A Damn Near Perfect Game

Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat—calling out the hacks, cheats, and ridiculous rules that have tarnished the game—and pitches a-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect. Baseball has an image problem. The chorus of nonbelievers gets louder every year, and the Major Leagues have made an art of tuning them out. Enter Joe Kelly: a walking, talking, fast-ball-throwing embodiment of why baseball matters. He and his All-Star team of athletes and celebrities have some things to say about what’s gone wrong with our once great game and how to fix it. A Damn Near Perfect Game is the loudest insider’s exposé of the laws and culture of Major League Baseball since Jim Bouton’s classic Ball Four. From Kelly’s perspective as a two-time World Series champion and baseball’s most memeable player according to ESPN, he takes readers on a house-cleaning tour of the clubhouse, the field of play, the bullpen, the front office, the commissioner’s office, and a ballplayer’s restricted life off the field. Kelly has something to say about baseball’s rule changes (pitch clocks, limiting defensive shifts, the designated hitter); hacks (overused analytics, sign-stealing); stale promotion to new fans; and encouraging players’ emotions (let them fight, bat-flip, and talk sh*t!). Plus, he details how he aired his complaints in an illuminating meeting with commissioner Rob Manfred. And to show what happens when baseball has some piss and vinegar, Kelly gives the inside scoop on his legendary exploits—starting a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees’ Tyler Austin, his famous “pouty face” scene when calling out the notorious sign-stealing Houston Astros, and wearing a mariachi jacket to visit the White House with his World Series champion LA Dodgers.

Baseball's most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat in a book that calls out the hacks, cheats, ridiculous rules, and more that have tarnished the game--from the field of play to the clubhouse, front office, broadcast booth, and beyond--and serves up A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect. Baseball has an image problem, the chorus of nonbelievers gets louder every year, and the Major Leagues have made an art of tuning them out. It wasn't always this way, and it doesn't have to be anymore. Enter Joe Kelly: a walking, talking, fastball-throwing embodiment of why baseball matters and why we should love it. He's got some things to say about what's gone wrong with baseball, what makes it great, and what needs to happen to make it damn near f*cking perfect. A Damn Near Perfect Game is the loudest insider's exposé of the laws and culture of Major League Baseball since Jim Bouton's classic Ball Four. From his perspective as a two-time World Series Champion, baseball's most meme-able player according to ESPN, Big League firebrand, and current pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Kelly takes readers on a house-cleaning tour of the clubhouse, the field of play, the bullpen, the front office, the commissioner's office, and a ballplayer's restricted life off-the-field. Kelly goes off on rule changes that matter and sticking to them (pitch clocks, no outrageous defensive shifts, no designated hitter, and more); baseball hacks (overused analytics, sign-stealing, and more); the promotion of baseball to a new generation of fans (letting players get edgy on social media, merchandising in truly trend-setting ways, and more); encouraging actual emotion (let the players fight, let them bat-flip, let them talk sh*t); and fixing all that's wrong with the front office and the Commissioner's Office. And to show what happens when baseball has some piss and vinegar, he gives the inside scoop on his legendary exploits--starting a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees' Tyler Austin, his famous "pouty face" scene when calling out the notorious sign-stealing Houston Astros, and wearing a Mariachi jacket to the White House visit with his World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

With over half-a-million copies sold worldwide, come see why readers and authors alike all call this, "an unforgettable story that will stay with you for years," by New York Times Bestselling Author, J. Sterling. He's a game she never intended to play. And she's the game changer he never knew he needed. The Perfect Game tells the story of college juniors, Cassie Andrews & Jack Carter. When Cassie meets rising baseball hopeful Jack, she is determined to steer clear of him and his typical cocky attitude. But Jack has other things on his mind... like getting Cassie to give him the time of day. They're both damaged, filled with mistrust and guarded before they find one another (and themselves) in this emotional journey about love and forgiveness. Strap yourselves for a ride that will not only break your heart, but put it back together. Sometimes life gets ugly before it gets beautiful.

"One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart." -- Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town. "Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." -- Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune

From writer BRIAN AZZARELLO and artist, EDUARDO RISSO--the Eisner Award-winning creative team behind the crime classic, 100 Bullets--comes a brutal new series that puts a horror twist on a classic gangster tale! Set deep in Appalachia during Prohibition, MOONSHINE tells the story of Lou Pirlo, a city-slick "torpedo" sent from New York City to negotiate a deal with the best moonshiner in West Virginia, Hiram Holt. Lou figures it a milk run, but what he doesn't figure is that Holt's just as cunning and ruthless as any NYC crime boss. Not only will Holt do anything for his illicit booze operation, he'll stop at nothing to protect a much darker, bloodier family secret. Collects issues 1-6

The inside stories from baseball's legendary beat writers

An inspiring, national bestselling memoir from a Red Sox hero and MVP of the 2007 World Series. In 2007, Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell triumphed over a lifetime of adversity when he led the world’s most zealously followed baseball team to the promised land—their second World Series title in four years. But there was much more to the story than what happened that October night. From the hardships of his childhood in Puerto Rico, to the ups and downs of his baseball career, to his battle with testicular cancer, this is the story of man who overcame every challenge pitched at him to become one of the best third basemen in baseball—and a true role model for millions. “Lowell’s story . . . [is] told in his own occasionally salty, but always sincere voice . . . quite candid.” —The Hartford Courant “Mike Lowell is such an honest man, a man who plays the game hard, and plays the game right, the whole time.”—Manny Ramirez, Red Sox outfielder

Production histories, reviews, gameplay details, and more Video games from many companies and platforms, placed in context with games today Numerous quotes about the games from industry professionals

If all they see are her scars - they aren't looking hard enough.It was my home run ball that shattered her face.Right along with her modeling career.Now it's my mission to help her rebuild her life.And get her to love the game that she hates.The game that dictates my life both on and off the field.But when the lines of our friendship become blurred, I worry she'll just be another casualty of my three-strikes rule. The rule I have to protect my money, my future, my heart.No girl has ever broken it.I've never wanted one to.Until now.The question is ... will I let her?