The One Hundred Most Important Players in Baseball History - by Lincoln Mitchell (Paperback)

About the Book

Through insightful essays Lincoln A. Mitchell hightlights the one hundred players who have had the biggest impact on baseball, popular culture, and history through their careers inside or outside of baseball.--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

Baseball lore and history is filled with many valuable players, and not all of them are the Hall of Famers you know.

Through insightful essays Lincoln A. Mitchell highlights the one hundred players who have had the biggest impact on baseball, popular culture, and history through their careers inside or outside of baseball. You'll find stories about famous players like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, but also lesser known but deeply impactful baseball players like Curt Flood, Hal Chase, and Felipe Alou. For over 120 years baseball has been a deep part of American life as folk culture and big business, but for just as long it has also been central to race relations, labor issues, global conflicts, and the songs of Bob Dylan. These one hundred players have influenced not only America's pastime but the country as well.

Review Quotes

"Essential reading for anyone who wishes to truly understand the relationship between America and its National Pastime." --Craig Calcaterra, Cup of Coffee Baseball Newsletter and author of Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game

"Here is the intersectionality of baseball recognized and indispensably codified."--Steven Goldman, Host of the Infinite Inning podcast and author of Baseball's Brief Lives

"Inspiring a deeper appreciation of many of the players about whom we thought we knew a lot, but find out in these pages that we still have much to learn."--Perry Barber, Umpire, Jeopardy! champion, inaugural winner of The Dorothy, SABR's Women In Baseball Lifetime Achievement Award

"Mitchell's...assessments of the player are informed and perceptive...This is the essence of baseball." --Greg Proops

"Novel insights on the impact of baseball on American society. A fascinating and engaging read."--Frank A. Guridy, Historian and author of The Sports Revolution: How Texas Changed the Culture of American Athletics

"This is bound to become a baseball classic." --Dr. Paul Semendinger, Author of From Compton to the Bronx, The Least Among Them, and Scattering the Ashes

About the Author

Lincoln Mitchell is a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. In addition to his books on topics ranging from foreign policy to the history of San Francisco to baseball, Lincoln's writing have appeared at CNN, NBC, the New York Times, San Francisco Examiner and numerous other publications.