Sports & Recreation

Few things in sports evoke as much emotion as the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. Love them or hate them, the Cubs have a mystique all their own. In Classic Cubs: A Tribute to the Men and Magic of Wrigley Field, artist John Hanley and writer Chris De Luca celebrate the glorious history and milestones of the team and highlight a galaxy of Hall of Fame ballplayers with lively text and more than 125 original oil paintings and drawings created exclusively for this book.

Classic Cubs evokes moods that only fine art can create. Hanley’s paintings record the legacy and beauty of the game and the valor of the men who played it, illustrating the ivy-covered walls and manually operated scoreboard of Wrigley Field and recounting the legendary players, announcers, owners, and “The Curse.” All are beautifully depicted through art and text.

Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs have been the subject of many books, but this is the first to capture the spirit of the team through the powerful skill of an artist’s brush. A beautifully painted history of the team, Classic Cubs dramatically depicts where some of baseball’s most exciting and bittersweet moments have occurred.

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Why does your team float around the .500 mark year after year while other franchises always seem to be in contention? How do some teams make that incredible leap from worst to first in just a season or two? If you could corner your team's owner and general manager—say in mid-October when neither you nor they have anything better to do—what advice would you give them so that you can spend next October at the stadium? Plenty of ideas, but you're not sure which ones really work? You need to read Winners!

In this raucous, entertaining, and sure-to-be-controversial guide for the dedicated fan and unpaid organizational watchdog, Baseball Prospectus columnist Dayn Perry dives deep into the stats and comes up with some mind-blowing answers to the most important question in baseball: How to winners win?

Analyzing record, lineups, defense, and pitching staffs of the 124 teams that made it to the playoffs between 1980 and 2003, Perry separates baseball myth from hardball reality, slays some sacred cows, and gives you new, more accurate ways to analyze both individual and team performance.

You'll discover why stats like batting average, RBI, and even OBP don't tell you what you really need to know about a hitter's contribution to the team; why that much ballyhooed trading-deadline pickup probably won't help your team move up in this year's standings; and why you need only one certified ace in the rotation to make it into the post season. You'll also find out why:

• A huge payroll doesn't guarantee success (but it helps)
• Slugging percentage is a hitter's most important traditional slat
• There's no such thing as a player who "knows how to win"
• Middle relievers are typically the most important people in the bullpen
• Speed helps, stealing bases doesn't

Perry backs up every one of his brash claims with solid statistical evidence. He illustrates each point with colorful, engaging stories about some of the most successful teams and admired players of the last quarter century, from dynasties like the Braves and the Yankees to one-season wonders like the '87 Tigers and the '01 Diamondbacks. He shows you how to identify the young players most likely to have long and successful careers; analyzes the achievements of such greats as George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Pedro Martinez, and Barry Bonds; and reveals how one of the greatest teams of all time managed an eleven-year winning spree using ten (count 'em—ten!) different closers.

Whether you're buttonholing the GM, dialing your local sports call-in show, or commiserating with your buddies as the local nine go down in flames yet again, Winners gives you a leg up in every baseball argument. maybe your team still can't win—but you can!

The most valuable team player in sports shows you what "teamwork" really means
What does it take to be a real team player, especially in a society that glorifies selfishness and a corporate culture that often uses "team player" as a buzzword but rewards only the showboaters and prima donnas? Well, You Can Observe a Lot by Watching. In this happy and hilarious guide to teamwork, sportsmanship, and winning, Yogi Berra draws on the timeless wisdom handed down by example from ballplayers who came before him to inspire you to make the right choices and become not only a better team player--at sports, at work, and in life--but a better person.
Filled with colorful stories from his life and career, not to mention the down-to-earth wit and insight that Yogi fans love, You Can Observe a Lot by Watching shows you how to make a bad team good and a good team great.