RING LARDNER is considered the greatest writer of all time on the sport of baseball. His works include "You Know Me, Al, Gullible's Travels, Treat 'Em Rough, The Real Dope, Own Your Own Home, The Big Town," and many others. He died in 1933, at the age of forty-eight. JEFF SILVERMAN, a former columnist for the" Los Angeles Herald Examiner," has written for" The New York Times, "the" Los Angeles Times," and several national magazines. He is also editor of "The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told" (page 206), "Classic Baseball Stories" (page 14), "The Greatest Golf Stories Ever Told "(page 16...