James D. Szalontai's Books

Small Ball in the Big Leagues

A History of Stealing, Bunting, Walking and Otherwise Scratching for Runs

By: James D. Szalontai

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Small Ball in the Big Leagues

A History of Stealing, Bunting, Walking and Otherwise Scratching for Runs

By: James D. Szalontai

The typical baseball fan yearns for one of two things: a strikeout or a home run. But most of the game takes place in between these electrifying moments, and this book discusses the importance of "small ball" to baseball. It examines the multitude of times small ball activities have secured victories through aggressive base running, sacrifice hits, squeeze bunts, stolen bases, productive outs and hit-and-run plays, as well as games in which aggressive small ball activity led to defeat. The book covers the most important small ball players, managers and teams.

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Page Count

312

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

078645833X

ISBN 13

9780786458332

Close Shave

The Life and Times of Baseball's Sal Maglie

By: James D. Szalontai

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The Life and Times of Baseball's Sal Maglie

By: James D. Szalontai

Sal Maglie was a feared and hated pitcher perhaps best known for his vicious knockdown pitches that made batters tremble. Yet he was also respected as a ferocious competitor, one who pitched with his arm and his head, one who could be depended upon when his team needed a victory, and one who refused to quit, even when faced with a blacklisting, crippling injuries, and advanced age. Off the field, he was an amiable man. This work chronicles the life and career of the man and the player: his unspectacular minor league career, his 1945 debut with Mel Ott's New York Giants, his blacklisting by organized baseball for playing in Jorge Pasquel's Mexican League, and his rejoining the Giants in 1950 at the age of 33. He thereupon established himself as a bona fide big league pitcher, and went on to have a stellar career in the majors that included stints with the Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. Game-by-game analyses of Maglie's professional career, intimate portraits of the men Maglie played with and against--Mel Ott, Eddie Stanky, Monte Irvin, Jackie Robinson, Carl Furillo, Willie Mays, among others--and a look at baseball as it was played in the 1940s and 1950s are features of the book.

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Page Count

400

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786411899

ISBN 13

9780786411894

Teenager on First, Geezer at Bat, 4-F on Deck

Major League Baseball in 1945

By: James D. Szalontai

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Teenager on First, Geezer at Bat, 4-F on Deck

Major League Baseball in 1945

By: James D. Szalontai

The Second World War was in the bottom of the ninth inning in Germany and Japan, but back at home the bases were loaded with baseball players, many of them new to the big leagues. While the game's stars traded their stockings and gloves for khaki and rifles, America's leaders believed baseball would boost morale at home. Teams filled out their rosters with retired stars such as Jimmie Foxx and Babe Herman; with players like Pete Gray and Dick Sipek, whose disabilities had kept them out of the majors; and with teenagers like 17-year-olds Putsy Caballero and Tommy Brown. But while the level of major league talent had reached its nadir, war-weary fans packed the ballparks, eagerly following pennant races as intense as any that preceded the war.

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Age

Page Count

335

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786453354

ISBN 13

9780786453351

Book's by James D. Szalontai

Small Ball in the Big Leagues

Small Ball in the Big Leagues

Close Shave

Close Shave

Teenager on First, Geezer at Bat, 4-F on Deck

Teenager on First, Geezer at Bat, 4-F on Deck

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