Spring Training: Baseball's Early Season
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Shaughnessy, Dan / Grossfeld, Stan / Ripken, Cal, Jr., PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), Beong>forong>e ong>theong> purpose-pitch that zips inches from ong>theong> batter's head, beong>forong>e greenfly autograph-seekers stalk hotel lobbies, beong>forong>e thousands of fans stand up and boo in -seat stadiums, beong>forong>e ong>theong> proverbial dog days of summer and ong>theong> pressure-packed moments of October... ong>theong>re is sweet ong>springong>. ong>Theong> long hello. Baseball's early season. ong>Theong> words ong>springong> training have long held special power over baseball fans. ong>Theong>y signal ong>theong> arrival of fresh air and sunshine after a long winter devoid of bare feet and box scores. ong>Theong> chance to see ong>theong> game up close and personal, in beautiful slow motion. No oong>theong>r sport undergoes this slow, glorious unfolding. And no oong>theong>r book captures baseball's rite of passage in all its magic. Come on a wild ride through ong>springong> training's many attractions and peculiarities, from Florida to Arizona, ong>theong> National to ong>theong> American League, ong>theong> dugouts to Section D. Glimpse retirees in Hawaiian shirts singing "Take Me Out to ong>theong> Ball Game," million-dollar players taking it easy on ong>theong> field and in ong>theong> bars, young rookies flashing ong>theong>ir skills, grizzled vets going through ong>theong> motions, wide-eyed children dressed from head to toe in ong>theong>ir favorite team's garb. It's all here, from Alligator Alley to Cactus Way, sit-ups to sunblock, home runs to hangovers -- a lively tribute to America's favorite pastime in its purest, most wonderful ong>forong>m.