Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three -- Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito

by Mychael Urban, Billy Beane (Foreword by)

Overview

At their best, they were the most feared rotation in baseball; at their worst, they were very, very good. As the 2004 baseball season opened, however, each of the Oakland A's Big Three starting pitchers had something to prove. Tim Hudson was determined to demonstrate his recovery from the recurring hip injury that popped back up to knock him out of the 2003 American League Division Series. Barry Zito had to show the world that after a pedestrian 2003, his 2002 Cy Young Award was not a fluke but a true reflection of his ability. Mark Mulder missed the 2003 playoffs entirely with a stress fracture in his leg, but the way he saw it, he simply needed to be himself—the supremely confident, utterly dominant, natural-born power pitcher known to his bosses as the "Golden Child." All three would succeed, all three would fail, and all three would endure the rocky summer of 2004 in the company of an outstanding sportswriter named Mychael Urban, who, like Hudson, Mulder, and Zito, once pitched at college baseball's highest level.

In Aces, Urban presents a stunning re-creation of a single baseball season through the eyes, words, and experiences of three of the game's finest young pitchers. From the mound to the locker room to the world outside the stadium walls, this crisply written account explores the nuts and bolts of major league pitching, examining each player's unique approach to his craft while revealing how three very different personalities cope with the demands, rewards, and challenges of sports stardom.

You'll soar with Hudson and Mulder as they dominate the first half of the season and struggle with Zito as he tries to regain his winning form. You'll share Hudson's disappointment when he's sidelined yet again, and you'll witness Mulder's bewilderment as he confronts, for the first time, the self-doubt that has tortured so many great athletes. Ironically, as Mulder's confidence wanes, Zito, an avid surfer, catches a wave of self-assurance and surges to finish the season decisively.

You'll also get a taste of Hudson's frustration with Oakland's owners, who routinely surrender star players to free agency; learn why Zito's eclectic interests help make him a better pitcher; and hear Mulder speak frankly about the crisis of confidence that derailed his dream season. And in the end, you'll get an inside look at how two of the Big Three were traded away.

The Big Three were often talked about, written about, and judged as if they were interchangeable parts of a whole. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aces reveals how different these elite athletes are from one another and offers deep insights into what makes a successful big-league starter. And, like the 2004 baseball season itself, it's packed with drama, excitement, and humor from start to finish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470231135
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/17/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

MYCHAEL URBAN is a national writer for MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and has covered the A's since 2001. He talks about baseball regularly as a fill-in host on KNBR-680 (AM) in San Francisco and as a guest on FOX Sports Northwest TV, ESPN radio, and MLB radio.

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Table of Contents

Foreword by Billy Beane.

Introduction.

1 Green + Gold = Blue.

2 Three of a Kind (Sort Of).

3 The Big Story.

4 "Ring the Bell".

5 Before the Storm.

6 The Drill.

7 Don’t Mind the Maggots.

8 Peaks and Valleys.

9 The Scene of the Crime.

10 Helping Hand?

11 Breaking Down.

12 Head Games.

13 Another Big Blow.

14 The New Guys.

15 "Roadie from Hell".

16 Friends, Rivals, History.

17 "Go Time".

18 Crunch Time.

19 Fitting Finale.

20 Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em?

Epilogue: "Complete and Utter Shock".

Afterword: "Stranger Things Have Happened".

Acknowledgments.

Career Game Logs for the Big Three.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Aces is a fascinating look at three of the best pitchers in the game. I learned a lot about Hudson, Mulder and Zito that I wish I'd known before. Mychael Urban proves again that it takes a pitcher to know a pitcher."
--Tim Kurkjian, senior writer for ESPN Magazine, reporter/analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight

"If you got any closer to Oakland's Big Three of Hudson, Zito and Mulder than Mychael Urban takes you in this compelling read, you'd be standing in the middle of the Athletics' clubhouse. And I can assure you: Mychael's book smells much better. From the Southern Fried heat of Tim Hudson to Mark Mulder's cool aloofness to Barry Zito's cerebral wanderings, Urban captures the engine of Oakland's Little Engine That Could of a team with grace and aplomb."
--Scott Miller, National baseball columnist, CBS.SportsLine.com

"Every baseball fans knows that the Oakland Athletics have beaten the odds by winning a lot of baseball games in this era of big payrolls and high-priced free agents. You ask: Didn't someone already write a book about that? Sure. But while Moneyball is about Oakland's baseball philosophy, Mychael Urban's Aces tells the fun and real story about the three great and very different pitchers who actually won the games on the field. Sadly, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito have been split up now -- that's how baseball goes. But the aces live and breathe in these pages."
-- Joe Posnanski, columnist, Kansas City Star

"While Moneyball is about Oakland's baseball philosophy, Acestells the fun and real story about the three great and very different pitchers who actually won the games on the field."
-- Joe Posnanski, columnist, Kansas City

"Beautifully organized and written with great color, style, humor and grace, Aces takes readers on a captivating ride. And while Hudson, Mulder and Zito represented a uniquely entertaining era of A's baseball, the tale of their dramatic final season together is something any baseball fan will no doubt enjoy."
-- Mike Silver, Sports Illustrated

"Mychael Urban's book is a fabulous read. He brings you behind-the-scenes with their private conversations and thoughts on the most famous pitching trio since Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Mychael had a unique relationship with Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, earning their trust, and feeling comfortable to reveal intimate details of their personal lives. You learn about their hopes, their fears, their ideas and just what makes them tick. You'll know everything from Barry Zito's parents to Mark Mulder's golf game to Tim Hudson's family life. This is hardly just a baseball book. It's about life, and the tremendous burden each pitcher carried while trying to lead the Oakland A's to the playoffs. I absolutely loved it."
--Bob Nightengale, Senior Writer/Columnist, USA Today Sports Weekly

"Aces? How about Aced? This colorful account of Hudson, Mulder and Zito takes the reader through their final season together in Oakland, which was as stormy as it was stirring. Along the way, Urban provides some wild anecdotes from what he witnessed and what they told him in his exclusive interviews. Who else could give never-before-told insight to the pitchers’ achievements on the mound as well as a revealing look into their personal lives, including a memorable night at the Pussycat Club? From the speedy rise of the Big Three to their stunning breakup, Urban’s book says it all."
--John Shea, National Baseball Writer, San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

* "An excellent book that's well-written...and a fitting tribute to what will someday likely be considered a renaissance age of Oakland A's baseball." —Athletics Nation

"Written with great color, style, humor, and grace, Aces takes readers on a captivating ride." - Mike Silver, Sports Illustrated

"Mychael Urban's book is a fabulous read... This is hardly just a baseball book. It's about life, and he tremendous burden each pitcher carried while trying to lead the Oakland A's to the playoffs. I absolutely loved it." - Bob Nightengale, Senor Writer/Columnist, USA Today Sports Weekly

"From the southern fried heat of Tim Hudson to Mark Mulder's cool aloofness to Barry Zito's cerebral wanderings, Urban captures the engine of Oakland's Little Engine That Could of a team with grace and aplomb"" - Scott Miller, National Baseball Columnist, CBS.SportsLine.com

From the Publisher