Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball

by Koppett, Leonard

• ISBN13: 9780786712861
• ISBN10: 0786712864
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-29
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Shocked to discover how little contemporary baseball stars knew of their sport's rich lore, acclaimed baseball writer Leonard Koppett set out to change all that in one fell swoop. Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball, first published in 1998, now updated through the 2003 season and available in paperback for the first time, makes the entire treasure of the game's history available in one richly enjoyable volume. Opening to literally any page, readers will find lively narratives on the shape and significance of each baseball season from the sport's nineteenth century beginnings through 2003's scintillating postseason, as well as quantitative summaries of statistics that chronicle changes in the game. Each chapter recounts trends, players, and events during different eras, offers succinct seasonal recaps, and summarizes the highlights of each baseball era.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Premise	p. ix
Origins
Preliminaries	p. 3
The National Association	p. 15
The League
Chicago	p. 25
Two Leagues	p. 37
The Union Association	p. 45
The Revolt of the Players	p. 54
The Brotherhood	p. 54
Seasons 1890-91	p. 60
The Monopoly	p. 67
Seasons 1892-99	p. 78
The Majors
War	p. 87
Seasons 1900-1902	p. 94
Peace	p. 97
The World Series	p. 98
Ball Parks	p. 100
Gambling	p. 101
The Doubleday Myth	p. 102
Outlaw Leagues and Player Relations	p. 103
Seasons 1903-12	p. 105
The Feds	p. 115
Seasons 1913-15	p. 121
Real War	p. 126
Seasons 1916-18	p. 129
The Blowup	p. 135
Seasons 1919-21	p. 143
The Golden Age
Lively Ball Baseball	p. 151
Selling the Offense	p. 151
New Owners	p. 153
Seasons 1922-25	p. 156
The Commissioner	p. 161
Seasons 1926-28	p. 166
Boom and Bust	p. 171
Hard Times	p. 172
The Farm System	p. 173
Yankees and A's	p. 177
Seasons 1929-33	p. 178
An Age of Glory	p. 187
The New Stars	p. 188
Radio	p. 189
Lights	p. 190
The Hall of Fame	p. 191
Farm Systems and Administration	p. 192
"Break Up the Yankees!"	p. 194
Seasons 1934-41	p. 195
A Changing World
Wartime Baseball	p. 211
Seasons 1942-45	p. 214
The Stars Are Back--and on TV!	p. 220
Integration	p. 221
Commissioner Chandler	p. 224
The Mexican League	p. 226
Antitrust	p. 227
Unionization	p. 229
Ford Frick	p. 229
Attendance	p. 230
Television and Radio	p. 231
Farm Systems	p. 232
Veeck as in Wreck	p. 233
The Pacific Coast League	p. 235
Radio and the Minors	p. 235
A New Yankee Dynasty	p. 235
Boston to Milwaukee	p. 236
Bonus Players	p. 237
Seasons 1946-52	p. 239
Movement	p. 252
The Moves	p. 253
The Frick Administration	p. 258
The New New Stars	p. 261
The Minors	p. 263
Seasons 1953-57	p. 265
Challenge	p. 272
The Continental League	p. 272
The Alternative	p. 277
Seasons 1958-60	p. 280
Expansion
Ten-Team Leagues	p. 291
Demographics	p. 291
The New Teams	p. 294
The New Parks	p. 300
The New Commissioners	p. 303
The New Schedule	p. 306
The New Rules	p. 307
The New Players Association	p. 310
Seasons 1961-68	p. 315
Divisions and Play-Offs	p. 328
An Active Commissioner	p. 329
An Active Union	p. 334
The Flood Case	p. 338
An Active Scene	p. 341
Seasons 1969-72	p. 343
The New Age
Free Agency	p. 353
The Designated Hitter	p. 355
Arbitration	p. 357
More Teams	p. 363
The New Reserve System	p. 366
Finley versus Kuhn	p. 372
Progress	p. 374
Seasons 1973-80	p. 377
Strike Two	p. 386
The Rest of the 1981 Season	p. 393
Rolling in Money
Commissioner Turnover	p. 396
The Labor Front	p. 402
Drugs	p. 412
Ownership Turnover	p. 425
Seasons 1982-92	p. 429
Strike Three
1993: Averting Disaster	p. 446
1994: Disaster	p. 456
1995: Picking Up the Pieces	p. 464
Denouement	p. 467
Afterword: The Summation
New Chapter for the 2004 Edition: A Whole New Ballgame	p. 477
A New Story Begins	p. 478
Home Run Heaven	p. 480
The Men in Blue	p. 483
Interleague Play and League Restructuring	p. 486
The All-Star Game	p. 490
Television and Media Conglomerates	p. 491
Baseball Palaces	p. 495
A New Commissioner	p. 499
Baseball Economics	p. 501
Another Record and Contraction	p. 503
Competitive Balance	p. 507
A New Collective Bargaining Agreement	p. 510
Appendixes
Commissioners and League Presidents	p. 527
Franchises	p. 528
Club Sales	p. 531
Finances	p. 533
Competitive Balance	p. 534
Offensive Eras	p. 536
Hitting	p. 537
The Designated Hitter	p. 539
Ball Parks	p. 541
Player Awards	p. 544
Why "Pitching Is the Name of the Game"	p. 545
Sources	p. 546
Index	p. 549
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.