Marcus, a young baseball pitcher, learns that perfect games only come with a lot of practice--and some strikeouts.

"What happens when three financial industry whiz kids and certified baseball nuts take over an ailing major league franchise and implement the same strategies that fueled their success on Wall Street? In the case of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, an American League championship happens--the culmination of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story...

Jason Goodyear is the star outfielder for the Los Angeles Lions, stationed with the rest of his team in the punishingly hot Arizona desert for their annual spring training. Handsome, famous, and talented, Goodyear is nonetheless coming apart at the seams. And the coaches, writers, wives, girlfriends, petty criminals, and diehard fans following his every move are eager to find out why--as they hide secrets of their own.

Learn the basic points in the art of hitting. Being a good hitter takes years of dedication, excellent vision, hand-eye coordination and determination.g.

Learn the basic points in the art of pitching. Learn the grips, the parts of the pitch, the types of pitches and practice drills to improve your pitching.

Learn the basics: choosing, breaking in and caring for your glove; proper body position for fielding grounders and pop ups; good footwork; throwing to the bases; playing the positions, practice drills and tips from major league pros.

"A history of baseball in ten pitches"-- "From the New York Times baseball columnist, a ... history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than three hundred people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today"--Dust jacket flap. Even the slightest calibration can turn a baseball from an ordinary pitch into a weapon to thwart the greatest hitters in the world. Each...

""What hit meant the most to you and why?" The simple question led award-winning sportswriter Mark Newman on an eight-year journey that would bring about surprising stories and empowering life lessons from the minds of the most fabled Major League hitters in our time." -- Back cover.