It's often said that catcher is the most important, most demanding defensive position in baseball. This view explains why so many light-hitting catchers have enjoyed long--and by all accounts successful--major league careers. Yet arguments over the all-time greats invariably privilege offensive standouts, and even among these players batting statistics are more likely than fielding numbers to affect ranking. So what, historically, have been the expectations for major league catchers, and who stands as the greatest in a more balanced view of offensive and defensive contributions? In Part I of...

Every sport has its subtleties, and in baseball, one subtlety is the batting line-up. Leadoff batters can make or break a team. Who are the men who have taken that position, and how have they performed in their important role? From 1900 through 2005, the major leagues' leadoff batters for more than 160,000 games are covered in this reference work. The first of the book's five parts discusses the annual records of the principal leadoff batters. Part Two identifies the principal leadoff batter for each team in each year, as well as the top career leadoff batters. Part Three presents composite...

What if Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe Jackson had stood side by side in Cleveland's outfield? What if integration had taken place in the major leagues before 1947? Who would have won the World Series had a strike not shortened the 1994 season? In this compilation of fantasy scenarios, the history of baseball from 1869 to the controversial 2003 playoffs is literally rewritten by fifty journalists, historians, authors and former baseball players. Topics include playing for pay, Merkle's Boner, rival leagues, the 1919 Series, Mickey Owens and the dropped strike, and integration. Chronologically...