Baseball: A History of America's Game

by Benjamin G. Rader

Overview

In this fourth edition, Benjamin G. Rader updates the text with a portrait of baseball's new order. He charts an on-the-field game transformed by analytics, an influx of Latino and Asian players, and a generation of players groomed for brute power both on the mound and at the plate. He also analyzes the behind-the-scenes revolution that brought in billions of dollars from a synergy of marketing and branding prowess, visionary media development, and fan-friendly ballparks abuzz with nonstop entertainment. The result is an entertaining and comprehensive tour of a game that, whatever its changes, always reflects American society and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252042058
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Series:	Sport and Society
Edition description:	4th Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Benjamin G. Rader is James L. Sellers Professor of History at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and the author of American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

1 The Fraternity and Its Game 5

2 A Commercial Spectacle 19

3 The First Professional Teams 30

4 The First Professional Leagues 42

5 The Players' Revolt 60

6 The Great Baseball War 78

7 Baseball's Coming of Age 91

8 The Big Fix 109

9 The Age of Ruth 123

10 The Age of Dynasties 136

11 Baseball's Great Experiment 155

12 The Last Days of the Old Game 171

13 Baseball in Trouble 188

14 The Empowerment of the Players 204

15 The Demise of Dynasties 221

16 The Steroid Era 238

17 Baseball's New Order 261

Bibliographical Essay 283

Index 293

Illustrations follow page 154

Editorial Reviews

"A grand slam. . . . An entertaining, insightful history of the national pastime set within the context of major issues in American society. . . . By far the finest one-volume history of America's game ever written." —Larry R. Gerlach, author of The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires

From the Publisher