Baseball, Art, and Dreams - by Scott Christopher (Paperback)

About the Book

The epic story of how Scott Christopher turned a crippling injury to his throwing arm and hand at age six, into living his dream by becoming a professional baseball champion eighteen years later.

Book Synopsis

Baseball, Art, and Dreams is the amazing true story of Scott Christopher, a boy who loved the game of baseball. At age six he falls on the broken soda bottle, severing all seven tendons, median nerve, and both arteries in his throwing hand.

Some said Scott had ten minutes to live, and shockingly his team of doctors considered amputation. After years of grueling rehabilitation, weighing less than one hundred pounds as a junior, he did make the high school varsity baseball team.

With no surprise, Scott had the worst season of any varsity player in the country, batting zero with three strikeouts in four plate appearances. His supernatural forces surfaced by his creative thinking that became laser focused on his dream.

Scott built a batting cage in his backyard, hitting day and night, staining his bat handles blood red. His proactive efforts earned him the MVP trophy his senior year.

With an ongoing dream of playing for the Maryland, even as Scott was turned away three times over the next three seasons, was all part of his journey to success. His career shifted gears when Maryland's head coach, Jack Jackson, offered Scott a full scholarship after witnessing him blast a 380-foot home run in a championship game.

Scott's super human ability to focus his energy on his vision takes his life into uncharted territory. When one season was very compromised due to a car accident, he would recover earning MVP honors both his junior and senior seasons. Selected on the All-ACC team as a shortstop, but bypassed in the 1976 MLB June draft, opportunity revealed itself in a new way, offering the chance to play baseball in Korea.

It was January 1977 when he signed a professional contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Over the next four seasons his teams made the playoffs every year. He still holds the all-time organizational record for stolen base percentage in a season.

In 1978, Scott become a professional champion, and the only player in the Orioles system to ever hit a ninth inning home run in the final playoff game for the title.

Learn how his AMAZING story beats the almost one in a million odds as passion and purpose drive Scott's success. His American Baseball Memoir is an INSPIRATIONAL story for everyone. Readers should get ready to "Dream Big, Dream On!"

Review Quotes

"....one of the fastest guys I ever played with . . . Scott was always in tune with his experiences on the baseball field. He understood the joys of life beyond most of us. He was a free spirit."

- CAL "IRON MAN" RIPKEN JR.

Three-Time Teammate, Major League Baseball Legend, Hall-of-Famer, World Champion, and the Greatest Shortstop in MLB History.

"If I named the top 25 players I managed, Scotty would be on that list."

-Coach Jimmy "Skip" Williams

Four-Time Manager, 1983 Baltimore Orioles World Series Championship Coach, Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame, Forty years in Professional Baseball, 1947-1987.

"Scottie was spectacular, playing 110% like always."

-Coach Elton "Jack" Jackson

U of Maryland, legendary coach, for thirty seasons, 1961-1990. Coach Jackson guided his teams to the most coaching victories in Maryland Baseball's storied, 130-year history, notching 471 wins.

Found in Richard Darcey Washington Post Article, Jan. 27, 1977, Baseball Player Finds Hard Road Leads to his Life's Goal.

"I have had to step back and let BAAD penetrate my deepest reaches after reading Red Threads this morning and turning page to the 9^th Inning. The At Bat of a lifetime as described in the 8^th Inning is the "soul speech" that all who feel deeply long to write. It is Beowulf against Grendel, life against death, Hector against Achilles and as written by you, beautiful "soul stretching" prose. Then to punctuate it with Red Threads . . . only poetry comes close to describing the indescribable. Perfect."

-Larry Bertram

English scholar, published writer and poet, award-winning college football quarterback and baseball infielder, Hampden-Sydney College

"In life we meet many people, but some, by the way they live their life, shape ours. And that's why I will always be indebted to, and never forget, Scotty Christopher. Tougher than nails, faster than lightning, where no problem is too big and no mountain too high--and yet the memory he leaves me with is "Love," which pours out of him like water....

-Rob "Cat" Whitfield, three-time teammate, seven-season pro ball player, two-time champion, and gifted musician

"Dreams are very special. For many boys, becoming a baseball player is a dream.

This heartfelt book tells the story of how he achieved his dream as an artist in the body of an athlete.

Anyone with an interest in baseball, sports, and the creative mind of an artist will be fascinated by the stories told here. From his rise as an amateur, to his stardom as a professional baseball player, Scott Christopher inspires us with this truly American story."

-Stuart Ashman

Lifelong baseball aficionado, former Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, owner-operator of Artes de Cuba.

"Obviously, Scott Christopher was blessed with incredible talent. But the work, relentless positivity, and heart are the real revelations and the keys to his amazing career. I am so impressed by the writing, and I loved Scott's passion to overcome adversity."

-Dr. Michael Whiting

Thirty-four years in emergency medicine and lifelong baseball fan.