Pitching in a Pinch: Baseball from the Inside
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Book Overview
Christy Mathewson (1880-1925) was the greatest baseball pitcher of his day, a hero with appeal reaching beyond sports. A college-educated player from Pennsylvania farm country, he restored respectability to a game tarnished by the rowdies who had dominated baseball in the 1890s. Pitching in a Pinch , originally published in 1912, is an insider's account blending anecdote, biography, instruction, and social history. It celebrates baseball as it was played in the first decade of the twentieth century by famous contemporaries like Honus Wagner and Rube Marquand, managers like John McGraw and Connie Mack, and many others. Always sensitive to psychology as well as technique, Mathewson describes the "dangerous batters" he faced, the "peculiarities" of big-league pitchers, the "good and bad" of coaching, umpiring, sign-stealing, base-running, spring training, and the importance of superstition to athletes. Matty, as he was called, makes the reader feel that tense moment when a player in a pinch must use his head.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0803282125
ISBN13:9780803282124
Release Date:March 1994
Publisher:University of Nebraska Press
Length:320 Pages
Weight:0.86 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 6.3" x 8.1"
Age Range:18 years and up
Grade Range:Postsecondary and higher
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Absolutely amazing reading
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
What an amazing read. It makes you realize that not much has changed since Mathewson once ruled the roost on the pitching mound. The things he say, the wisdom of experience he imparts sounds so fresh, so immediately relevant to the game as it is played today that it might as well have been written yesterday.Particularly impressive is the idea that there are pitchers who are fabulous when there are no runners on base, but once the pinch is on (hence the title of the book) they become tentative shrinking violets. The pinch, Mathewson writes, is the true test of a pitcher's character. How right he is, in this true baseball classic. A must read for all who love the game.
mom, baseball and apple pie
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Reading a book like Pitching in the Pinch will stir an earnest yearning in my heart. It is Christy Mathewsons ghostwritten account of his career in major league baseball. It is a classic work of baseball writing. Mathewson was a 373 game winner in his career and had a lot of great thoughts on the game. He shares insight into John McGraws management skill and he delves into the psychology of the game. You can learn a lot about Americas past-time before Babe Ruth revolutionized the game.This is a highly entertaining and educational book.
Great inside view of how baseball used to be.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
If you want to have an insider's view of how the world of baseball was in the early part of the century, this is the book for you. Mathewson takes us there in all its glory. Well done
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