On September 10, 1934, grizzled reliever Burleigh Grimes helped the Pittsburgh Pirates to an inconsequential 9-7 win over the New York Giants in the Polo Grounds. For Grimes, the September contest marked his 270th and final win. For baseball, it marked the last time a legal spitballer would win a major league contest. Though the pitch had been banned in 1920, the American and National leagues both agreed to grant two exemptions per team to spitballers who were already in the majors. In 1921, both leagues agreed to extend grandfather provisions to cover the veteran spitball pitchers for the...

In this third edition of "Baseball Ratings", author Charles Faber combines the second edition ('great fodder for arguments' - "Booklist/RBB") with his book on 19th-century greats, "Baseball Pioneers" ('very impressive' - "Reference and User Services Quarterly"; 'a notable and...worthwhile addition' - "ARBA"), updating the ratings and expanding the commentary in each. The result, "Baseball Ratings: The All-Time Best Players at Each Position, 1876 to the Present", is that rarest of rankings books - a time-tested, comprehensive reference work that invites reading.Batters, fielders and pitchers...

Since 1876, approximately 16,000 young men have enjoyed at least a taste of glory by appearing in big league games, many of them only a few times. By the end of the 2009 season, out of the millions who have aspired, fewer than three thousand individuals will have had the good fortune to be a major league regular for five or more seasons. Most of these reached the big leagues in their late teens or early twenties, peaked in their late twenties, and played into their mid or late thirties. The median age at which they hung up their spikes was 35. However, there have been 197 young men who played...

This is a revision and an updating of the first edition, published in 2000. Presidents from Washington to Obama (not included are William Henry Harrison and James A. Garfield because of very short terms) are rated in five categories: Foreign Relations, Domestic Programs, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations, Leadership and Decision Making, and Presidential Comportment. Each president is evaluated on his effectiveness in each area and a final analysis is provided for the scores combined. The presidents are then ranked overall. The most overrated and underrated chief executives are...

This is a book about baseball players who performed in the major leagues before the age of 21. For years the dream of many boys has been to enter the world of professional sports. Out of millions of boys who have played baseball, over 17,000 have appeared in major league contests. Among them were several hundred who made their debut before their 21st birthday. However, most of these appeared in only a few games. Only 286 young men have played at least one season as a regular before or during the season in which they reached the age of 21. These 286 players are the subjects of this book. The...

In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first all-professional baseball club. The history, geography, demography and economy of the area made Cincinnati a baseball town par excellence. During pro ball's early years, the city was almost always represented by a club called the Reds. In 1903 Reds owner Garry Hermann helped broker peace between the National and American leagues and became known as the "Father of the World Series." The Reds won the Series in 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990. Under the ownership of the controversial Marge Schott and managed by the mercurial Lou...