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"Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero" by David Maraniss Length: 5 hours and 44 min. ISBN: 0-7435-5215-6 New York Times Best Seller Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Anyone who saw Roberto Clemente, as he played with a beautiful fury, will never forget him. He was a work of art in a game too often defined by statistics. During his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he won four batting titles and led his team to championships in 1960 and 1971, getting a hit in all 14 World Series games in which he played. His career ended with 3,000 hits, the magical 3,000th coming in his final at-bat, and he and the immortal Lou Gehrig are the only players to have the five-year waiting period waived so they could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame immediately after their deaths.

There is delightful baseball here, including thrilling accounts of the two World Series victories of Clemente’s underdog Pittsburgh Pirates, but this is far more than just another baseball book. Roberto Clemente was that rare athlete who rose above sports to become a symbol of larger themes. Born near the canebrakes of rural Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934, at a time when there were no blacks or Puerto Ricans playing organized ball in the United States, Clemente went on to become the greatest Latino player in the major leagues. He was, in a sense, the Jackie Robinson of the Spanish-speaking world, a ballplayer of determination, grace, and dignity who paved the way and set the highest standard for waves of Latino players who followed in later generations and who now dominate the game.

The Clemente that Maraniss evokes was an idiosyncratic character who, unlike so many modern athletes, insisted that his responsibilities extended beyond the playing field. In his final years, his motto was that if you have a chance to help others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth.

Tags: clemente: the passion and grace of baseball’s last hero, david maraniss, bios & memoirs, sports, baseball, hall of fame, baseball players, the passion and grace of baseball’s last hero

BUY DIGITAL BUY PHYSICAL

"Get in the Game: Eight Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference" by Cal Ripken, Jr. with Donald T. Phillips Length: 4 hours and 6 min. ISBN: 978-0-14-314181-5 New York Times Best Seller Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Baseball’s all-time Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr., retired from baseball in 2001 after breaking countless records, including Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played. Ripken is admired by thousands of fans not only for his relentless perseverance, but also for his unparalleled integrity. Now, in a stirring audiobook that draws on his exhilarating career as well as the wisdom of his legendary father, Ripken shares rousing advice centered around his proven Eight Elements of Perseverance. A few are:

The Right Values

: hard work, excellence, honesty, and integrity

Love What You Do

: tips for discovering where your true passion lies

Preparation

: ways to continually envision your next position and prepare for it as if it were already yours

Trusting Relationships

: how to build them in even the most turbulent environments.

From his numerous public-speaking engagements each year to his weekly “Ask Cal” column for the Baltimore Sun, Cal Ripkin, Jr., is a sought-after advisor to fans from all walks of life. Get in the Game gives all of us access to legendary advice from a legendary achiever.

Tags: get in the game: eight elements of perseverance that make the difference, cal ripken, jr. with donald t. phillips, self development, sports, baltimore orioles, baseball, hall of fame, ask cal

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"Miracle on 49th Street" by Mike Lupica Length: 5 hours and 59 min. ISBN: 0-7393-3861-7 New York Times Best Seller Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Josh Cameron has it all: a World Championship ring with the Boston Celtics, an MVP award, a clean-cut image, and the adoration of millions. What he doesn’t have is family — until the day 12-year-old smart aleck Molly Parker confronts him in a parking lot and claims to be his daughter, the only daughter of Jen Parker, Josh’s college sweetheart and the still the only girl he’s ever loved.

Trouble is, Jen Parker died last year, and now Molly has tracked down the father she never knew, the one her mother never wanted her to know about. Josh Cameron cares about two things only: himself and basketball. The last thing this superstar wants or needs is a 12-year-old daughter. Yet this isn’t just any 12-year-old. Mr. World Champion has finally met his match.

Tags: miracle on 49th street, mike lupica, fiction, kids, parents & family, sports, boston celtics, molly parker, mvp, daughter, jen parker, college girlfriend, father, mother, josh cameron, basketball, superstar, world champion

Other books by the same author:

• Heat

BUY DIGITAL BUY PHYSICAL

"Heat" by Mike Lupica Length: 6 hours and 14 min. ISBN: 0-3072-8441-7 New York Times Best Seller Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Twelve-year-old Michael Arroyo lives in the shadows of Yankee Stadium, home of his heroes, but a place that might as well be on a different continent since he can’t afford to see the inside. He also lives in the shadows of his Bronx neighborhood, hiding from the bill collectors and the officials who would separate him from his 17-year-old brother if they knew the two boys were living on their own. Baseball is Michael’s only salvation, along with his dream of playing in the Little League World Series, until a rival accuses Michael of being older than the league limit. With no parents and a birth certificate that is stuck in his native Cuba, the shadows in Michael’s life grow darker. But that is when heroes emerge, and for Michael, heroes don’t come any bigger than the Yankees.

Tags: heat, mike lupica, sports, young adults, baseball, yankees, little league, cuba, cuban, pitching, pitcher

Other books by the same author:

• Miracle on 49th Street

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"The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth" by Leigh Montville Length: 15 hours and 36 min. ISBN: 1-4159-3028-7 New York Times Best Seller Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Babe Ruth was more than baseball’s original superstar. For 85 years, he has remained the sport’s reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century…more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? Why is so little known about his childhood, his private life, and his inner thoughts? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville, whose recent New York Times best-selling biography of Ted Williams garnered glowing reviews and offered an exceptionally intimate look at Williams’s life, brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe.

Based on newly discovered documents and interviews, including pages from Ruth’s personal scrapbooks, The Big Bam traces Ruth’s life from his bleak childhood in Baltimore to his brash entrance into professional baseball, from Boston to New York and into the record books as the world’s most explosive slugger and cultural luminary.

At a time when modern baseball is grappling with hyper-inflated salaries, free agency, and assorted controversies, The Big Bam brings back the pure glory days of the game. Leigh Montville operates at the peak of his abilities, exploring Babe Ruth in a way that intimately, and poignantly, illuminates a most remarkable figure.

Tags: the big bam: the life and times of babe ruth, leigh montville, bios & memoirs, sports, the life and times of babe ruth, boston red sox, new york yankees, baseball