More than any other sport, baseball has developed its own niche in America’s culture and psyche. Some researchers spend years on detailed statistical analyses of minute parts of the game, while others wax poetic about its players and plays. Many trace the beginnings of the civil rights movement in part to the Major Leagues’ decision to integrate, and the words and phrases of the game (for example, pinch-hitter and out in left field) have become common in our everyday language.
From AARON, HENRY onward, this book covers all of what might be called the cultural aspects of baseball (as opposed to the number-rich statistical information so widely available elsewhere). Biographical sketches of all Hall of Fame players, owners, executives and umpires, as well as many of the sportswriters and broadcasters who have won the Spink and Frick awards, join entries for teams, owners, commissioners and league presidents. Advertising, agents, drafts, illegal substances, minor leagues, oldest players, perfect games, retired uniform numbers, superstitions, tripleheaders, and youngest players are among the thousands of entries herein. Most entries open with a topical quote and conclude with a brief bibliography of sources for further research. The whole work is exhaustively indexed and includes 119 photographs.

Jonathan Fraser Light is an employment attorney in Oxnard, California. He lives in Camarillo.

Jonathan Fraser Light
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11 in 2 vols)
Pages: 1112
Bibliographic Info: 119 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2017 [2005]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7232-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1744-2
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

About the Encyclopedia      3

The Encyclopedia      5

Index      1037

Winner, Sporting News–SABR Baseball Research Award. Booklist Editors’ Choice. Legends Sports Memorabilia Book of the Year.
“numerous cross-references…excellent index…this work is a classic…a welcome addition…highly recommended”—Booklist; “an entertaining, anecdotal, and informative reference recommended for all libraries”—Library Journal; “extremely rich…a wealth of information”—Choice; “content of this reference is truly impressive…full of facts…will delight and inform…excellent”—Against the Grain; “covers a broad range of topics…apt and well-written quotes…index is extensive…awe inspiring…like one of those reference works from the last century…endlessly fascinating”—School Library Journal; “exhaustive study…useful and amusing information…valuable…entertaining read”—ARBA; “impressive…will be of delight and good use”—Reference Reviews; “no bland recitation of batting averages…. Even people who are not particularly keen on sports will enjoy browsing in this homage to American pop culture”—College & Research Libraries; “astonishing”—VOYA; “A unique reference guide in the world of baseball books that has no parallel.”—The Inside Game (SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter); “marvelous”—Sporting News; “topics are so diverse as to challenge a reader to dare name a subject not mentioned”—Sports Collectors Digest.