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Now In: HCI → Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul
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Book Description
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"Play Ball!" These words resonate with special meaning in the minds of anyone who has ever enjoyed a game of baseball. Every fan will be amused and touched by stories of sportsmanship and victory gathered from the clay diamonds of America.
A tribute to America's favorite past time, Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul is written by people at every level of competition, from World Series champions to tee-ball moms. Their inspiring stories highlight the best of baseball, the importance of sportsmanship and a love of the game. Whether these stories take place on the field of a local YMCA or under the bright lights of a major league ballpark, the focus is the same: The Love of the Game. |
Winning Isn't Everything
Great competitors are bred, and great sportsmen are born. I came to that conclusion at a Little League T-ball game in Davis, California, for which my son, Matt, was umpiring. This conclusion was cemented solidly just last week when a friend of mine related a horror story from her son's Little League game.
"One of the coaches just ripped off a kid's head for making a mistake," she noted. "What does that teach him?"
In both of our books, nothing.
We have become a nation addicted to winning. "We're number one" puts smiles on sports fans' faces. Running a good race doesn't always.
This premise relates to every facet of life, whether at home, at church, at school, at work or at play. Numbers are crunched, awards are pursued, emotions are stifled in favor of one-upmanship. Even the Joneses have a hard time keeping up.
Life too often becomes a tough game with more losers than winners. When claiming the prize eliminates the good in playing, no one wins. Real rewards come from teamwork and playing the game unselfishly for the good of the whole.
On a hot, sunny afternoon, a small boy stepped up to bat. The crowd watched like hawks for his move, waiting for the sought-after home run that most likely wasn't to be. After all, these kids were five and six years old, much too little to stroke a ball past the pitcher, if at all.
The little guy's determination showed in his stance: gritted teeth, slightly bulging eyes, hat-clad head bobbing slightly, feet apart, hands with a death grip on the bat. In front of him was a small softball, sitting perched like a parrot on a lone tee, awaiting the six swings that the batter was allowed.
Strike one.
Strike two.
"Go for it, Son!" the proud father yelled encouragingly.
Strike three.
"Go, go, go . . ." the crowd joined in.
Strike four.
"You can do it!" just the father and a couple of viewers crooned, others losing interest and turning to bleacher conversations.
"YOU CAN DO IT!" And suddenly bat hit ball, amazing the crowd and the little boy, who stood rock still, watching it travel slowly past the pitcher on its way to second base.
"Run!"
The stands rumbled with stomping feet.
"Run, run!"
The little boy's head jerked ever so slightly and he took off toward third base.
With a slight cast of his head toward the bleachers, the boy turned back toward home.
"NO!" My son, the umpire, waved him toward first base.
The kids on both teams pointed the way. The crowd continued to cheer him on. Confused, he ran back to third. Then following the third baseman's frantic directions, he finally ran toward first base but stopped triumphantly on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher moved back, not sure what to do next. The crowd stood, shaking the bleachers with the momentum. All arms waved toward first base. And with no thought for his position, the first baseman dropped his ball and ran toward the pitcher.
"Come on," he yelled, grabbing the hand of the errant batter, and tugged him toward first base while the crowd screamed its approval. The ball lay forgotten as a triumphant twosome hugged each other on the piece of square plastic that marked the spot where lives are forever shaped.
Two little boys, running hand in hand, toward a goal that only one should have reached. Both came out winners. In fact, there wasn't a loser in the stands or on the field that summer day, and that's a lesson none of us should ever forget.
Winning is more than being number one. Winning is helping another when the chips are down. It's remembering to love one another, as biblically directed, despite the flaws that sometimes appear in the fabric of daily life.
No one will ever remember the score of that summer afternoon encounter. Competition, usually fettered by jeering remands, lost to sportsmanship, an innate formula for winning.
When you get to first base with opposing teammates, families, friends and grandstanders behind you, a home run is never that far down the road.
Mary Owen
(c) 2001. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Tommy Lasorda, Mark and Chrissy Donnelly.
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 Jack CanfieldJack Canfield is a best-selling author and one of America's leading experts in the development of human potential. He is both a dynamic and entertaining speaker and a highly sought-after trainer with a wonderful ability to inform and inspire audiences to pen their hearts, love more openly and pursue their dreams. He is the author and narrator of several best-selling audio- and video cassette programs, including Self Esteem and Peak Performance, How to Build High Self-Esteem, Self-Esteem in the Classroom and Chicken Soup for the Soul – Live. He is regularly seen on television shows such as Good Morning America, 20/20 and NBC Nightly News. Jack has co-authored numerous books, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, Dare to Win and The Aladdin Factor (all with Mark Victor Hansen), 100 Ways to Build Self-Concept in the Classroom (with Harold C. Wells) and Heart At Work (with Jacqueline Miller). Jack is a regularly featured speaker for professional associations, school districts, government agencies, churches, hospitals, sales organizations and corporations. Jack conducts an annual eight-day Training of Trainers program in the areas of self esteem and peak performance. It attracts educators, counselors, parenting trainers, corporate trainers, professional speakers, ministers and other interested in developing their speaking and seminar-leading skills. Visit the Chicken Soup for the Soul website, at www.chickensoup.com. [ More]
 Mark Victor HansenMark Victor Hansen is a professional speakers who, in the last twenty years, had made over four-thousand presentations to more than 2 million people in 32 countries. His presentations cover sales excellence and strategies; personal empowerment and development; and how to triple your income and double your time off.
Mark has spent a lifetime dedicated to his mission of making a profound and positive difference in people's lives. Throughout his career, he has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to create a more powerful and purposeful future for themselves while stimulating the sale of billions of dollars worth of goods and services.
Marc is a prolific writer and has authored Future Diary, How to Achieve Total Prosperity and The Miracle of Tithing. He is co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, Dare to Win and The Aladdin Factor (all with Jack Canfield), and The Master Motivator (with Joe Batten).
Mark has also produced a complete library of personal empowerment audio- and videocassette programs that have enabled his listeners to recognize and use their innate abilities in their business and personal lives. His message has made him a popular television and radio personality, with appearances on ABC, CBS, HBO, PBS, and CNN. He has also appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including Success, Entrepreneur and Changes.
Mark is a big man with a heart and spirit to match — an inspiration to all who seek to better themselves.
Visit the Chicken Soup for the Soul website, at www.chickensoup.com. [ More]
 Mark DonnellyMark and Chrissy Donnelly are coauthors of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul. [ More]
 Tommy LasordaTommy La sorda , regarded by many as baseball's most popular ambassador, will begin his 52 nd season in the Dodger organization and fifth as Vice President. He was named Vice President on July 29, 1996 after retiring as manager, a position he held for the previous 20 seasons. Lasorda spends much of his time scouting, evaluating and teaching minor league players as well as spreading baseball goodwill to thousands as he makes more than 100 speeches and appearances to various charities, private groups and military personnel each year.
In 1997, Lasorda was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in his first year of eligibility. He has won numerous awards throughout his career, including being named Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1970, Manager of the Year by UPI and AP in 1977, Manager of the Year by AP in 1981 and N L. Manager of the Year by Baseball America and Co-Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1988. He was the recipient of the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America's inaugural Milton Richman Memorial Award with Sparky Anderson in 1987, the BBWAA Philadelphia Chapter's Humanitarian Award in 1993, Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce's Award of Merit in 1997, Touchdown Club of Columbus' Baseball Ambassador of the
Year in 1997, Arete's Courage in Sports Award in 1997 and was honored by the President of the Dominican Republic in 1997 for his dedication to the game of baseball throughout his career.
Lasorda compiled a 1,599-1,439 record and won two World Championships, four N.L. pennants and eight division titles in an extraordinary 20-year career as the Dodgers manager. He ranks 13th with 1,599 wins and 12th with 3,038 games managed in major league history. Lasorda's 16 wins in 30 N.L. Championship Series games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement in 1996. As a player, Lasorda compiled a 0-4 record and 6.52 ERA as a left-handed pitcher in parts of three major league seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1954-55) and Kansas City Athletics (1956). In all, he spent 16 seasons in the minor leagues from 1945-60, including a two-year stint in the
military from 1946-47. Lasorda has been a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and has received honorary doctorate degrees from Pepperdine University, St. Thomas University and the University of Phoenix. Lasorda and his wife Jo reside in Fullerton, CA. They will celebrate their 51 st wedding anniversary on April 14 th , 2001. The couple renamed a gymnasium and youth center in memory of their son Tom Jr. in Yorba Linda, CA on Sept 7, 1997. [ More]
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Inventory:
Available usually ships within 24–48 hours
ISBN-10:
1558749659
ISBN-13:
9781558749658
HCI-Item:
9659
Book Format:
Paperback
Page Count:
400
Publication Date:
10/16/2001
Category:
Self-Help/Inspiration/Sports
Series:
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