Baseball Audiobooks | Sports & Recreation

Nobody ever threw a baseball better than Sandy Koufax. He dominated the game -- and the ball, making it rise, break, sing. Then, after his best season, in 1966, he was gone, retired at age thirty, leaving behind a reputation as the game's greatest lefty and most misunderstood man. The Brooklyn boy whom the Dodgers signed as "the Great Jewish Hope" will forever be known for his refusal to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. Forty years later, Koufax stands apart and alone, a legend who declines his own celebrity. In Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, Jane Leavy dispels the mystery to discover a man more than worthy of the myth.

Jane Leavy (Author), Jane Leavy, Robert Pinsky (Narrator)

Audiobook

Satchel

He is that rare American icon who has never been captured in a biography worthy of him. Now, at last, here is the superbly researched, spellbindingly told story of athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary breaker Leroy 'Satchel' Paige. Few reliable records or news reports survive about players in the Negro Leagues. Through dogged detective work, award-winning author and journalist Larry Tye has tracked down the truth about this majestic and enigmatic pitcher, interviewing more than two hundred Negro Leaguers and Major Leaguers, talking to family and friends who had never told their stories before, and retracing Paige's steps across the continent. Here is the stirring account of the child born to an Alabama washerwoman with twelve young mouths to feed, the boy who earned the nickname 'Satchel' from his enterprising work as a railroad porter, the young man who took up baseball on the streets and in reform school, inventing his trademark hesitation pitch while throwing bricks at rival gang members. Tye shows Paige barnstorming across America and growing into the superstar hurler of the Negro Leagues, a marvel who set records so eye-popping they seemed like misprints, spent as much money as he made, and left tickets for 'Mrs. Paige' that were picked up by a different woman at each game. In unprecedented detail, Tye reveals how Paige, hurt and angry when Jackie Robinson beat him to the Majors, emerged at the age of forty-two to help propel the Cleveland Indians to the World Series. He threw his last pitch from a big-league mound at an improbable fifty-nine. ('Age is a case of mind over matter,' he said. 'If you don't mind, it don't matter.') More than a fascinating account of a baseball odyssey, Satchel rewrites our history of the integration of the sport, with Satchel Paige in a starring role. This is a powerful portrait of an American hero who employed a shuffling stereotype to disarm critics and racists, floated comical legends about himself'including about his own age'to deflect inquiry and remain elusive, and in the process methodically built his own myth. 'Don't look back,' he famously said. 'Something might be gaining on you.' Separating the truth from the legend, Satchel is a remarkable accomplishment, as large as this larger-than-life man.

Larry Tye (Author), Dominic Hoffman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story: A Blind Broadcaster's Story of Overcoming Life's Greatest Obstacles

Soon to be a major motion picture, Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is the incredible true tale of a beloved Emmy-winning blind broadcaster who refused to let his disability prevent him from overcoming many challenging obstacles and achieving his dreams.In 1951, when he was only twelve years old, Ed Lucas was hit between the eyes by a baseball during a sandlot game in Jersey City. He lost his sight forever. To cheer him up, his mother wrote letters to baseball superstars of the day, explaining her son's condition. Soon Ed was invited into their clubhouses and dugouts, as the players and coaches personally made him feel at home. Despite the warm reception he got from his heroes, Ed was told repeatedly by others that he would never be able to accomplish anything worthwhile because of his limitations. But Hall-of-Famer Phil Rizzuto became Ed's mentor and encouraged him to pursue his passion-broadcasting. Ed then overcame hundreds of barriers, big and small, to become a pioneer-the first blind person covering baseball on a regular basis, a career he has successfully continued for six decades. Ed may have lost his sight, but he never lost his faith, which got him through many pitfalls and dark days. When Ed's two sons were very young, his wife walked out and left him to raise them all by himself, which he did. Six years later, Ed's ex-wife returned and sued him for full custody, saying that a blind man shouldn't have her kids. The judge agreed, tearing Ed's sons away from their father's loving home. Ed fought the heartbreaking decision with appeals all the way up to the highest level of the court system. Eventually, he prevailed, marking the very first time in US history that a disabled person was awarded custody over a non-disabled spouse. Even in his later years, Ed is still enjoying a remarkably blessed life. In 2006, he married his second wife, Allison, at home plate in old Yankee Stadium, the only time that such a thing ever happened on that iconic spot. Yankee owner George Steinbrenner himself catered the whole affair, which was shown live on national television. Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is truly a magical read and a universally uplifting and inspirational tale for everyone, whether or not you happen to be a sports fan. Over his long and amazing life, Ed has collected hundreds of anecdotes from his personal relationships and encounters with everyone, from kings and presidents to movie stars and sports Hall-of-Famers, many of which he shares in this memoir, using his trademark humorous and engaging style, cowritten with his youngest son, Christopher.

Christopher J. Lucas, Ed Lucas (Author), Christopher J. Lucas (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Frank Pastore stepped onto the mound in Dodger Stadium to throw another fastball—something he’d done thousands of times since childhood. But this time was different. The batter connected and the ball came rocketing back to the mound, shattering not only Frank’s pitching elbow—but also his dream of getting “rich and famous” through Major League Baseball.™ As he walked to the training room, Frank found himself asking a God he didn’t believe in, “Why is this happening to me?” There was no answer—at least not then. It was this injury that sent Frank, a lifelong atheist, on a journey that would change not only his mind but also his whole life—as a husband, father, friend, and troubled son. We all know the pain of shattered dreams. We’ve all wondered how to pick up the broken pieces after a crisis. We’ve all wondered, “Where is God?” when life hurts so bad. This is a story of how the fragments of broken dreams can be reassembled into even bigger and better things. A story of how, when life’s disasters and difficulties knock us down, they don’t have to destroy us. This is a story that shows how all of us can come to know we’re in God’s good hands. Even when we’re shattered.

Ellen Vaughn, Frank Pastore (Author), Frank Pastore (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels is playing baseball like no other since the legendary Babe Ruth. Ohtani's dominance as a two-way player, one that pitches and bats effectively, has taken the Major League by storm. Since entering the league, he won the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year, competed in the 2021 Home Run Derby, started in the 2021 All Star Game as both a pitcher and hitter (the first player to ever do so), won the 2021 Most Valuable Player award, and was named to Time 100's list of most influential people of 2021. The question on everyone's mind is this: How is this Japanese phenom doing this, and how far can he go? As the next generation of baseball superstars cement themselves, Ohtani, who can pitch a 100mph fastball and was a Top 3 home run leader at the end of the season, stands out amongst them all. Major League Baseball has found the new face of the sport. In Sho-time, Jeff Fletcher examines the player's path from his early days in Japan, his transition to the MLB, and a start-to-finish inside look at his historic 2021 MVP season. Along the way, Fletcher details other players who have crossed over from Japan to the major leagues, how Ohtani brought his phenomenal talent to the game at a time when technology is exploding as a means toward maximizing performance, and the role that Ohtani and his otherworldly teammate Mike Trout are playing in helping to lead baseball into the next generation.

Jeff Fletcher (Author), Kyle Tait (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sixty Feet, Six Inches

Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand America's pastime from their unique insider perspective. Legendary. Insightful. Uncompromising. Candid. Uncensored. Mr. October and Hoot Gibson unfortunately never faced each other on the field. But now, in Sixty Feet, Six Inches, these two legends open up in fascinating detail about the game they love and how it was, is, and should be played. Their one-of-a-kind insider stories recall a who's who of baseball nobility, including Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, Billy Martin, and Joe Torre. This is an unforgettable baseball history by two of its most influential superstars.

Bob Gibson, Lonnie Wheeler, Reggie Jackson (Author), Dominic Hoffman, Mirron Willis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats that are Ruining the Game, the New Ones that are Runn

Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law’s iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport. For decades, statistics such as batting average, saves recorded, and pitching won-lost records have been used to measure individual players’ and teams’ potential and success. But in the past fifteen years, a revolutionary new standard of measurement—sabermetrics—has been embraced by front offices in Major League Baseball and among fantasy baseball enthusiasts. But while sabermetrics is recognized as being smarter and more accurate, traditionalists, including journalists, fans, and managers, stubbornly believe that the "old" way—a combination of outdated numbers and "gut" instinct—is still the best way. Baseball, they argue, should be run by people, not by numbers. In this informative and provocative book, the renowned ESPN analyst and senior baseball writer demolishes a century’s worth of accepted wisdom, making the definitive case against the long-established view. Armed with concrete examples from different eras of baseball history, logic, a little math, and lively commentary, he shows how the allegiance to these numbers—dating back to the beginning of the professional game—is firmly rooted not in accuracy or success, but in baseball’s irrational adherence to tradition. While Law gores sacred cows, from clutch performers to RBIs to the infamous save rule, he also demystifies sabermetrics, explaining what these "new" numbers really are and why they’re vital. He also considers the game’s future, examining how teams are using Data—from PhDs to sophisticated statistical databases—to build future rosters; changes that will transform baseball and all of professional sports. **Please Contact Customer Service for Additional Documents**

Keith Law (Author), Mike Chamberlain (Narrator)

Audiobook

Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back

Luis Tiant is one of the most charismatic and accomplished players in Boston Red Sox history-a cigar-chomping maestro who was the heart and soul of Boston's teams in the 1970s. In his white polyester uniform, with a paunch in his belly and a Fu Manchu mustache on his face, Tiant looked like a guy rolling out of bed for a Sunday-morning beer league. But nobody was a tougher competitor on the diamond, and few were as successful. There may be no more qualified pitcher not yet enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. His big-league dreams came at a steep price-racism in the Deep South and the Boston suburbs, fifteen years separated from a family held captive in Castro's Cuba. But baseball also delivered World Series stardom and a heroic return to his island home after a half-century of forced exile. The man whose name-'El Tiante'-became a Fenway Park battle cry has never fully shared his tale in his own words, until now. In Son of Havana, Tiant puts his huge heart on his sleeve and describes his road from fields strewn with rocks and rubbish in Havana to the pristine lawns of Major League ballparks. Ballplayers, family, and media also weigh-in-including a foreword by fellow 1975 hero Carl Yastrzemski and the first in-depth interview ever with Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk on the magic behind the Boston batterymates.

Luis Tiant (Author), Leon Nixon (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sons of Baseball: Growing Up with a Major League Dad

A rare glimpse of professional ballplayers, not as pitchers, hitters, managers, and coaches, but as dads and grandads. Sons of major league baseball players grow up in a unique environment, not only because they are raised in part by professional athletes, but also because they are raised by the game itself. They come of age immersed in the distinct sounds and aromas of baseball. The locker rooms, the cinderblock-lined corridors beneath the stands, the dugouts, and the fields are the playgrounds of their youth. In Sons of Baseball, Mark Braff interviews 18 men who share their exclusive stories, ballpark memories, and the challenges and rewards of having fathers whose talents enabled them to reach the pinnacle of their profession. Each chapter is devoted to one son talking about his experiences, from the poignancy of one son’s disclosure that his dad has not been able to acknowledge his son’s sexuality as a gay man, to the humor of another son absconding with the groundskeepers’ cart in Cleveland. With a foreword by Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and interviews with the sons of beloved players such as Yogi Berra, Mariano Rivera, Roger Maris, Gil Hodges, and Larry Doby, Sons of Baseball provides a unique, well-rounded perspective on the lives of professional ballplayers and their families.

Mark Braff (Author), Tim H. Dixon (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sports Byline: Ben Braun

Ben Braun, 37 year college basketball coach of the University of California, Rice, and Eastern Michigan, talks in depth about the recent outbreaks of college basketball scandals being investigated by the FBI involving corruption and bribery. Braun talks about how the corruption has shifted from point shaving and gambling to bribery and taking advantage of players and their families.

Ron Barr (Author), Ben Braun, Ron Barr (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sports Byline: Cam Perron

In this Sports Byline interview, Ron Barr talks to Cam Perron, who developed an interest in the Negro League baseball players when he was just 12 years old. Perron has since been chronicling his research on the players and the league, and was featured on HBO's Real Sports. Perron shares stories from the Negro League players he's become close with in his research and gives insight into this overlooked part of baseball history.

Ron Barr (Author), Cam Perron, Ron Barr (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sports Byline: Dave Kaval

Dave Kaval, president of the Oakland A's and founder of the independent Golden Baseball League, talks about his mission to get a new stadium built in Oakland, as well as how he took inspiration from Steve Jobs to start the Golden Baseball League. Kaval gives insight on the Cleveland sports fan mentality, growing up in Cleveland and going to Municipal Stadium and the intimacy of being a Cleveland sports fan in the 80s.

Ron Barr (Author), Dave Kaval, Ron Barr (Narrator)

Audiobook

Baseball Audiobooks in Sports & Recreation