Full Description
Analytics, technology, and the most ambitious rewrite of the rulebook in fifty years have reshaped baseball. Benjamin G. Rader's account of the American pastime moves from diamonds scratched out of commons and corn fields to the multimedia theme parks doubling as today's baseball stadiums. The fifth edition follows the long arc of the game's history into the third decade of the twenty-first century, an era rich in innovation but even richer from revenue streams undreamt-of by the plutocrats of old. Rader brings readers up to date with looks at the Astros cheating scandal, on-the-field changes from power pitchers to ghost runners, data-driven player development and career rebirth, and the one-of-a-kind Shohei Ohtani.
Engrossing and complete, Baseball, Fifth Edition, offers a comprehensive tour of the game and its place within American society and culture.
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
The Fraternity and Its Game 5
A Commercial Spectacle 19
The First Professional Teams 30
The First Professional Leagues 42
The Players' Revolt 60
The Great Baseball War 78
Baseball's Coming of Age 91
The Big Fix 109
The Age of Ruth 123
The Age of Dynasties 136
Baseball's Great Experiment 155
The Last Days of the Old Game 171
Baseball in Trouble 188
The Empowerment of the Players 204
The Demise of Dynasties 221
The Steroid Era 238
Baseball's New Order 261
Baseball by the Numbers 277
Bibliographical Essay 295
Index 305
