In this fourth edition, Benjamin G. Rader updates the text with a portrait of baseball's new order. He charts an on-the-field game transformed by analytics, an influx of Latino and Asian players, and a generation of players groomed for brute power both on the mound and at the plate. He also analyzes the behind-the-scenes revolution that brought in billions of dollars from a synergy of marketing and branding prowess, visionary media development, and fan-friendly ballparks abuzz with nonstop entertainment. The result is an entertaining and comprehensive tour of a game that, whatever its changes, always reflects American society and culture.| Cover Title page copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Fraternity and Its Game 2. A Commercial Spectacle 3. The First Professional Teams 4. The First Professional Leagues 5. The Players' Revolt 6. The Great Baseball War 7. Baseball's Coming of Age 8. The Big Fix 9. The Age of Ruth 10. The Age of Dynasties Illustrations 11. Baseball's Great Experiment 12. The Last Days of the Old Game 13. Baseball in Trouble 14. The Empowerment of the Players 15. The Demise of Dynasties 16. The Steroid Era 17. Baseball's New Order Bibliographical Essay Index | Praise for earlier editions: "The best single-volume history of the sport. . . . Tackles the business and organizational evolution of the professional game, while not losing sight of how it was played on the field."—Washington Post Book World
"Baseball reflects Rader's firm grasp of the best and latest scholarship and his insightful understanding of American sport history."—Sporting News
|Benjamin G. Rader is James L. Sellers Professor of History at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and the author of American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports.