Pitchers - Hardcover

Sullivan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689318251 ISBN 13: 9780689318252

Publisher: Atheneum, 1994

Synopsis

An illustrated portrait of twenty-seven of the finest pitchers in the history of baseball ranges from the legendary Cy Young to the modern-day achievements of Nolan Ryan.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6-As he did with hitters in Sluggers! (Atheneum, 1991), Sullivan now offers brief biographies of the individuals he deems to be the greatest hurlers in baseball history. The emphasis is on Hall of Famers; only three men were still active players in 1993. Compiling such a list is difficult, and every fan will find a personal favorite omitted, but every player here is worthy of inclusion. The profiles are interesting when Sullivan concentrates on personal incidents that have affected the pitchers' careers, such as Three Finger Brown's childhood farming accident, which enabled him to put a unique spin on the ball. Unfortunately, the presentation soon turns into a blur of statistics, some of which are repeated throughout the text. For example, Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA record is mentioned three different times. A number of "All Time Records" are appended at the back of the book along with an explanation of how such statistics as Earned Run Average are computed. Loaded with great full-color and sepia-toned photographs, this title will undoubtedly be popular and useful despite the sometimes dry text.
George Delalis, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 4-7. This companion to Sluggers (1991) profiles 27 of baseball's finest pitchers. Following a short discussion of major-league pitching styles and strategies, Sullivan provides basic biographical and career information for these selected baseball greats. The format for each section is uniform--two to four pages of text broken up by several action photos (many in full color)--yet each piece offers a revealing glimpse at the techniques and personalities of these athletes. Some readers may already be familiar with Roger "Rocket Man" Clemens' passion for physical fitness, but tales of Don Drysdale's temper and Gaylord Perry's fondness for spitters (both real and pretend) will surprise many. The inclusion of so many pitchers from baseball's early years--Cy Young, Three Finger Brown, Lefty Grove, and Dizzy Dean, to name only a few--makes this a good reference as well as a browser's delight. Although only diehard fans will read from cover to cover, libraries will probably need multiple copies to keep up with demand. Kay Weisman

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0689318251
• ISBN 13: 9780689318252
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 74