Tales from First Base

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Tales from First Base

The Best, Funniest, and Slickest First Basemen Ever

Brad Engel and Wayne Stewart

152 pages

Hardcover

March 2013

978-1-59797-845-3

$22.95 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

February 2012

978-1-59797-846-0

$22.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

When a batter races toward first base and players scramble to make a tough play, anything can happen. Tales From First Base is a humorous and insightful look at the players, coaches, and umpires who have spent time along those first ninety feet of the base path. Wayne Stewart and Brad Engel check out some of the funniest players and most amusing incidents from this corner of the field, such as the time Larry Walker held a running conversation with opposing cornerman Mark Grace in the dirt around the bag. The authors also examine the slickest gloves at first base and how they defended the many plays around that bag. Readers will also learn about the first sackers’ roles in some of the most famous plays of all time. In a tight playoff game, Giants first baseman Whitey Lockman prayed to God with his first base coach. They both looked up to the sky and said, “We need some help here if there is anything you can do.” Moments later, Bobby Thomson hit his “Shot Heard ’Round the World” to win the National League pennant for the Giants. Packed with exclusive interviews with journalists, players, and fans alike, this book will appeal to a wide audience, both newcomers to the game and lifelong, die-hard fanatics.

Author Bio

BRAD ENGEL covered sports professionally for twelve years. He was the sports editor of the Naperville (Illinois) Sun, a former freelancer for the Chicago Sun-Times and Dallas Morning News, and has won five national awards and the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for his sportswriting. He lives near Chicago.

Praise

"Tales from First Base is a tremendous read that is very highly recommended and would make an enduringly popular addition for school and community collection."—Wisconsin Bookwatch

“A fun read with comprehensive statistical analysis, this book has it all—factoids for winning trivia battles, revealing interviews with All-Star first basemen, and hilarious, obscure anecdotes from baseball’s other hot corner. First baseman Joe Pepitone shaking off Jim Bouton’s pickoff signs during the 1964 World Series—who knew?!” —Zack Hample, author of Watching Baseball Smarter and The Baseball