless perseverance, but also for his unparalleled integrity. Now, in a stirring audiobook that draws on his exhilarating career as well as the wisdom of his legendary father, Ripken shares rousing advice centered around his proven Eight Elements of Perseverance.
-
-
Great Insight
- By Ken R on 06-14-21
By: Cal Ripken Jr., and others
-
The Cubs Way
- The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse
- By: Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Tom Verducci
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions.
-
-
The best baseball book I’ve ever read
- By Michael Klotz on 04-15-17
By: Tom Verducci
-
Mookie
- Life, Baseball, and the '86 Mets
- By: Mookie Wilson, Erik Sherman, Keith Hernandez - foreword
- Narrated by: Ruffin Prentiss
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They said it was the "Curse of the Bambino". They said "the bad guys won". Now one of baseball’s all-time good guys, New York Mets legend Mookie Wilson, tells his side of the story - from the ground ball through Bill Buckner’s legs that capped the miraculous 1986 World Series Game Six rally against the Boston Red Sox to the rise and fall of a team that boasted such outsize personalities as Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, and Davey Johnson.
-
-
For Mookie fans only
- By Judy on 05-10-14
By: Mookie Wilson, and others
-
How to Beat a Broken Game
- The Rise of the Dodgers in a League on the Brink
- By: Pedro Moura
- Narrated by: Pedro Moura
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winning at modern baseball is nothing like it was even twenty years ago. In the years since the famous Moneyball revolution, baseball has grown to look less like a sport than a Wall Street firm that traded its boiler room for a field. Teams relentlessly chase every tiny advantage to win games and make money, even as it hurts fans, TV ratings, and players, courting bigger problems in the long run. This dramatic and insightful book takes you into the clubhouse with the championship players, as well as into the offices where teams constantly seek new ways to win.
-
-
Good insight on Dodgers system
- By Michelle & A on 03-02-23
By: Pedro Moura
-
The Book of Joe
- Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life
- By: Joe Maddon, Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the “shot and beer” town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon over 19 seasons in Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Anaheim has become one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century.
-
-
Long long ride to the Show
- By Amazon Customer on 07-02-24
By: Joe Maddon, and others
-
One Last Strike
- By: Tony La Russa
- Narrated by: Tony La Russa, Scott Sowers
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 33 seasons managing in Major League Baseball, Tony La Russa thought he had seen it all - that is, until the 2011 Cardinals. Down ten and a half games with little more than a month to play, the Cardinals had long been ruled out as serious postseason contenders. Yet in the face of those steep odds, this team mounted one of the most dramatic and impressive comebacks in baseball history, making the playoffs on the night of the final game of the season and going on to win the World Series despite being down to their last strike - twice.
-
-
Insight to the 2011 Cards Magical Season and More
- By Mark Gandy on 10-06-12
By: Tony La Russa
-
Try Not to Suck
- The Exceptional, Extraordinary Baseball Life of Joe Maddon
- By: Bill Chastain, Jesse Rogers, Ben Zobrist - foreword
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his irreverant personality, laid-back approach, and penchant for the unexpected, Joe Maddon is a singular presence among Major League Baseball managers. Whether he's bringing clowns and live bear cubs to spring training or leading the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in 108 years, Maddon is always one to watch. In Try Not to Suck, ESPN's Jesse Rogers and MLB.com's Bill Chastain fully explore Maddon's life and career, delving behind the scenes and dissecting that mystique which makes Maddon so popular with players and analysts alike.
By: Bill Chastain, and others
Related to this topic
-
The Journey Home
- My Life in Pinstripes
- By: Jorge Posada, Gary Brozek
- Narrated by: Lorenzo Irizarry
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 17 seasons the name Jorge Posada was synonymous with New York Yankees baseball. A fixture behind home plate throughout the Yankees biggest successes, Jorge became the Yankees' star catcher almost immediately upon his arrival, and in the years that followed, his accomplishments, work ethic, and leadership established him as one of the greatest Yankees ever to put on the uniform.
-
-
Jorge who?!!
- By Jacques on 11-30-22
By: Jorge Posada, and others
-
As They See 'Em
- A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires
- By: Bruce Weber
- Narrated by: Charley Steiner
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of American baseball fans know, with absolute certainty, that umpires are simply overpaid galoots who are doing an easy job badly. Millions of American baseball fans are wrong. As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true.
-
-
Judging Umpires
- By Bruce on 11-28-09
By: Bruce Weber
-
The Shift
- The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking
- By: Russell A. Carleton, Jeff Passan - foreword
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With its three-hour-long contests, 162-game seasons, and countless measurable variables, baseball is a sport which lends itself to self-reflection and obsessive analysis. It's a thinking game. It's also a shifting game. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike.
-
-
Baseball Players are Human? Who knew?
- By Casey on 06-20-19
By: Russell A. Carleton, and others
-
Dollar Sign on the Muscle
- The World of Baseball Scouting
- By: Kevin Kerrane
- Narrated by: Patrick Kerrane
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Humorous case histories and profiles of great baseball scouts accompany a discussion of the trade secrets of baseball scouts, the economics of scouting, player development, and the history of the profession. In a new epilogue Kevin Kerrane explores the world of baseball scouting in the late 1990s.
-
-
Good for diehards, but dated and riddled w errors
- By Kindle Customer on 03-02-17
By: Kevin Kerrane
-
Where Nobody Knows Your Name
- Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Feinstein is one of the most influential sportswriters of the last three decades. In his masterful new audiobook, Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Feinstein delivers a fascinating account of the mysterious proving ground of America’s national pastime, pulling back the veil on the minor leagues of baseball.
-
-
Living on the Cusp of a Dream
- By W Perry Hall on 04-09-14
By: John Feinstein
-
The Baseball Whisperer
- A Small-Town Coach Who Shaped Big League Dreams
- By: Michael Tackett
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clarinda, Iowa, population 5,000, sits two hours from anything. There, between the cornfields and hog yards, is a ball field with a bronze bust of a man named Merl Eberly, a baseball whisperer who specialized in second chances and lost causes. The statue was a gift from one of Merl's original long-shot projects, a skinny kid from the ghetto in Los Angeles who would one day become a beloved Hall of Fame shortstop: Ozzie Smith.
-
-
Great book!
- By zane Butler on 08-13-21
By: Michael Tackett
-
The Journey Home
- My Life in Pinstripes
- By: Jorge Posada, Gary Brozek
- Narrated by: Lorenzo Irizarry
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 17 seasons the name Jorge Posada was synonymous with New York Yankees baseball. A fixture behind home plate throughout the Yankees biggest successes, Jorge became the Yankees' star catcher almost immediately upon his arrival, and in the years that followed, his accomplishments, work ethic, and leadership established him as one of the greatest Yankees ever to put on the uniform.
-
-
Jorge who?!!
- By Jacques on 11-30-22
By: Jorge Posada, and others
-
As They See 'Em
- A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires
- By: Bruce Weber
- Narrated by: Charley Steiner
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of American baseball fans know, with absolute certainty, that umpires are simply overpaid galoots who are doing an easy job badly. Millions of American baseball fans are wrong. As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true.
-
-
Judging Umpires
- By Bruce on 11-28-09
By: Bruce Weber
-
The Shift
- The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking
- By: Russell A. Carleton, Jeff Passan - foreword
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With its three-hour-long contests, 162-game seasons, and countless measurable variables, baseball is a sport which lends itself to self-reflection and obsessive analysis. It's a thinking game. It's also a shifting game. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike.
-
-
Baseball Players are Human? Who knew?
- By Casey on 06-20-19
By: Russell A. Carleton, and others
-
Dollar Sign on the Muscle
- The World of Baseball Scouting
- By: Kevin Kerrane
- Narrated by: Patrick Kerrane
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Humorous case histories and profiles of great baseball scouts accompany a discussion of the trade secrets of baseball scouts, the economics of scouting, player development, and the history of the profession. In a new epilogue Kevin Kerrane explores the world of baseball scouting in the late 1990s.
-
-
Good for diehards, but dated and riddled w errors
- By Kindle Customer on 03-02-17
By: Kevin Kerrane
-
Where Nobody Knows Your Name
- Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Feinstein is one of the most influential sportswriters of the last three decades. In his masterful new audiobook, Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Feinstein delivers a fascinating account of the mysterious proving ground of America’s national pastime, pulling back the veil on the minor leagues of baseball.
-
-
Living on the Cusp of a Dream
- By W Perry Hall on 04-09-14
By: John Feinstein
-
The Baseball Whisperer
- A Small-Town Coach Who Shaped Big League Dreams
- By: Michael Tackett
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clarinda, Iowa, population 5,000, sits two hours from anything. There, between the cornfields and hog yards, is a ball field with a bronze bust of a man named Merl Eberly, a baseball whisperer who specialized in second chances and lost causes. The statue was a gift from one of Merl's original long-shot projects, a skinny kid from the ghetto in Los Angeles who would one day become a beloved Hall of Fame shortstop: Ozzie Smith.
-
-
Great book!
- By zane Butler on 08-13-21
By: Michael Tackett
-
The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
- Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the ultimate in fantasy baseball: You get to pick the roster, set the lineup, and decide on strategies - with real players, in a real ballpark, in a real playoff race. That's what baseball analysts Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller got to do when an independent minor-league team in California, the Sonoma Stompers, offered them the chance to run its baseball operations according to the most advanced statistics.
-
-
Narrarators have never watched baseball. Ever!
- By Anon on 06-02-16
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
-
Long Shot
- By: Mike Piazza, Lonnie Wheeler
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Piazza
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a "courtesy pick". The Dodgers never expected him to play for them - or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League Rookie of the Year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star 12 times. Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story.
-
-
I only thought i knew the Mike Piazza story
- By James on 03-24-13
By: Mike Piazza, and others
-
Power Ball
- Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game
- By: Rob Neyer
- Narrated by: Rob Neyer
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.
-
-
Solid overview of Baseball in 2018
- By Tyler Burch on 11-21-18
By: Rob Neyer
-
The Best Team Money Can Buy
- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse
- By: Molly Knight
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined.
-
-
BOTH BOOK AND TEAM NEED TO BE BETTER
- By Ray on 09-06-15
By: Molly Knight
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Inside the Baseball Revolution
- By: Brian Kenny
- Narrated by: Brian Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most people who resist logical thought in baseball preach "tradition" and "respecting the game". But many of baseball's traditions go back to the 19th century, when the pitcher's job was to provide the batter with a ball he could hit and fielders played without gloves. Instead of fearing change, Brian Kenny wants fans to think critically, reject outmoded groupthink, and embrace the changes that have come with the "sabermetric era".
-
-
Wonderful detail on baseballs past and future
- By Bradley on 07-27-16
By: Brian Kenny
-
Three Nights in August
- Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
- By: Buzz Bissinger
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Nordling
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series.
-
-
Book with good premise follows through
- By Peter on 11-18-05
By: Buzz Bissinger
-
The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
-
-
Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
-
The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
-
-
Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
-
A Band of Misfits
- Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants
- By: Andrew Baggarly
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 53 years, San Francisco waited. Waited for a team like the 2010 Giants to come along. Waited for a team that could end a title drought that started in New York and carried on for more than five decades after a move to the West Coast. Waited for that one magical postseason run that could unleash more than a half-century of pent-up frustration. At long last, the 2010 Giants hopped on that magic carpet and made it happen. San Jose Mercury News beat reporter Andrew Baggarly captured the 2010 Giants' incredible run through the regular season, playoffs and World Series in his new book.
-
-
Relived that season!
- By jeff olson on 12-20-18
By: Andrew Baggarly
-
Fall from Grace
- The Truth and Tragedy of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson
- By: Tim Hornbaker
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered by Ty Cobb as the "finest natural hitter in the history of the game," "Shoeless Joe" Jackson is ranked with the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball diamond. With a career .356 batting average - which is still ranked third all-time - the man from Pickens County, South Carolina, was on his way to becoming one of the greatest players in the sport's history. That is until the "Black Sox" scandal of 1919, which shook baseball to its core.
-
-
Entertaining and Educational
- By Colorfinger on 06-14-19
By: Tim Hornbaker
-
108 Stitches
- Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game
- By: Ron Darling, Daniel Paisner - contributor
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is New York Times bestselling author and Emmy-nominated broadcaster Ron Darling's 108 baseball anecdotes that connect America’s game to the men who played it. Darling has played with or reported on just about everybody who has put on a uniform since 1983, and they in turn have played with or reported on just about everybody who put on a uniform in a previous generation. Like the 108 stitches on a baseball, Darling's experiences are interwoven with every athlete who has ever played, every coach or manager, and every fan.
-
-
Meh
- By Amazon Customer on 04-13-19
By: Ron Darling, and others
-
The Mental Game of Baseball
- A Guide to Peak Performance
- By: H.A. Dorfman, Karl Kuehl, Rick Wolff - foreword
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book, authors H.A. Dorfman and Karl Kuehl present their practical and proven strategy for developing the mental skills needed to achieve peak performance at every level of the game. The theory and applications are illustrated by anecdotes and insights from major and minor league players, who at some point discovered the importance of mastering the inner game in order to play baseball as it should be played. Intended for players, managers, coaches, agents, and administrators as well as fans who want a more in-depth look at the makeup of the complete baseball player.
-
-
Dry but great information
- By Amazon Customer on 01-13-20
By: H.A. Dorfman, and others