PRESS RELEASE - THE STORY OF BASEBALL: IN 100 PHOTOGRAPHS

TY COBB ON THE BASE PATHS. CROSLEY FIELD UNDER THE LIGHTS. ROBERTO CLEMENTE IN PORTRAIT.

HAMMERIN’ HANK’S MOMENT. A HOT DOG CART AT EBBETS. BRYCE HARPER’S DEEP INTENSITY.

 

THESE ARE THE IMAGES THAT CELEBRATE OUR NATIONAL PASTIME

THIS IS

THE STORY OF BASEBALL:

IN 100 PHOTOGRAPHS

 

 

Just in time for the holidays and as professional baseball nears its 150th anniversary, Sports Illustrated presents a collection of the most compelling and revealing images from baseball’s past and present. THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs, Introduction by Kostya Kennedy (Time Inc. Books, November 6, 2018) is an extraordinary collection of images and descriptions that will be pored over, celebrated and treasured. Immortal players and important moments captured in time…for all time.

 

An emotional Lou Gehrig pauses at the mike searching for words during his “luckiest man” ceremony in 1939; a slender and powerful Ted Williams turns on a pitch; Hank Greenberg takes his stance less than two months after Pearl Harbor with the Army Air Corps; Roger Maris, with his cleats up and a cigarette in hand, deals with the strain of chasing Babe Ruth’s ghost in the locker room in 1961; Stan Musial at his locker before his final game. 

 

Some of the photos in THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs are the classic images of the game, historical or momentous, seared into our minds over the decades—Pete Rose’ hurtling into home plate; the group photo of that first Hall of Fame class in 1939; Willie Mays making his over-the-shoulder catch. They exist like old friends clear and familiar. Others are rarer and offer insight into the game. Dwight Eisenhower, ball in-hand, and Fidel Castro in mid-wind-up in similar photos remind us of our commonalities through baseball; the photo of Juan Marichal raising his bat in anger in 1965 reminds us of the game’s intensity, as the photo of the Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang cutting up for the cameras in 1937 reminds us of its eternal playfulness.

 

Rickey. Sandy. Mickey. Willie. Ozzie. Jackie. Reggie. The Griffeys. Readers can even revisit the classic SI tale of Sidd Finch.

 

THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs also features classic images like:

• A hot dog stand at Ebbets Field in 1920
• The Negro Leagues’ Pittsburgh Crawfords on the road in the mid-1930s
• Joe Medwick knocked out by a pitched ball in 1940
• A streetball game in post-war New York City
• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• The great Satchel Paige in repose at Municipal Stadium in 1948
• A dejected Ralph Branca after the “Shot Heard Round the World” in 1951
• A impossibly young Vin Scully honing his craft in the press box in the mid 1960s
• Tommy John and his iconic elbow
• Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly hang on Ted Williams’ every word at a lunch in the ‘80s
• Cal Ripken Jr.’s celebration after becoming baseball’s Iron Man in 1995
• A shot taken inside Fenway’s Green Monster
• Michael Jordan attempting to translate his greatness to the diamond
• An intimate photo of two of the most influential GMs in baseball’s modern era: Theo Epstein and Billy Beane

 

THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs has been artfully curated and crafted, as every section covers so much ground in adding to the narrative. Whether it’s a shot of the Mariners’ lanky lefty Randy Johnson from below, Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field from above, or the Dodgers’ ace Fernando Valenzuela pitching with his eyes raised toward the skies, the book is a comprehensive masterpiece and a gift to all baseball fans.

 

This is THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs.

 

 

About Kostya Kennedy

Kostya Kennedy, the book’s editor and introduction writer, is the author of the New York Times best-sellers, 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports and Pete Rose: An American Dilemma. Both books earned the Casey Award as the best baseball book of its respective year. A former Assistant Managing Editor and Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated, Kennedy is now an Editorial Director at Meredith Corporation.

 

At Sports Illustrated Kennedy covered baseball and numerous other sports and ran SI’s special issue division. He has edited several Sports Illustrated books including the 2015 best-seller, Super Bowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game. A graduate of Columbia’s School of Journalism, from which he received a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, he has taught at Columbia and at NYU’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport. His most recent book is 2016’s Lasting Impact.

 

 

 

THE STORY OF BASEBALL: In 100 Photographs

Authors: The Editors at Sports Illustrated

Introduction: Kostya Kennedy

Time Inc. Books / November 13, 2018

Hardcover / 224 Pages / $30.00

ISBN 13 978-1547800018