Table of Contents
Foreword Tim Kurkjian v
Introduction ix
1 The Big Picture 1
Why Baseballs History Matters 3
The Hall of Fame: Where Do We Go From Here? 7
The Information Age 12
The Age of the Pitcher 25
The Stuff Winners Are Made Of 36
The Best Records in Baseball (Now that Barry Has Ruined the Home Run Records) 44
2 It Happens Every Spring 53
The End of Al Lang 55
Josh Hamilton Is Back 62
Red Sox Contemplate Life After The Curse 67
The Return of Jim Leyland 73
How the Tigers Changed Their Stripes 79
Not Just Another Hurdle for the Pirates 86
Greatest Spring Injuries of All Time 92
Reggie Sanders' Guide to Spring Training 95
The Invited to Spring Training All-Stars 100
3 Champions 105
The 2009 Yankees 107
The 2004 Red Sox 113
The 2005 White Sox 119
The 2010 Giants 125
The 2011 Cardinals 132
4 October Classics 139
The Greatest World Series Game Ever 141
Pujols' Homer 148
The Mr. November World Series 154
The Bartman Game 170
Never Underestimate the Rally Monkey 176
5 What I Got Right-and Wrong 183
The World Series Beckons the Cubs 185
One Win Away 189
San Francisco Will Never Be the Same 194
The Red Sox Are Going to Win the World Series 201
6 Legends 205
Pondering the Pete Rose Induction That Wasn't 207
How Great Was Chipper? 212
The Thumb and Bobby Cox 223
Mariano's Last Spring 228
The Commish Drops By the Bonds Watch 233
7 Philly! 237
A Tribute to Harry Kalas 239
Farewell to the Vet 244
Phillies on the Verge of History 249
Phillies Pull Off a Game 4 Miracle 254
Remembering Tug 261
Vuke: The Greatest .161 Hitter Who Ever Lived 263
Jamie Moyer Just Can't Stop Pitching 267
10,000 Losses 271
8 Just for the Fun of it 275
The True Story of Glove Talking 277
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" 286
Duane Kuipers Unforgettable Homer 291
The World Series That Wasn't 297
The 25 Greatest Home Run Derby Moments 303
Does Anybody Know the Rules? 314
Strange But True Feats of the Millennium 323
Acknowledgments 333
