The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream,Books,Free Shipping,0306814188,

	The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream by Jim Collins
	List Price $14.95 Our Price $10.17 You Save $4.78 (32%) Prices subject to change. Eligible for FREE Shipping See details Availability Usually ships in 24 hours
	Marketplace New from $3.88 Used from $1.00 Collectible from $14.95
Product Details Binding Paperback Dewey Decimal Number 796.357640974492 EAN 9780306814181 ISBN 0306814188 Manufacturer Da Capo Press Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 304 Publication Date March 15, 2005 Publisher Da Capo Press Release Date March 15, 2005 Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, the finest college baseball players in the country gather in hopes of making it to “The Show.” The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players, from Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas to Jeff Bagwell and Barry Zito.Jim Collins chronicles a season in the life of one team—the Chatham A’s, perhaps the most celebrated team in the league. Set against the backdrop of a resort town on the bend of the outer Cape, the story charts the changing fortunes of a handful ?of players battling slumps and self-doubt in their effort to make the league playoffs and, more importantly, impress the major league scouts.We learn about everything from the physics of wooden bats and the physiology of elbows to the psychology of slumps and the lure of drugs. In the course of a single dramatic season, with euphoric wins and devastating losses, we come to know the intricacies of the major league scouting network and the rapidly changing profile of major league baseball.In the tradition of The Boys of Summer, The Last Best League is about dreams fulfilled and dreams denied, about Cape Cod and the rites of summer, and about the way one small town grows to love a group of young men coming of age in America. The Cape Cod Baseball League, which began in the 19th century as local entertainment for summer residents, has evolved into the jewel of American amateur baseball. Sanctioned by the NCAA, the league invites the best college players to come to breezy seaside communities to work on their game during what amounts to their off-seasonâ€'late June through mid-Augustâ€'without sacrificing their amateur status. And come they do, to one of the 10 teams sponsored by small towns and New England businesses, staffed by volunteers, the players hosted by local families and given day jobs as clerks, seafood haulers and day-camp counselors. Collins, a former editor of Yankee magazine and once a Dartmouth second baseman with dreams of the big leagues, brings a local historian's eye and the heart of a fan to a chronicle of one Cape Cod League team, the Chatham A's, during the 2002 season. He has produced a book that will be a treat to casual fans who might not know the process by which college players are courted by agentsâ€'graded as to character, body type and bat speed, and then tagged with a price. Collins wisely focuses his story on a handful of the most promising Chatham players, most memorably Wake Forest's slugging third baseman Jamie D'Antona, an extremely likable nutcase, for whom readers will find themselves rooting hard. There is also the undersized Blake Hanan, the brainy Princeton righty Tom Pauly and the sphinxlike load of a pitcher, Tim Stauffer. Their crusty manager, John Schiffner, adds a little spice and tobacco juice to the mix. Along the way, readers will gain an appreciation for summer on Cape Cod and the place of baseball, as it once was, in the heart of local communities. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. The Cape Cod Baseball League is not well known except to New Englanders and professional baseball scouts (one of every six major-league players competes in it). The summer league, which attracts many of the best collegiate and amateur players from around the country, provides young players an opportunity to play in a competitive environment while functioning as adults in a community. The players typically room with local families, hold jobs with local businesses, and become part of the fabric of local life. Despite the small-town atmosphere, there can be a great deal at stake. Collins, former editor of Yankee magazine and a former college player with major-league dreams, understands the league, the game, and the odd dynamic that exists when teammates are vying for a ticket on the first leg of the journey to the major leagues. His profiles of the players, coaches, and local citizens who come together in the Cape Cod League offers a captivating, timeless brew of scuffed baseballs, white sand, and pristine dreams. Wes Lukowsky Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved 'A captivating, timeless brew of scuffed baseballs, white sand, and pristine dreams.' -- Booklist 'A very enjoyable read.' -- All-Baseball.com 7/22/05 'A wonderful, dramatic, thoroughly absorbing book.' -- Boston Globe 'An engrossing portrait of marvelously gifted boys in men's bodies-swaggering one moment, full of uncertainty the next.' -- U.S. News &World Report 'An intelligent treatment of big-league dreams fulfilled and dashed.' -- Chicago Tribune 'As only the best sportswriters can, [Collins] beautifully captures the character of the time and place and the players.' -- Stan Hynds, Northshire Bookstore, 06/01/06 'Collins shows how important this league is to the players involved…and the continued health of professional sports.' -- Library Journal, 6/1/06 'Exquisitely rendered.... Collins is at the top of his game as a writer, skilled at layering locale, drama and character.' -- Seattle Times 'Flat-out brilliant and a three-hanky read for anyone who loves baseball.' -- Rocky Mountain News Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, the finest college baseball players in the country gather in hopes of making it to “The Show.” The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players, from Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas to Jeff Bagwell and Barry Zito.Jim Collins chronicles a season in the life of one team—the Chatham A’s, perhaps the most celebrated team in the league. Set against the backdrop of a resort town on the bend of the outer Cape, the story charts the changing fortunes of a handful ?of players battling slumps and self-doubt in their effort to make the league playoffs and, more importantly, impress the major league scouts.We learn about everything from the physics of wooden bats and the physiology of elbows to the psychology of slumps and the lure of drugs. In the course of a single dramatic season, with euphoric wins and devastating losses, we come to know the intricacies of the major league scouting network and the rapidly changing profile of major league baseball.In the tradition of The Boys of Summer, The Last Best League is about dreams fulfilled and dreams denied, about Cape Cod and the rites of summer, and about the way one small town grows to love a group of young men coming of age in America. Jim Collins is former editor of Yankee magazine, a native New Englander, and a former college baseball player at Dartmouth. To research The Last Best League, he relocated his family from New Hampshire to Chatham, Massachusetts, attended every game, and was given complete insider's access to the team and players. He is an accomplished magazine writer whose work has twice been included in Best American Sportswriting. Customers who bought this item also bought Touching The Game, The Story of The Cape Cod Baseball League Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game The Boys of Summer Customer Reviews for: The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream Rating - Baseball at its purest Simply a fantastic book. Well-researched, intriguing, personal, etc. Shows why baseball is unique as compared to all other sports. There are so many nuances always to explore. The Central Illinois League, another amateur summer league, is a good example of a smaller version of the Cape Cod League as well. Either way, this book was an easy read on a long plane ride. No other sport could have produced a book's topic/story like this. Well done, Mr. Collins. ... Read More Rating - This IS Baseball Collins gets it. Baseball people have a certain way about them, and Collins obviously is one of them; he also knows how to write about them. This book--an in-depth and endearing look at the 2002 Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League--shines with the polish of good baseball writing about a great baseball subject. The players and team staff come to life, as does the ebb and flow of a summer on the cape. The poignancy of this moment in time, in these specific ... Read More Rating - Great Book This is a terrific book for any fan of baseball. The book discusses three main characters in how they came to baseball how they played growing up and in college and then how the fare in the Cape League. I've passed the book on to several others who have loved it as well. A must for any baseball fan. Rating - From College to the Big Leagues This book offers excellent insight into what collegiate players will do to make it to the big leagues. The glimpses of small town fans are also interesting. The reader is exposed to a part of baseball few know much about. Informative and fun to read. see more reviews See all books by author Jim Collins

Books : The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream