Bøger af Steve Kettmann

In 2010, the New York Mets were in trouble. One of baseball's most valuable franchises, they had recently suffered an embarrassing end-of-the-year collapse and two bitter losing seasons. Their general manager had made costly player personnel mistakes. And to top it off, their principle owners, two major Bernie Madoff investors, were embroiled in the fallout from the largest financial scam in American history. To whom did they turn? Sandy Alderson, a former marine who served in Vietnam and graduated from Harvard Law. Alderson started in baseball with the Oakland As in 1981. Two years later, he was running the team. With the A's, Alderson led a revolution in the sport. The A's partnered with Apple to introduce the first computers into baseball, pioneered using statistical analysis, attracted bright people, built a quality organization, and became a powerhouse, winning the 1989 World Series. When new owners slashed payroll in the 1990s, Alderson's under-the-radar creativity and intelligent management were thrust into the spotlight. Now, Alderson is in the midst of turning around another embattled franchise, with the Mets in first place in late August, led by a stellar pitching staff full of young guns. Granted unprecedented access to a working GM over several seasons, bestselling author Steve Kettmann follows Alderson's renewal of the Mets despite a limited budget, from big trades that brought back high-profile prospects to the development of young aces including Matt Harvey, Zach Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. Baseball Maverick is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at a Major League team's work to return to greatness, and a fascinating exploration of what it means to be smart.

Fenway Park, Saturday, 8/30/03: Yankees versus Red Sox. Not just a special day in a historic rivalry but a unique one in the long tradition of baseball writing. For on this day award-winning sportswriter Steve Kettmann worked with a team of top reporters to chronicle everything that happened, from the point of view of everyone involved. With "One Day at Fenway," Kettmann goes beyond the ballpark to bring you interviews and anecdotes involving all the major players -- from Red Sox owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino, privately second-guessing Grady Little's managing moves during the game; to Yankee skipper Joe Torre, worrying on the bench about Mariano Rivera, who can't find home plate; to Sox slugger Manny Ramirez, who missed the game with a throat infection. And there's more: the famous and infamous players in the field and in the boardrooms, rabid fans on both sides, the not-so-innocent bystanders -- all here in this brilliant re-creation of a day in the life of America's favorite pastime.