Touching All the Bases: Baseball in 101 Fascinating Stories

Around 1863, William “Candy” Cummings discovered he could make clamshells curve when thrown—a skill he transferred to baseball as a pitcher for the New York Excelsiors. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team in baseball to place all of their players on salary. And in 1945, the St. Louis Browns recruited a one-armed outfielder to the majors. These stories and much more are brought to life in Touching All the Bases: Baseball in 101 Fascinating Stories, an all-encompassing look at the game of baseball. Past to present, this book covers the sport in its entirety, from its defining moments on the field to the outside-the-ballpark influences that have shaped the game over the years. Unique chapters—such as the impact of World War II, legal issues, labor disputes, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, and the doping dilemma—complement accounts of milestone events, individual and team achievements, and the most famous games, plays, and players of the sport. Appendixes provide lists of World Series, batting and homerun champions, perfect games, player nicknames, award winners, and more. A comprehensive collection of baseball’s history, evolution, and memorable moments, Touching All the Bases will entertain, inform, and educate all those interested in baseball, whether a casual fan or a dedicated enthusiast.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter One: In the Beginning 1. The Diamond, the Team, and the Rules Chapter Two: Firsts 2. First All-Salaried Professional Team 3. The Pioneers 4. First World Series 5. First Night Game 6. First Farm System 7. First Radio and Television Broadcasts 8. First Designated Hitter … and the DH’s Ancestor Chapter Three: The Most Famous Plays 9. Bill Wambsganss: Unassisted Triple Play 10. Willie Mays: “The Catch” 11. Bobby Thomson: “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” 12. Enos Slaughter: “The Mad Dash” 13. Gabby Hartnett: “The Homer in the Gloamin’” 14. Jeter’s Miracle 15. Bill Mazeroski: Seventh Game Walk Off Home run 16. Kirk Gibson: The Unbelievable Home run 17. Babe Ruth: “The Called Shot” 18. Bucky Dent: The Unprintable Middle Name 19. Al Gionfriddo: The Catch That Frustrated DiMaggio Chapter Four: The Most Famous Misplays 20. Mickey Owen: The Dropped Third Strike 21. Fred Snodgrass: “The $30,000 Muff” 22. Fred Merkle’s Bonehead Play 23. Bill Buckner’s Error Chapter Five: Streaks and Sustained Excellence 24. DiMaggio’s Hitting Streak 25. Ted Williams: Consecutive Games/Times on Base 26. Johnny Vander Meer: Two Consecutive No-Hitters 27. Orel Hershiser: 59 Consecutive Scoreless Innings Pitched 28. Eric Gagne: 84 Consecutive Saves 29. Charles Radbourn: 60 Victories in a Season (Or Maybe Only 59) 30. Carl Hubbell: 24 Consecutive Pitching Victories 31. Home runs in Eight Consecutive Games 32. New York Yankees: Five Consecutive World Championships 33. Longest Winning Streak 34. At the Top of Their Games … For Years and Years Chapter Six: Streaks and Sustained (Lack of) Excellence 35. Zero for 2011 36. Longest Losing Streak 37. Anthony Young: 27 Consecutive Losses 38. The Worst Team Chapter Seven: Highs and Lows 39. First Pitch Grand Slam 40. First Game No-Hitter 41. Home runs on First Two At-Bats 42. Two Grand Slams in One Inning 43. Three Hits in One Inning 44. Twelve RBIs in a Game 45. Twelve Hits in a Row 46. Seven for Seven 47. Three Swings Seven Outs, and Other Bad Times Chapter Eight: Special Games 48. The Long and the Short 49. The Most Innings 50. Seventeen Runs in One Inning 51. The Most Runs Scored 52. Twelve Perfect Innings 53. Double No-Hitter 54. The Most Unusual No-Hitter – Or Was It a 26-Out Perfect Game? 55. Larsen’s Perfect Game 56. The Pine Tar Game 57. The Bloody Sock Chapter Nine: Moments to Remember 58. The Garbled Phone Calls Game: “Can You Hear Me Now?” 59. The Fan in Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113 60. Jeter Hits a Home run – Or Maybe Not 61. Stirnweiss’s Batting Title 62. Ted Williams: .406 on the Last Day 63. September 28, 2011: Hours and Hours of Excitement 64. Moments that Transcend the Game Chapter Ten: Hall of Fame 65. Babe Ruth 66. Walter Johnson 67. Ty Cobb 68. Honus Wagner 69. Christy Mathewson Chapter Eleven: All-Star Game 70. The Windblown Balk 71. Carl Hubbell: 5Ks in a Row 72. The Eephus Pitch 73. The Collision Chapter Twelve: The Most Famous Teams 74. “Murderer’s Row” 75. The “Big Red Machine” 76. The “Miracle Braves” 77 The “Hitless Wonders” Chapter Thirteen: Franchises and Leagues 78. Major League Franchises 79. Other Major Leagues 80. The Negro Leagues Chapter Fourteen: Elysian Fields 81. The Ball Parks Chapter Fifteen: The Equipment 82. The Baseball 83. The Baseball Bat 84. Gloves and Mitts 85. Uniforms and Associated Gear Chapter Sixteen: Computing the Stats 86 The Major Stats: What the Numbers Mean 87. The Stories the Numbers Tell Chapter Seventeen: The Awards 88. Honors Bestowed Chapter Eighteen: The Black Sox Scandal 89. “Say It Ain’t So, Joe” Chapter Nineteen: The Steroids Era 90. The Doping Dilemma Chapter Twenty: The Impact of World War II 91. Ted Williams: Left Fielder, Boston Red Sox 92. Bob Feller: Pitcher, Cleveland Indians 93. Warren Spahn: Pitcher, Boston/Milwaukee Braves 94. Pete Gray: The One-Armed Ballplayer 95. The Women’s League Chapter Twenty-One: The Legacy of Jackie Robinson 96. Jackie Chapter Twenty-Two: Pitching 97. Pitching: From Past to Present – Tracing the Changes Chapter Twenty-Three: The Reserve Clause 98. Management vs. Labor Chapter Twenty-Four: Running the Business 99. Front Office Operations: Rosters, Waivers, Options, Free Agency Chapter Twenty-Five: Baseball in Song, Verse, and Show Business 100. Baseball in the Arts and on Screen Chapter Twenty-Six: Nicknames 101. Dr. Strangeglove and other Labels Appendixes Appendix 1: Spring Training Sites Appendix 2: World Series Results Appendix 3: Unassisted Triple Plays Appendix 4: Perfect Games Appendix 5: Hall of Fame Membership Appendix 6: Major League Ball Parks Appendix 7: Batting Champions Appendix 8: Home run Champions Appendix 9: Triple Crown Winners Appendix 10: MVP Award Winners Appendix 11: Cy Young Award Winners Appendix 12: Rookies of the Year Appendix 13: Gold Glove Record Holders Appendix 14: Silver Slugger Record Holders Appendix 15: Commissioners of Baseball Appendix 16: Labor Disputes Appendix 17: Casey at the Bat and a Sampling of Sequels Appendix 18: Nicknames Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

About the Author :
Thomas D. Phillips lectures on baseball history to a wide variety of audiences. His writings about baseball have appeared in Elysian Fields Quarterly: The Baseball Review, Spitball: The Baseball Literary Journal, and other publications.

Review :
Baseball writer Phillips offers a compendium that spans baseball's history from its beginnings (most likely in 1845) all the way to game five of the 2011 World Series. Phillips covers notable firsts (night game, radio/TV broadcasts, salaried team), famous plays (including "The Catch" by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series and Bill Buckner's ball-between-the-legs error in the 1986 World Series), and remarkable streaks (Eric Gagne's 84 consecutive saves between 2002 and 2004 and the 1899 Cleveland Spiders' loss of 134 out of 154 games). Chapters devoted to Hall of Famers, ballparks, equipment and statistics—as well as a whopping 18 appendixes dig deeper into the game and may provide new information even for longtime fans, as might lengthier essays on the steroids era, the impact of WWII, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the evolution of pitching, and the reserve clause. The book works both as a cover-to-cover read and a reference, and Phillips's straightforward style gives it broad appeal. A fine, entertaining introduction to the sport, especially accessible for public library patrons such as young readers, new fans, and those unfamiliar with baseball lore.