The Wizard of Waxahachie: Paul Richards and the End of Baseball As We Knew It

by Corbett, Warren; Robinson, Brooks; LaRussa, Tony

• ISBN13: 9780870745560
• ISBN10: 0870745565
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-28
• Publisher: Southern Methodist Univ Pr

Summary

One of the most influential-and controversial-figures in baseball of the 1950s, rs"60s, and rs"70s, Paul Richards was a player, manager, and general manager, a participant in many of the historic changes that marked "the end of baseball as we knew it." Richards managed the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles-laying the foundation for the Oriolesrs" championship clubs of the 1960s and 1970s-and built the expansion Houston team from scratch. Best known for inventing the giant mitt for knuckleball catchers, Richards was also the first manager to track on-base percentage and the first to monitor pitch counts. He constantly experimented with tactics and strategies, and he preached the need for constant practice of the gamers"s fundamentals.Drawing on Richardsrs"s writings and personal papers, plus previously undiscovered audio recordings, Warren Corbett chronicles the life and times of the baseball wizard who left an indelible mark on Americars"s national pastime.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction by Tony La Russa	p. xiii
"Why Can't You Forget This Guy?"	p. 3
Sleepy	p. 7
Baseball as He Knew It	p. 23
Up and Down	p. 33
The Toughest Manager	p. 49
Texas Tiger	p. 67
Victory	p. 81
Manager-in-Waiting	p. 89
Nine Old Men and Mr. Sick	p. 103
"The City That Championships Forgot"	p. 115
The Wizard of Waxahachie	p. 137
"Daring Gamble"	p. 157
The Oriole Way	p. 173
Home Grown by 1960	p. 195
The Church of Johnny U	p. 211
Home Grown	p. 221
Bound for Texas	p. 235
The Man in the Dugout	p. 249
Present at the Creation	p. 261
The Other Expansion Team	p. 273
Worst Enemy	p. 289
Braves' New World	p. 305
The End of Baseball as We Know It	p. 315
Half a Pennant	p. 325
"A Ghastly Mistake"	p. 333
The Hustler	p. 345
"I've Been There, Wherever There Is"	p. 357
Fadeaway	p. 377
Epilogue: The Beauty of the Competition	p. 389
Acknowledgments	p. 395
Bibliography	p. 397
Index	p. 409
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