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The Sweetest Swing
- Baseball Poems
- Narrated by: Don Wright
- Length: 39 mins
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Publisher's summary
This volume of poetry focuses on the game of baseball and the people involved in it. The verse delves into the sociological and psychological sides of the game, showing both its light and dark facets. It's a must-listen for baseball lovers.
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Story
Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, the finest college baseball players in the country gather in hopes of making it to "The Show." The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players. Over the last decade, baseball's hard truths became evident for the Chatham stars who went on to play professionally, and the final chapter of their story can now be written.
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Jim Collins: Great American Storyteller
- By M. Leavell on 07-01-14
By: Jim Collins
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The Last Folk Hero
- The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.
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If you are a sports fan and over 35 years old, you have to listen/read this. Awesome!
- By betty sammons on 06-29-23
By: Jeff Pearlman
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The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
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The Bad Guys Won
- A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform - and Maybe the Best
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Jeff Pearlman
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin's left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake-hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox.
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Maybe 3.5
- By Lifeisshort on 02-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Game Six
- Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime
- By: Mark Frost
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Mark Frost takes listeners back to the 1975 World Series in this thrilling account of the greatest baseball game ever played. The Reds and Red Sox endured three soggy days of inactivity to reach game six. But all that downtime could not prepare them for what happened when the skies finally cleared.
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For the love of Baseball
- By Al on 03-23-10
By: Mark Frost
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Opening Day
- The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Drawing on interviews with surviving players, sportswriters, and eyewitnesses, as well as newly discovered material from archives around the country, Jonathan Eig presents a fresh portrait of a ferocious competitor who embodied integration's promise and helped launch the modern civil-rights era. Full of new details and thrilling action, Opening Day brings to life baseball's ultimate story.
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Great book, not so great reading
- By Joe Baseball on 08-30-07
By: Jonathan Eig
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The Chicken Runs at Midnight
- A Daughter’s Message from Heaven That Changed a Father’s Heart and Won a World Series
- By: Tom Friend, Tim Kurkjian - foreword
- Narrated by: Ben Holland - foreword, Mark Schlicher
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Weaving baseball history with personal memoir, this book is one that will make you thrill to victory, believe in hope, stand up to cheer for what is good in peoples' lives. It's a powerful story of redemption and faith that reminds us that God can work in our lives even when we think it's too late to change - and sometimes he sends us signs from heaven if we only have eyes to see.
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not really a sport's fan
- By virginia loranger on 09-24-20
By: Tom Friend, and others
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The Boys of Summer
- The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What's Happened to Everybody Since
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a story about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a story by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is the story about what happened to the team when their glory days were behind them.
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Classic book!
- By Christopher Arthur on 11-19-17
By: Roger Kahn
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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
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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.
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Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
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The Year of the Pitcher
- Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age
- By: Sridhar Pappu
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Year of the Pitcher is the story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season, which culminated in one of the greatest World Series contests ever, with the Detroit Tigers coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cardinals in Game Seven of the World Series. In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter.
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Misleading Title
- By Paul on 01-25-19
By: Sridhar Pappu
What listeners say about The Sweetest Swing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- R. MCRACKAN
- 07-12-17
A baseball fan bares his soul
Any additional comments?
The Sweetest Swing is a collection of dozens of bite-sized poems. From the first poem to the last, the author's love of baseball is obvious. These poems are visual and evocative and at times they can be dripping with sentament. Whether you think this is a good thing depends on how you feel about baseball nostalgia. They started to get a bit sachrine until the one about the wife (and a few others) which renewed my interest. Through and through, The Sweetest Swing is a heartfelt love letter to the baseball.
Narration is overall good and got better as the book progressed. Early on could have used a better cadence to indicate the end of a poem. Since these are so short, the ending would often catch me off guard because the final line wasn't spoken with any sense of conclusion so it was a bit jarring when the next poem would begin. I'll still give 5 stars though since improved as the book went on.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
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- Believer50
- 07-19-17
They were poems
I got this ARC via audiobook boom. This was about forty minutes of poems about baseball. Most of the time I did not know when one ended and another began. Many of them seemed to tell a story but stopped before the ending. If you are a baseball fan you might enjoy some of them. The best thing about the book was the narrator.
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- Catrina P
- 05-27-21
Baseball poetry
A nice collection on baseball poetry that covers many aspects of the game, the players, and the fans.
William Graham did a nice job of putting together a nice set of poems for an entertaining listen.
Don Wright’s smooth voice was perfect to present each of the poems.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
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- Tiffany Fox
- 08-09-17
Sweetest Swing
The mix of William Graham's words with Don Wright's narration you make will feel as though you are on the field, about to take the plate. Don Wright sounds like a sports announcer with his clear and balanced voice. Dealing with every stage of the baseball game and life, you can tell William Graham has done his research to capture why baseball is one America's favorite pass times. From players, both new and old, to games, either at home or far away, The Sweetest Swing really is for the baseball fan. If you haven't listened and read something by William Graham before you really should check out this audio book.
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- Bill Beaulac
- 07-13-17
Take me out to the ballgame . . .
from the first wiffle-ball swings through and onto the Hall of Fame; victories and failures are sometimes just a matter of inches. This is both a lighthearted and, at times, jaded insight into America's enduring pastime. It speaks to what draws boys of all ages to the game. This is a short, well written, and keenly narrated gem that shouldn't be overlooked by even those with simply a passing interest in baseball. Well worth the time and price of investment; an all-American listen.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review and it is my hope that you find this helpful in your decision as to listen to this audible book.
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- Mandymay💄👠👛
- 07-14-17
For the love of the game ⚾
This enjoyable baseball poetry is so visually descriptive, it will have you cravings a 🌭 in the stands in no time.
My 15 year old and I were thoroughly entertained by it.
The narrator was also an excellent choice.
I requested this book in exchange for my honest review.
So is it worth owning?
For all who have a love for America's favorite past time, I think so...
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2 people found this helpful
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- Adam
- 07-12-17
Catechism in verse for the religion of baseball
Sometimes it takes a poet to pull back the veil and give you a clear perspective on one's unspoken worldview. Graham does this for baseball. It was intriguing to peer through the eyes of one who views baseball as a legitimate religious experience. I have no love for baseball, but it had such a distinctively American nostalgia to it that I couldn't help but enjoy the listening. Good poetry, bad theology.
Narration was excellent. Easy to listen to and well suited to the subject matter. Good pacing and delivery.
The religious treatment didn't hit home with me, but I am excited to hear some of his other poetry.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
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- Teresa
- 07-14-17
All Time Favorite Summer Past-time
For the love of baseball, The Sweetest Swing was a fun listen. A great collection of poems that reminded me of summers spent with my children at the ballpark getting autographs, cheering for our team, eating hotdogs, and hoping to catch fowl balls. This audiobook reminded me of those times which were priceless. Wonderful writing by William Graham. He views baseball from all aspects.
Don Wright was the perfect narrator for this audiobook.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review."
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- Nomi
- 08-20-17
Meh
Awesome narration. Other than that the book seemed a bit jumbled and almost incomplete to me.
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