Baseball Yesterday & Today - Hardcover

Josh Leventhal has been an avid baseball fan for as long as he can remember, reading baseball stories and pouring over statistics in the Baseball Encyclopedia. He has written or compiled six books, including the best-selling Take Me Out to the Ballpark, Baseball...The Perfect Game, Baseball and the Meaning of Life, and The World Series: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Fall Classic, now in its fourth edition. A native New Yorker, he cheers for the Minnesota Twins in his adopted hometown of the Twin Cities, although the Pittsburgh Pirates will always remain dearest in his heart. He is an editor at Voyageur Press and lives in St. Paul.

The game of baseball has seen countless changes over nearly two centuries of history from overhand pitching to retractable-roof stadiums yet its nineteenth-century origins are still evident in the twenty-first-century game. The one-on-one showdowns between pitcher and batter, the teamwork of nine men in the field, the game-winning hits and heart-breaking losses, and the legendary stars and unknown heroes have forever defined the drama and intrigue of our national pastime.

This lavishly illustrated history highlights the ballparks and the ballplayers, the record-shattering feats and game-changing strategies that have kept baseball fans enchanted for generations. Through historic illustrations and modern-day photography, Baseball Yesterday & Today showcases the progression of the playing field, the teams, the players, the all-time all-stars, and the behind-the-scenes wizards who have helped to transform the game over more than 150 years.

Josh Leventhal is the best-selling author of Take Me Out to the Ballpark, Baseball...The Perfect Game, Baseball and the Meaning of Life, and The World Series: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Fall Classic.

Baseball is a game full of history and tradition, and one that is forever . As ballparks come and go, records get broken and broken again, and new generations of players revolutionize the game, baseball pundits and casual observers are forever comparing the teams, players, and accomplishments of today with those of yesteryear. And through it all, baseball remains the national pastime.

With a cornucopia of photos and other illustrations, Baseball Yesterday & Today presents the ballplayers and ballparks from 150 years of baseball history to highlight how the game of today compares with baseball s so-called glory days how it has changed and how it has stayed the same. Side-by-side imagery and stories provide a glimpse into the experience of watching and playing baseball through the decades.

Josh Leventhal is the best-selling author of Take Me Out to the Ballpark, Baseball...The Perfect Game, Baseball and the Meaning of Life, and The World Series: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Fall Classic.

From Elysian Fields to U.S. Cellular Field, Wee Willie Keeler to Randy Big Unit Johnson, Black Sox to BALCO, and Sisler to Suzuki, Baseball Yesterday & Today is a unique journey through the history of America s pastime.