Throwing Heat A Diamonds And Dugouts Novel

The sexy baseball players of Jennifer Seasons' Diamonds and Dugouts series slide into home with a final fiery romance worthy of a World Series win. Nightclub manager Leslie Cutter has never been one to back down from a bet. So when Peter Kowalskin, pitcher for the Denver Rush baseball team, bets her that she can't keep her hands off of him, she's not about to let the arrogant, gorgeous playboy win. Especially when the prize could put her business on the map. She's got this in the bag, just so long as she can stay out of his arms … and his bed. Peter struck out once before with Leslie, but this bet is sure to be the second chance he's been waiting for. Determined to stoke the passion he knows is there, he'll do anything to win—even if it means playing a little dirty. But as things heat up, this combustible pair will have to decide just how much they're willing to wager on one another … and on a future that just might last forever.

"Somewhere, if they haven't been destroyed, there are hundreds of pages of typewritten notes about American League players of that era, notes which I would love to get my hands on." -Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, on the journals of Red Rolfe "Red Rolfe's journal for his years as manager of the Detroit Tigers is the kind of precious source researchers yearn for. In combination with William M. Anderson's well-done text, The View from the Dugout will be of great interest to general readers and of immense value to students of baseball history." -Charles C. Alexander, author of Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era "Red Rolfe was one of baseball's most astute observers. This is 'inside' baseball from the inside." -Donald Honig, author of Baseball America, Baseball When the Grass Was Real, and other books in the Donald Honig Best Players of All Time series "In his lucid journals Red Rolfe has provided an inside look at how an intelligent baseball manager thinks and prepares." -Ray Robinson, Yankee historian and author of Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time Baseball players as a rule aren't known for documenting their experiences on the diamond. Red Rolfe, however, during his time as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1949 to 1952, recorded daily accounts of each game, including candid observations about his team's performance. He used these observations to coach his players and to gain an advantage by recording strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies of opposing players and managers. Rolfe's journals carry added value considering his own career as an All-Star Yankee third baseman on numerous world champion teams, where he was a teammate of Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Today, in the era of televised broadcasts, networks often wire a manager so that viewers can listen to his spontaneous comments throughout the game. Red Rolfe's journals offer an opportunity to find out what a manager is thinking when no one is around to hear. William M. Anderson is Director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries for the State of Michigan. His books include The Detroit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Players and Moments in Tigers' History.

The extent to which remarkable things can happen on a baseball field is virtually limitless. Bats break, balls carom wildly, personalities clash, and playing fields are invaded by uninvited guests. Mudville Madness is for baseball fans who seek something beyond the standard boxscores—something new or rarely encountered. This book is a jaunt into the realm of the extraordinary and (at times) outright bizarre. The most uncommon events in three centuries of baseball history are recounted here in glorious detail, beginning with the game’s earliest days when the rules were in their infancy, through the deadball years, right up to the 2013 season. The epic brawls, bizarre plays, and landmark achievements covered in this book will leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

The #1 Bestseller! Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources. Perfect for any Little Leaguer with dreams of making it big--as well as for fans of Mike Lupica's other New York Times bestsellers Travel Team, The Big Field, The Underdogs, Million-Dollar Throw, and The Game Changers series, this cheer-worthy baseball story shows that when the game knocks you down, champions stand tall.

Let me ask you a question: If someone is vying for your spot on a team and just so happens to injure you during practice, would you believe it was on purpose? Word around campus is... it was no accident. That injury has cost me everything; my starting position, my junior year - and the draft. Now, I'm a senior fresh off recovery, struggling to find my groove, until the day I run into a nervous, fidgety, girl with freckles, in the dining hall. They call Milly Potter The Baseball Whisperer, The Diamond Wizard, and The Epitome of All Knowledge. She believes in baseball. She breathes it. She's the queen of an infamous dynasty, but no one actually knows who she really is, and she plans to keep it that way. One mishap in the panini line, one miscommunication in the weight room, and many failed attempts at an apology equal up to one solid truth -- Milly Potter never wants to speak to me again -- no matter how good my forearms look. Little do we both know, she's about to become more than just my fairy ballmother..."-- Back cover.

The WBL. The Women’s Baseball League, but the W also stands for War... MVP Jill “Mac” MacDonnell has Olympic glory behind her and the first-place Delaware Blue Diamonds are rightly proud of their iconic outfielder. Insult Mac and you insult fiercely protective colleagues, fans and friends. Young first baseman Smokey O’Neill, the bad girl of the Boston Colonials, has just insulted Mac. The day her quote hits the sports news she’s traded to Delaware and must walk into the rival’s den—and all-out war. Not just with players, not just with the press, not just with Mac herself. As with any war, there are bystanders with agendas. Not everyone is rooting for the Blue Diamonds and Mac to win the title one more time. Strife and camaraderie, life on the road and off-the-field politics, Celia Cohen’s compelling, romantic story of strong women, baseball and love returns to print with all the players and plays.

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended. Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life. As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment--to oneself and to others.

Nora Grey is responsible and smart and not inclined to be reckless. Her first mistake was falling for Patch. . Patch has made countless mistakes and has a past that could be called anything but harmless. The best thing he ever did was fall for Nora. . After getting paired together in biology, all Nora wants to do is stay away from Patch, but he always seems to be two steps ahead of her. She can feel his eyes on her even when he is nowhere around. She feels him nearby even when she is alone in her bedroom. And when her attraction can be denied no longer, she learns the secret about who Patch is and what led him to her, as well as the dark path he is about to lead her down. Despite all the questions she has about his past, in the end, there may be only one question they can ask each other: How far are you willing to fall'.

Sanora Babb’s long-hidden novel Whose Names Are Unknown tells of the High Plains farmers who fled drought and dust storms during the Great Depression. Written with empathy for the farmers’ plight, this powerful narrative is based upon the author’s firsthand experience. Babb submitted the manuscript for this book to Random House for consideration in 1939. Editor Bennett Cerf planned to publish this “exceptionally fine” novel but when John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath swept the nation, Cerf explained that the market could not support two books on the subject.

“Fix Her Up ticks all my romance boxes. Not only is it hilarious, it’s sweet, endearing, heartwarming and downright sexy. It’s a recipe for the perfect love story.” – Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author of Meet Cute A steamy, hilarious new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey, perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne! Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means. Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?) Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.) Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?) Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!) Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite. Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her...

Narrator of Favorite Sons Hutch Van Buren is fifteen years old, playing sports and searching for arrowheads in a small industrial town in Ohio with his three closest friends when an altercation between the comrades and Petey Sanchez, a troubled seventeen- year-old, leads to Petey’s accidental death. Together, Hutch and his friends become ensnared in a web of secrets and moral dilemmas. A local ne’er-do-well goes to jail for the crime while the boys keep their pact of silence. Each boy shoulders the burden of truth in his own way as each attempts to leave the past behind. Thirty-three years later, in 2004, Van Buren is the prosecuting attorney in Summit County, Ohio, and a candidate for state attorney general when he learns that he and his boyhood friends weren’t the only ones keeping a secret about Petey’s death. A convicted sex offender in need of a favor attempts to blackmail Van Buren in return for his silence. Van Buren must decide between his political career and the duty of the office he has sworn to uphold. With the clock ticking, Van Buren has a week to seek out his boyhood friends and search his soul while he sorts out three decades of deceit he helped create. Favorite Sons is a wonderful, suspenseful novel with nuanced, memorable characters and unpredictable plot twists.

A baseball star’s luck is tested in this action-packed story—perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green—from the author of The Kid Coach. Like many athletes, Trey is superstitious. How could he not be when he just made the Ravens travel baseball team thanks to his lucky charm, a piece of rare sea glass he found on his grandmother’s beach? This stroke of good fortune reinforces Trey’s superstitions, and his rituals only become more important to him. Despite some teasing from his teammates, he persists in never stepping on the foul line, obsessively tapping the corners of home plate when he’s at bat, and always choosing the same lucky bat. And his tactics are working; he’s doing quite well on the field and in the batter’s box. Then one day Trey can’t find his lucky sea glass. His performance begins to slip, and he’s convinced his future with the Ravens is doomed. Things don’t start to improve until Trey’s uncle reminds him of his grandmother’s favorite saying: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Can Trey take these words to heart and find his swing again . . . even without his lucky charm? This ebook features an afterword about famous real-life players with their own lucky charms and superstitions. Discussion Guide available “A former kids’ baseball coach and the writer of the Washington Post sports column for young readers, Bowen adds an entertaining note on baseball superstitions. . . . The straightforward story will appeal to young players as well as older ones intimidated by longer novels.” —Booklist

A round up of the most outrageous group of malcontents, characters, rebels, nut jobs, reprobates, wing-nuts, wackos, space cadets, head cases, goofs, free thinkers, and oddballs who ever livened up the grand old game of baseball, this collection not only describes their most bizarre antics in often-hilarious detail, but also includes the unique thoughts of Bill "Spaceman" Lee, a man known for his colorful quotes and offbeat personality.

Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña's Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions. Danny is tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it. But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny is brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. But to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming. Matt de la Peña's critically acclaimed novel is an intimate and moving story that offers hope to those who least expect it. "[A] first-rate exploration of self-identity." --SLJ "Unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal of the complexities of life for inner-city teens...de la Peña poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in yourself and shape your own future." --The Horn Book Magazine "The baseball scenes...sizzle like Danny's fastball. Danny's struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens, but especially to those of mixed race." --Booklist "De la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity." --Kirkus Reviews "Mexican WhiteBoy...shows that no matter what obstacles you face, you can still reach your dreams with a positive attitude. This is more than a book about a baseball player--this is a book about life." --Curtis Granderson, New York Mets outfielder An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults A Junior Library Guild Selection

A most popular new drinks guide for the new generation imbiber or the traditional Martini lover. Over 2500 recipes provided, with 500 Martinis alone! Clear and easy instruction from one of America's most famous professional bartenders makes for fun browsing of drink options and mixing, stirring or shaking. What shall we have tonight darling? A Screamer, or a Screaming Viking? Perhaps a Scarlet Letter, a Seduction, or a Screw-Up. How about a Sand in Your Butt? Is that anything like a Sex on the Beach

"Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history."—Bill Gates In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.

Some secrets are meant to be revealed … Or so you’ll discover, in three sexy, unforgettable Valentine’s Day stories from New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Ryan and contemporary romance stars Candis Terry and Jennifer Seasons. Waiting for You by Jennifer Ryan Rancher Grant Devane has waited for Taylor Larson’s return to Fallbrook for more than ten years. Now that the fearless beauty has come home on her terms, he’ll do anything and everything necessary to win back her heart. Sweet Fortune by Candis Terry Sarah Randall is tired of being invisible to the opposite sex. So when a leap of faith sends her to Sweet, Texas, and into the path of ridiculously hot Deputy Brady Bennett, she’s determined to catch his eye … even if it means staying hidden just a little bit longer. Major League Crush by Jennifer Seasons Professional baseball player Drake Paulson can’t help wanting to know more about his cute, shy neighbor. But when he discovers her deepest secret and she flees, it’ll be up to him to win her trust—and her love—one gift at a time.

The essential resource for players and fans of the game. Included are the sport's official playing rules, pitching regulations, referee signals, and field diagrams for fast and slow pitch, both 12 inch and 16 inch.

I guess I can blame my name on the 70s, the decade my parents went to college. I think the decade instilled in many people a burning desire to give their children atypical names. Apparently, during college, Dad wanted to name his sons "Led"and "Zepp."That was in the era when my mum chose to grow hairy armpits, and Dad had long greasy hair held down by a red headband and huge earphones. My mother told me about the Zeppelin when I was lamenting the fact that my dad was such a nerd that he couldn't understand why I wouldn't wear his piano-key necktie to a formal restaurant. —excerpt from Chin Music Brook Gunderson may have a girl's name and a girl's skinny body, but no one can say he throws like a girl. As the star pitcher on his high-school baseball team in Lethbridge, Alberta, Brook (or "Gunner"to his teammates) lives for the provincial tournament and the occasional, highly elaborate practical joke. As baseball season moves on and the team starts to pull together, it seems like this might be the best summer of Brook's life. But at home, things aren't going so smoothly. Brook's older brother, Frasier, is back after dropping out of college, and his busy parents don't seem able to help keep him on the right track. Brook escapes by spending more and more time with his friends until one last crazy stunt threatens to ruin his sporting ambitions—permanently.