Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul: Inspirational Stories of Baseball, Big-League Dreams and the Game of Life

Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul: Inspirational Stories of Baseball, Big-League Dreams and the Game of Life

Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul: Inspirational Stories of Baseball, Big-League Dreams and the Game of Life

Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul: Inspirational Stories of Baseball, Big-League Dreams and the Game of Life

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Overview

Play Ball! These words resonate with special meaning in the minds of anyone who has ever enjoyed a game of baseball. Every fan will be amused and touched by stories of sportsmanship and victory gathered from the clay diamonds of America.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781453280270
Publisher: Chicken Soup for the Soul
Publication date: 08/28/2012
Series: Chicken Soup for the Soul Series
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 1,018,034
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Jack Canfield is cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes forty New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor of The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. He is a leader in the field of personal transformation and peak performance and is currently CEO of the Canfield Training Group and Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Foundation for Self-Esteem. An internationally renowned corporate trainer and keynote speaker, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Jack Canfield is co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes forty New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor of The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. He is a leader in the field of personal transformation and peak performance and is currently CEO of the Canfield Training Group and Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Foundation for Self-Esteem. An internationally renowned corporate trainer and keynote speaker, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.
 Mark Victor Hansen is a co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Hometown:

Santa Barbara, California

Date of Birth:

August 19, 1944

Place of Birth:

Fort Worth, Texas

Education:

B.A. in History, Harvard University, 1966; M.A.T. Program, University of Chicago, 1968; M.Ed., U. of Massachusetts, 1973

Read an Excerpt

True Heroes Earn the Title

Star athletes have played an important part in the lives of young children as far back as history remembers sports and its heroes. Every youngster has had at least one hero that he worshipped above all others. Such idolization is not always etched in stone however, and heroes have been known to change for many reasons. I was involved in such a change in 1960.

My father was an Air Force master sergeant stationed at a radar station in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The Cincinnati Reds offered discount seating to military personnel in uniform and my father decided to take a group of airman to a game at old Crosley Field. I was included as an afterthought and was thrilled at finally being able to see a big league game. The double header between the hometown Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates was going to be a highlight in my relatively short life.

Although I was an avid New York Yankee fan one of my favorite baseball players, Roy Face was a star relief pitcher for the Pirates and I was hoping to get his autograph. My father bought me a brand new baseball just in case. I could hardly contain myself on the drive to Cincinnati.

We arrived at the stadium a few minutes before the players were due to take the field and I lined up with several other youngsters at the entrance to the Pirate locker room. As the players filed out to enter the runway to the dugout, I looked anxiously for Roy Face. I finally saw him coming and in my best manners stepped up and asked him for his autograph. He calmly ignored me and proceeded down the runway. I was stunned! One of my favorite heroes had brushed me off without the slightest acknowledgement at all. I stood there pondering what to do next when a large arm appeared around my shoulders and a hand took the ball from my grasp. I looked up to see a beaming smile beneath a Pirate hat and a large 2l on the jersey. The man handed me the ball with a wink and headed onto the field. I looked down at the ball and could not believe that it now proudly bore the name ROBERTO CLEMENTE in bold black ink. Roy Face's spot on my hero list had just been filled by one of greatest players in the game.

Clemente played an important part in the Pirates' sweep of the double header that day and helped lead his team to a World Series victory over my Yankees that October. Despite that, he remained one of my greatest heroes until his death in a 1972 airplane crash while flying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. By this time I had followed my father into the Air force and was stationed in Southeast Asia. When I learned of Clemente's death I could only marvel that the man who had helped me find a hero had been a bonafide hero trying to help an entire nation.

Only die-hard fans will remember who Roy Face was, but children who were not born when he died can tell you all about Roberto Clemente. That is heroism at its finest.

Michael J. Feigum

© 2001. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Tommy Lasorda, Mark and Chrissy Donnelly.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 For Love of the Game

A Baseball for Dad Patrick Thomson 2

No Crying in Baseball Michael O'Connor 7

Barter Up, Dad Anne Carter 11

The Only Way I Know Cal Ripken Mike Ryan 14

The Lost Ball Dan Connolly 20

Special Delivery from Michigan Neal Shine 24

A Binding Contract Don Wade 30

The Sermon on the Mound Orel Hershiser 34

It's Baseball Season Denise Turner 41

Watching the Next Mark McGwire? Woody Woodburn 44

My Finest Hour Dave Jan Dravecky Kett Gire 47

2 A Day at the Ballpark

My Quest for a Baseball Doug Lesmerises 54

Get Lost, Kid! Bob Batz 60

The Mad Hungarian's Fastball Dave Barry 64

The Impossible Dream Peggy Spence 68

A Proud Father Phil Arvia 71

The Whistle Story Bill Goldberg as told to Anita Gogno 74

A Three-Million-Dollar Grab Daniel Paisner 77

A Magical Moment Stephen Yudelson 82

A Little Faith Led to Miracle Catch Steven Moore 86

A Father and Son's Fall Classic Bob Greene 90

The Best Game I Never Saw Darrel Radford 95

3 Defining Moments

The Legend William G. Tapply 100

Living His Dream Dan Raley 107

That's Why Cod Made Tall Infielders Tommy Lasorda Ernie Witham 110

A Glove Story Woody Woodburn 112

The Heart of the Game Steve Minnick 117

My First Home Run Jeff Kidd 121

One Hit Makes All the Difference Doug Lesmerises 125

Catch of a Lifetime R. Gregory Alonzo 128

The Foul Ball Gary D'Amato 130

Hero for the Day Clive Cussler 133

Winning Isn't Everything Mary Owen 136

4 Heroes

Man of His Word Ralph Kiner 140

True Heroes Earn the Title Michael J. Feigum 147

The Big Friendly Cop Woody Woodburn 149

Meeting My Favorite Player Carol Costa 153

A True Hero Joe Haakenson 157

The Day I Met The Splendid Splinter Ted Janse 160

Hero of the Game Dan Connolly 164

The Last Game Linda Poynter 169

One Man, Alone Hal Bock 174

5 From the Dugout

A Batboy Looks Back Mark Stodghill 180

A Game of Life Jayson Stark 183

A Magical Baseball Player John McNamara 187

Dad's Field of Dreams Mike Royko 190

Who's Number One? Kenneth L. Montgomery 193

Big Leaguers' Little League Memories Alan Schwarz 195

Lessons in Living a Humble Life James Breig 198

Play Ball! Sharon Shearer Harsh 202

Roger Maris and Me Andy Strasberg 205

6 Heading for Home

My Father's Voice Jake Mannon Lois J. Mannon 212

Spring Sounds, Spring Dreams Paul Delia Valle 217

A Little League Mom Harry Del Grande 220

A Guide to Little League Parenting Ernie Witham 221

Yerr Out! Clark Cothern 225

The Cold Breeze of Baseball Dale Wannen 228

Bringing Up Son… and Father, Too Ellen Goodman 232

Something Wonderful Robert Remler 235

The Bravest Man Mickey Mantle Robert W. Creamer 238

A Game of Catch Rick Carson 243

A Father's Glove Philip Singenman 247

7 Field of Dreams

The Chase Jeffrey Flanagan 256

Hot Dog Heaven Steve Carlson 262

Home Free! David E. Morine 266

Trying to Fulfill a Dream Ken Rosenthal 274

The Second Time Around Richard Justice 277

Rediscovering My Dream Dom Amore 283

Days of Heaven Philip Ross 288

8 Wisdom of the Game

The Unforgettable Charlie Brown Alan Schwarz 296

Three Strikes of Life Michael Finley 300

My Uncle and Me Pat Jordan 303

Diapers and Diamonds Ron Reid 310

Life with Father Steve Salerno 311

Bringing Parents Up to Code Rick Reilly 317

The Boys of Bummer Dave Barry 321

The Power of Motivation Tommy Lasorda Ernie Witham 325

T-Ball and the Beaver Judge Keith J. Leenhouts 327

9 Bottom of the Ninth

Memories of My Hero Scott Pitoniak 332

Giant Killer! Kyle Moylan 335

A Cup for the Coach Joanne P. Brady 339

Back When Audrey Curran 340

Coming Out of Retirement Scott Pitoniak 342

A Childhood Memory Jeff Zillgitt 345

So Many Things to Love About America's Game Howie Stalwick 350

Still Dangerous Jack Myers 353

Full Circle Lawrence S. Ritter 357

Who Is Jack Canfield? 358

Who Is Mark Victor Hansen? 359

Who Are Mark and Chrissy Donnelly? 360

Who Is Tommy Lasorda? 361

Contributors 364

Permissions 374

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