Toronto Blue Jays Titles

<p><strong>From World Series hero to prison inmate, Willie Mays Aikens&#39; story is one of tragedy, belief, and the ultimate comeback.</strong><br /><br />Willie Mays Aikens was ascendant in the 1980s, establishing himself as one of the top sluggers in Major League Baseball as a member of the Kansas City Royals, alongside George Brett and Hal McRae. But a promising career quickly turned disastrous when he fell into drug abuse and was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison, a reflection of the era&#39;s harsh federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine and a criminal legal system intent on punishment rather than rehabilitation.<br /><br /><em>Safe at Home</em> is an intimate portrait of a tortured player and a redemption story for the ages. Through extensive interviews with Alkens himself, his family, friends, teammates, cellmates, and dealers, Gregory Jordan has woven this comeback tale with compassion and unique intensity.<br /><br />Readers will gain unvarnished insight into Aikens&#39; impoverished childhood in a slow-to-desegregate South Carolina town, the rollicking Kansas City Royals&#39; locker room, the go-go drug culture of America in the 80s, behind the prison gates of Leavenworth, and the grace and stability Aikens has found as a coach and mentor.</p>

<div>Nobody’s baseball story is like Roy Halladay’s.</div><div><p>He was born and raised to be a superstar. He was a first-round draft pick in 1995. He nearly threw a no-hitter in his second big-league start in 1998. But two years later, Halladay suffered arguably the worst season by any pitcher in baseball history. He was months away from being out of the game.</p><p>Hall of Fame pitchers do not struggle like that. But Halladay vowed to change. He altered his pitching mechanics and rewired his brain to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time. How did Doc do it? <em>Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay</em> tells the remarkable story; based on more than 100 interviews with Halladay’s family, friends, managers, coaches, teammates, and competitors, including extensive interviews with his wife, Brandy; comprehensive archival research; and previously unpublished commentary from Halladay himself. Doc not only tells the story of Halladay’s illustrious baseball career in Toronto and Philadelphia, but his hard-driven adolescence, his lifelong personal struggles, and his motivation to pay forward the knowledge and philosophies that helped him achieve baseball greatness before his tragic death in 2017.</p><p>This essential biography is a testimonial for baseball players and pitchers from high school to the big leagues still searching for their path to excellence, like Halladay. It’s also a celebration and a profound exploration of a generational pitcher and a beloved teammate, friend, and family man.</p></div>

The Big 50: Toronto Blue Jays is an extensive and dynamic look at the 50 top moments and figures that make the Blue Jays the Blue Jays. In this revised and updated edition, longtime sportswriter Shi Davidi recounts the living history of the Blue Jays, counting down from No. 50 to No. 1. The Big 50: Toronto Blue Jays brilliantly brings to life the Blue Jays remarkable story, from Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay to the roller-coaster that was Roberto Alomar to Joe Carter's 1993 World Series–winning home run and the unforgettable 2016 postseason.

<div><p>Nobody’s baseball story is like Roy Halladay’s.</p><p>He was born and raised to be a superstar. He was a first-round draft pick in 1995. He nearly threw a no-hitter in his second big-league start in 1998. But two years later, Halladay suffered arguably the worst season by any pitcher in baseball history. He was months away from being out of the game.</p><p>Hall of Fame pitchers do not struggle like that. But Halladay vowed to change. He altered his pitching mechanics and rewired his brain to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time. How did Doc do it? <em>Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay</em> tells the remarkable story; based on more than 100 interviews with Halladay’s family, friends, managers, coaches, teammates, and competitors, including extensive interviews with his wife, Brandy; comprehensive archival research; and previously unpublished commentary from Halladay himself. Doc not only tells the story of Halladay’s illustrious baseball career in Toronto and Philadelphia, but his hard-driven adolescence, his lifelong personal struggles, and his motivation to pay forward the knowledge and philosophies that helped him achieve baseball greatness before his tragic death in 2017.</p><p>This essential biography is a testimonial for baseball players and pitchers from high school to the big leagues still searching for their path to excellence, like Halladay. It’s also a celebration and a profound exploration of a generational pitcher and a beloved teammate, friend, and family man.</p></div>

Since their inception in 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most dynamic franchises in all of baseball. As an award-winning, longtime Jays columnist, Bob Elliott has witnessed more than his share of that history up close and personal. In If These Walls Could Talk: Toronto Blue Jays, Elliott provides insight into the Jays' inner sanctum as only he 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>Most Blue Jays fans have taken in a game or two at Rogers Centre, remember where they were when Joe Carter hit his World Series–winning home run in 1993, and took in every moment of the Jays&#39; historic 2015 postseason run. But only real fans know who spent two decades as the team’s BJ Birdy mascot, can name the opposing player who was once jailed for hitting a seagull with a thrown baseball at Exhibition Stadium, or how long it takes to open the Rogers Centre roof. <em>100 Things Blue Jays Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die</em> stands as the ultimate resource for true fans of Canada’s sole major league baseball team. Author Steve Clarke has collected every essential piece of Blue Jays knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as readers progress on their way to fan superstardom. This updated edition includes the Blue Jay&#39;s recent success and revival, including the push to the 2015 American League Championship Series and Josh Donaldson&#39;s MVP season.</div>

An intimate portrait of a tortured player, this biography culls interviews, letters, and the personal account of baseball legend Willie Mays Aikens. Touted from a young age as the next Reggie Jackson, Aikens' promising career quickly turned disastrous when he fell into drug abuse and was ultimately sentenced to the longest prison sentence ever given to a professional athlete in a drug case. Not only an exploration of baseball and culture in the 1980s, this book also delves into the United States justice and penal systems.