Oakland A's Titles

<strong>A fascinating tour of Oakland sports history and a look toward the future of professional sports in the East Bay.</strong><br /><br />Oakland is a sports city like no other. It is the only city in America to be abandoned by the same team twice, with the Raiders most recently leaving for Las Vegas. The Golden State Warriors, who crossed the bay in 1971 in search of better digs, have now returned to San Francisco with trophies in tow. The long-fought battle to keep the Oakland Athletics in the East Bay may narrowly save the city from a hat trick of departures.<br /><br />And yet, Oakland has produced more than its share of success in the form of 10 national titles across the NFL, NBA, and MLB. The city is gritty, gutsy, and self-preserving, with a blue-collar mentality and a gold standard under that collar. Bolstered by the Silicon Valley tech boom, Oakland has become one of the most desirable places to live in the entire country, all while its sports fans increasingly find that, in the famous words of Gertrude Stein, &quot;There is no there there.&quot;<br /><br />What is it about Oakland that inspires such wanderlust in its professional teams?<strong> </strong>Featuring numerous conversations with luminaries across sports, politics, and economics, this new book explores Oakland&#39;s fascinating and paradoxical identity as a sports town while illuminating a cast of characters as diverse as the city itself: rogues, superstars, movers and shakers operating on and off the field, and, of course, the fans.<br /><br /><strong>Through the insight of venerated <em>Oakland Tribune</em> scribe Dave Newhouse and sports business leader Andy Dolich, readers will come to appreciate the many quirks and challenges that define &quot;The Town.&quot;</strong>

<strong>A candid autobiography from the famously reclusive Oakland Athletics owner during the pivotal Moneyball era.</strong><br /><br />As the owner of the Oakland A&#39;s during the 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Schott fostered a front office culture of experimentation, risk, and autonomy that ultimately changed the course of modern baseball. As a founder of Citation Builders, he has been responsible for the construction of over 40,000 individual residences in the state of California.<br /><br /><em>Long Schott</em> is a story about unlikely victories, from that feisty A&#39;s squad that rallied for a historic 20-game win streak to the booming California real estate market and beyond.<br /><br /><strong>Co-authored by renowned <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> baseball writer John Shea, this is a fascinating business story encompassing humble beginnings, unprecedented success, and the many lessons learned along the way.</strong>

<div>Throughout their history, the Oakland Athletics have been one of the most audacious and individual franchises in all of baseball. As the longtime radio voice of the A&#39;s, Ken Korach has called countless improbable, unforgettable moments. As the <em>San Francisco Chronicle&#39;s</em> veteran beat reporter, Susan Slusser has become the preeminent scribe of the A&#39;s modern era. Both have witnessed more than their share of team history up close and personal. In<em> If These Walls Could Talk: Oakland A&#39;s</em>, Korach and Slusser provide insight into the A&#39;s inner sanctum as only they can. Readers will gain the perspective of players, coaches, and front office executives in times of greatness as well as defeat, making for a keepsake no fan will want to miss.</div>

For more than a decade, Tim Raines patrolled left field for the nascent Montreal Expos, igniting the powder keg of what would become one of the most innovative, entertaining, and talented teams of the modern era. Raines, nicknamed "Rock," hit and stole his way into the hearts of baseball fans across North America. The seven-time all-star tore through the Expos record books before moving on to the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Florida Marlins, ultimately earning three World Series rings. And now Raines sit on the cusp of entering Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. But it wasn't always easy playing for the upstart Montreal Expos or being Tim Raines. Raines' performance dipped in 1982, and at the end of the season, Raines entered treatment for substance abuse for cocaine addiction. To avoid leaving the drug in his locker, Raines would carry it in his hip pocket, and would slide headfirst when stealing bases. He used cocaine before games, in his car, after games, and on some occasions between innings in the clubhouse. Raines would later testify at the infamous Pittsburgh drug trials, in September 1985, and would ultimately resume his career at a high level and once again become one of baseball's brightest stars, on and off the field. This memoir entails the life and playing career of one of the sport's all-time greatest leaders and personalities, an honest, raw, and compelling tale of triumph and redemption.

<div>With traditions, records, and team lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every Athletics fan should know. This guide to all things A&#39;s covers the team’s history in Oakland since the franchise moved there in 1968, including the Charlie O. Finley dynasty years, the “Earthquake Series” and rivalry with the San Francisco Giants, and the team’s four World Series titles in Oakland. Author Susan Slusser has collected every essential piece of A&#39;s knowledge and trivia, including Billy Beane and <em>Moneyball</em>, Stomper, the “Bash Brothers,” and Josh Donaldson, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist for fans of all ages.</div>

1989 was a season of both triumph and tragedy for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics, still marking baseball’s only cross-Bay series. But 1989 is remembered as much for the devastating earthquake that struck moments before Game 3 of the World Series as it is for the exploits of Mark McGwire, Will Clark, and other stars. In this history, Gary Peterson combines his firsthand observations with meticulous research and new interviews with players, coaches, and broadcasters to offer a fresh perspective of that unforgettable year. From Dave Dravecky’s emotional return to the mound after cancer surgery and his gruesome injury in his next start to highlight-reel performances by Clark, McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Rickey Henderson to Dave Stewart reaching out to rescue workers after the earthquake, Battle of the Bay captures the agony and excitement that surrounded the Bay Area in the summer and fall of 1989.

Players and fans love him or hate him, so it's surprising that people know very little about St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's life; this biography goes behind the scenes of one of the most iconic figures in baseball today to show the influences behind his intensity and uncompromising focus, why winning every game possible is important to him, and why he often puts the game ahead of his private and personal life. Including interviews with past and current players, managers, executives, and even La Russa himself and intensive research from newspapers, magazines, and other archive material, the book reconstructs La Russa's life from his days as a young boy growing up in Tampa, where he spoke Spanish before he learned English, to his standing as the third-winningest manager in baseball history.

In this tell-all book, Jay McGwire provides an inside look at his reclusive older brother, baseball slugger Mark McGwire and their All-American, sports-loving family, and also offers a detailed entry into the world of steroids. As Mark McGwire's younger brother, Jay McGwire had a front-row seat to the ups and downs of the slugger's storied and now controversial career. He played an integral role in helping Mark recover from injuries and turn into a stronger ballplayer to become baseball's home run king. He offers a detailed account of what really happened to Mark, how he got started on steroids, what he used, and the dramatic effect that steroids had on his body and on baseball history.

Lou Brissie's extraordinary story is one that takes readers from the terrifying battlefields in Europe in World War II to the playing fields in Philadelphia. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ira Berkow brings together the unforgettable memories of a hero's life, telling the tales of a man who overcame incredible odds with his leg in a protective metal case to realize his dream of pitching in the major leagues. Brissie recounts amazing stories, including Brissie’s leg injury and how he was left for dead in the snow and mud of the Appenines in Italy, his pleading with doctors to not surgically remove his leg so that he might one day play professional baseball, the numerous surgeries and his improbable road to recovery, his friendship with Connie Mack and the opportunity to pitch after his injury, being named to the 1949 All-Star team as member of the Philadelphia Athletics, the big scare Brissie received when a Ted Williams line drive struck his wounded leg, and his regular visits for the past 60 years to both veteran's hospitals and children's hospital wards. The Corporal Was a Pitcher is a must-read not only for baseball fans, but also for anyone looking to find inspiration from a man who never quit despite the odds being stacked so highly against him.