Publisher, Harper Audio (March 2004)

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Baseball inspires writers like no other American sport. From columns written by sports journalists, to short stories, to memoirs penned by the greats of the game, baseball writing holds a place of its own in modern literature. Play Ball! celebrates this writing, bringing to life the sound of the ball hitting the sweet spot, the roar of the crowd, the thrill of a grand slam and the agony of a strikeout. And most importantly, the pure joy of the game, for whether we're on the field or in the last row of the bleachers, we're all fans.

This collection highlights the poetry, exuberance, and heartbreak of the game that is, in Roger Angell's words, "one of the reasons that summer exists." Classic stories from baseball's earthy beginnings, profiles of icons such as Joe DiMaggio, Carl Erskine, and 'Hammerin' Hank Aaron, graceful essays on the moment a ballplayer becomes an idol, and humorous accounts of modern baseball's international reach – Play Ball! presents a lively and passionate tribute to America's favorite pastime.

INCLUDES:

The Silent Season of a Hero by Gay Talese
The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg
The Pitcher and the Plutocrat by E.G.Wodehouse
Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Casey's Revenge by Grantland Rice
Alibi Ike by Ring Lardner
One Down, 713 to Go by Damon Runyan
Jinxes, and What They Mean to a Ballplayer by Christy Mathewson

Excerpts from Baseball Anecdotes by Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf are peppered throughout.

EXCERPTS INCLUDED ARE FROM:

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
If I Had a Hammer by Hank Aaron
Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy
You Gotta Have Wa by Robert Whiting
Season Ticket by Roger Angell