by Ron Darling
road trips
for players
in playoffs
pranks on
for teammates
Robinson, Bill
Robinson, Jackie
Rodgers, Buck
Rolling Stone (magazine)
rookies
in broadcasting
failure for
in press
psychology of
veterans and
roommates
Rose, Howie
Rose, Pete
routines
Rules Committee
Runnells, Tom
Ruth, Babe
Ryan, Nolan
sabermetrics. See statistics
salaries
Sambito, Joe
San Francisco Giants
Sanders, Deion
Sanders, Red
Santana, Johan
Sasser, Mackey
Saturday Night Live (TV Show)
Sax, Steve
scandals
Schiraldi, Calvin
Schmidt, Mike
Schryver, Steve
Scioscia, Mike
Scooby Doo (TV Show)
“Scum Bunch”
Seaver, Tom
Sewald, Paul
Sex and the City (TV Show)
Shea Stadium
shifts, in games
Shirley, Bob
Shumpert, Terry
Siegel, Hank
signing bonuses
signs
Simms, Phil
Simon & Garfunkel
Singleton, Ken
sinking fastballs
Sisk, Doug
Slusarski, Joe
Smith, Ozzie
Smith, Will
Smith, Zane
Smoltz, John
Snider, Duke
social media
Spahn, Warren
Spassky, Boris
splitter pitches
Sports Illustrated (magazine)
sportswriters
spring training
starting pitchers
statistics
in baseball
Baseball Encyclopedia
for defense
Elias Sports Bureau
for errors
of failure
for golf
for Hall of Fame
for hitters
for managers
for pitchers
psychology of
in World Series
Staub, Rusty
stealing bases
Steinbrenner, George
steroids
stories
advice as
from baseball
from broadcasting
from college
for culture
of failure
about family
from golf
about journeymen
about managers
from New York
nostalgia and
by players
from spring training
Stottlemyre, Mel, Jr.
Stottlemyre, Todd
Straub, Rusty
Strawberry, Darryl
surgeries
Swanson, Dansby
switch-hitters
tabloids
talent
athleticism and
economics of
in minor leagues
for pitchers
psychology of
in trades
training and
in World Series
Talese, Gay
Taylor, Elizabeth
teammates
advice from
in broadcasting
culture of
as friends
motivation by
networking with
pranks by
psychology of
reputation of
road trips for
as roommates
the yips for
teams. See also specific teams
Tejada, Ruben
television. See also broadcasting
Terrell, Walt
Texas Rangers
Thomas, Frank (“The Big Hurt”)
Three Nights in August (Bissinger)
Tiant, Luis
Tommy John surgery
Torre, Joe
trades
economics of
for press
psychology of
in spring training
talent in
tradition
training
for athleticism
batting practice
for confidence
development and
for fitness
talent and
trainers
warm-ups in
transportation
traveling
Tudor, John
umpires
uniforms
United States (US)
Valenzuela, Fernando
Valera, Julio
Verlander, Justin
veterans
contracts for
education from
in games
health for
immigrants as
as managers
personality of
psychology of
rookies and
Viola, Frank
Vizquel, Omar
vulnerability
Walsh, Bill
warm-ups
Warthen, Dan
weather
“The Web of the Game” (Angell)
Weinberg, Barry
Weiss, Walt
Welch, Bob
Welch, Raquel
West, Jerry
Wheeler, Zack
White, Deacon
wild pitches
Williams, Robin
Wilson, Mookie
Winningham, Herm
women
Wood, Joe (“Smoky”)
workouts
The World According to Garp (Irving)
World Series
for Boston Red Sox
culture of
managers in
for New York Mets
psychology of
statistics in
talent in
Wright, David
Wright, George
Wrigley Field
Yankee Stadium
Yastrzemski, Carl
the yips
for managers
The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch That Changed My Life (Ankiel/Brown)
for pitchers
for teammates
Yocum, Lewis
Youmans, Floyd
Yo-Yo Ma
Zarem, Bobby
Zimmer, Don
Zobrist, Ben
Also by Ron Darling
The Complete Game
(with Daniel Paisner)
Game 7, 1986
(with Daniel Paisner)
About the Authors
RON DARLING is the New York Times bestselling author of Game 7, 1986 and The Complete Game, as well as an Emmy Award–winning baseball analyst. He was a starting pitcher for the New York Mets from 1983 to 1991 and the first Mets pitcher to be awarded a Gold Glove. You can sign up for email updates here.
DANIEL PAISNER has collaborated with dozens of public figures on their autobiographies and memoirs. He is also the author of the baseball-themed novel A Single Happened Thing and the acclaimed chronicle of the 1998 baseball season, The Ball: Mark McGwire’s 70th Home Run Ball and the Marketing of the American Dream. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraphs
Warm-Up: The Ties That Bind
1. Drop and Drive
2. “A” Is for “Aase”
3. Coming Up
4. “H” Is for “Hodges”
5. Some Crying in Baseball
6. “Q” Is for “Quirk”
7. Head Games
8. “Z” Is for “Zimmer”
9. In the Booth
10. The Only Living Boy in New York
Cool-Down: The State of the Game
Index
Also by Ron Darling
About the Authors
Copyright
108 STITCHES. Copyright © 2019 by Ron Darling. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Jonathan Bush
Cover photograph of baseball by Henry Sene Yee
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-18438-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-23264-9 (signed edition)
ISBN 978-1-250-18439-9 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250184399
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: April 2019