Baseball Maverick - How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets

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.

A propos de l'auteur

Steve Kettmann has reported from more than forty countries for publications including the New York Times and the New Republic. A former San Francisco Chronicle A's beat writer, he is the author or coauthor of nine previous books, including One Day at Fenway and Juiced by Jose Canseco.

Résumé

The 2015 Mets shocked baseball. Division champions over the heavily favored Washington Nationals, the Mets blew past aces Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Jake Arrieta in the playoffs, and rode their power arms and Daniel Murphy’s record-breaking homerun stretch to the World Series.

But not everyone was surprised. For several seasons, bestselling author Steve Kettmann has had unprecedented access to Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson. In Baseball Maverick, originally published a the start of this historic season, Kettmann tells the story of Alderson’s unique and influential career, and follows Alderson’s painstaking rebuilding of the Mets—from big trades that brought back high-profile prospects to the development of young aces including Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. Updated and expanded to include the playoff run, Baseball Maverick is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at a revolution in baseball and the making of a magical season.

Texte suppl.

Praise for Baseball Maverick:

“For the general manager of a New York team, Sandy Alderson remains largely a mystery. Steve Kettmann changes that with this compelling inside look at the Ivy League graduate, former Marine and Vietnam veteran who went on to revolutionize baseball. A must-read for Mets fan and anyone who loves the game.”
—Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports/MLB Network

“A fascinating and fresh look at the resurgent team’s winning strategy. Whether you’re a diehard Mets fan like me or just a curious baseball fan in general, you’ll want to read Steve Kettmann’s new book because it’s a compelling human interest story and you will gain insight about how the game has changed.”
—Forbes.com

“Alderson has long been a baseball man, but his education, time in Vietnam and being the first nonplayer to challenge the supremacy of players in traditional scouting always set him at a distance. His is a story of fathers, sons and American service. . . . Baseball Maverick . . . stands on its own, a worthwhile journey of an important figure Kettmann clearly and understandably admires.”
—Howard Bryant, ESPN The Magazine

“[A] lively chronicle.”
—Newsday

“A timely account of how GM Sandy Alderson has revived the entire New York Mets organization and transformed the team into a pennant contender . . . Extremely well-written and unflaggingly interesting, the book will appeal to any baseball fan who wants insight into what GMs do and into how contemporary winning major league baseball teams are built.”
—Spitball Magazine

“A must for fans of the New York Mets and worth looking at for others—incisive and detailed.”
—Epoch Times

“Kettmann's solid profile of the Mets' Alderson, now piloting one of the brightest teams in major league baseball, provides worthwhile insider tidbits, along with a competent view of the front office and the intriguing complexities of sports politics.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A savvy story . . . A seasoned sportswriter's take on the unconventional general manager of the New York Mets and the business side of baseball.”
—Shelf Awareness

“One of the more talked about titles this year.”
—Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf

“Revealing . . . [Alderson] gave serious access to Kettmann, an astute reporter.”
—George Vecsey

“In Baseball Maverick, Steve Kettmann paints an intimate portrait of one of the shrewdest, most decorated men to ever occupy the GM chair. The level of detail here is phenomenal, and the result is a really fun read.”
—Jonah Keri, author of The Extra 2% and Up, Up, & Away

“Steve Kettmann expertly takes you along the fascinating journey of a true Renaissance man. From combat to the roots of modern analytics to rebuilding the New York Mets—I'll let you decide the most difficult of such pursuits—Sandy Alderson is a compelling case study of leadership.”
—Tom Verducci, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

“Sandy Alderson’s character and credentials are among the most impressive in baseball. He is an original thinker and a true maverick . . . the title says it all. A book about Sandy is long overdue, and Kettmann’s is outstanding.”
—Dennis Eckersley

“Sandy Alderson stumbled into baseball, but as Steve Kettmann shows so adroitly, he’s put a best foot forward everywhere he’s marched in the game. If, under his aegis, Alderson’s Mets can finally come back to glory, it will cap the career of a man who has not only led his teams, but led the whole sport.”
—Frank Deford

“A fascinating and enlightening book on one of baseball’s mystery men. Kettmann does a brilliant job delivering a behind-the-scenes look at how Alderson built this team to win in 2015.”
—Bob Nightengale, USA Today baseball columnist

“Steve Kettmann has given us so much more than a baseball book or biography; he has given us a fascinating look into one of the game’s great minds. Sandy Alderson defies any simple description, but Kettmann has brilliantly painted a portrait that ties together the Marine, the scholar, the general manager, and the maverick streak that binds them together.”
—T.J. Quinn, ESPN reporter and anchor

“Offers [a] revealing view of Madoff-impacted Mets.”
—Howard Megdal, Capital New York

“Steve Kettmann has long taken readers into the unexplored reaches of baseball, the places the game’s poets bypass but where history—the real kind; not the fairy-tale stuff—is made. In Baseball Maverick, he has given us the pre-Moneyball story of a man and new ways of thinking about the game. It’s really, really good.”
—Bryan Curtis, staff writer, Grantland

“[Baseball Maverick] captures all of Sandy’s complexity. It is a rollicking, fascinating read.”
—Lowell Cohn, Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Détails du produit

• Auteurs: Steve Kettmann, Kettmann Steve
• Edition: Ingram Publishers Services
• Langues: Anglais
• Format d'édition: Livre de poche
• Sortie: 31.01.2017
• EAN: 9780802125187
• ISBN: 978-0-8021-2518-7
• Pages: 352
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 208 mm x 25 mm
• Poids: 363 g
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Catégories: Livres de conseils > Sport > Sports de balle/ballon; Baseball, New York City, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Sports, SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Service, SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / History, Sports management and facilities, HOLIDAY / Father's Day, Hospitality and service industries