Take Me Out To the Ballgame

In this ribald, richly imagined, and wickedly satiric novel, Roth turns baseball’s status as national pastime and myth into an occasion for unfettered picaresque farce, replete with heroism and perfidy, ebullient wordplay and a cast of characters that includes the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Joe Castle is the boy wonder of baseball from Calico Rock, Arkansas playing for the Chicago Cubs. Calico Joe quickly becomes the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a New York Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faces Calico Joe, Paul is in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his dad. Then Warren throws a fastball that will change their lives forever.

Joseph M. Schuster’s absorbing debut novel resonates with the pull of lifelong dreams, the sting of regret, and the ways we define ourselves against uncertain twists of fate—perfect for fans of Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding.

Contemporary reporter Sam Fowler, stuck in a dull job and a failing marriage, abruptly finds himself transported back to the summer of 1869. After a wrenching period of adjustment, he comes to feel rejuvenated by his involvement with the nation’s first pro baseball players. Through his attachments to the ballplayers and the lovely Caitlin O’Neill, he might just regain the sense of family he desperately needs.

Baseball’s Most Valuable Writer, Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post, hits a grand slam with this classic collection of heartfelt and humorous pieces on our national’s pastime.

Pace Martin is the ace pitcher for the Pacific Heat. He’s got the arm, the experience and the wins. He’s also got the pain, the pressure, and the possible end of his career looming over him. Holly Hutchins knows a good story when she sees one, and the tall, dark and slightly attitude-ridden Pace Martin fits the bill. But when she realizes there’s more at stake than just the win, she starts to notice the handsome broad-shouldered jock in a different light.

Two months into the 2007 baseball season, novelist Jane Heller, an obsessed Yankee fan heartsick over their poor play, announced her intention to divorce the team, on grounds of mental cruelty. The intense reaction of fans forced Heller to look inward, and to re-examine her feelings about winning and losing. Confessions of a She-Fan is a witty, observant, and decidedly female look at the nature of the bond between fan and team.

This touching, uplifting novel spans decades of loyalty, anger, regret, and love in the lives of the Chance family. A father whose dreams of glory on a baseball field are shattered by a mill accident. A mother who clings obsessively to religion as a ward against the darkest hour of her past. Four brothers who come of age during the seismic upheavals of the sixties and who each choose their own way to deal with what the world has become.

Tucker Cassidy is going through a slump—both with his curveball and in his dating life. When Tucker repeatedly lands in the hospital where she’s working, Dr. Aubry Ross starts to think he’s getting injured just to see her. Tucker is both funny and sexy, and Aubry is pleasantly surprised to discover he actually respects her job. But when her father disapproves of their relationship, will Tucker let threats of a trade get in the way of a game-changing love?

Pitching in a Pinch, Christy Mathewson’s witty and digestible book of baseball insights, stories, and wisdom, was first published over a hundred years ago and presents readers with Mathewson’s plainspoken perspective on the diamond of yore—on the players, the chances they took, the jinxes they believed in, and, most of all, their love of the game.

Atlanta Braves third baseman and National Hall of Famer Chipper Jones—one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history—shares his remarkable story, while capturing the magic nostalgia that sets baseball apart from every other sport.