{"product_id":"heart-of-the-game-life-death-and-mercy-in-minor-league-america-isbn-9780061671302","title":"Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'\"\u003e“Genuine and raw…a heartfelt work of despair, triumph, and redemption.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cem\u003eBoston Globe\u003c?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = \"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office\" \/\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e \u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'\"\u003eThe critically acclaimed \u003cem\u003eHeart of the Game\u003c\/em\u003e—subtitled “Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America”—explores the pure roots of a sport that is stained by scandal at its highest level. S.L. Price, award-winning writer for \u003cem\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/em\u003e and author of \u003cem\u003ePitching Around Fidel\u003c\/em\u003e, gives a tragic but ultimately uplifting account of the death of minor league baseball coach Mike Coolbaugh, and in doing so, illustrates the many reasons and myriad ways in which baseball still has a hold on America. A \u003cem\u003eFriday Night Lights \u003c\/em\u003efor baseball fans, \u003cem\u003eHeart of the Game \u003c\/em\u003ereveals the classic heart of small-town America.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eFrom the author of \u003cem\u003ePitching Around Fidel\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFar Afield\u003c\/em\u003e comes an account of the accidental death of minor league first base coach Mike Coolbaugh, illustrating the many ways in which baseball still has a hold on America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHeart of the Game\u003c\/em\u003e centers on the death of Mike Coolbaugh, a minor league coach who was killed on a sweltering Sunday evening in Little Rock in July 2007 when a foul ball rocketed off Tino Sanchez's bat. Coolbaugh died almost instantly, his body carted off the field of the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. He was thirty-five years old and the father of two; a third child was on the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMike's exemplary life—his devotion to the game and to his family—is the spine of the story. But it isn't the drama. The drama is in the telling of what can happen when a projectile hits the human body, of the narratives of the remarkable people who happened to be in the ballpark at that fatal moment, of the impact of Coolbaugh's death on the man who hit the ball, and of all the lives left behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrice reveals anew that classic heart of Americana—small-town sports, small-town lives—and makes us understand that a game played away from the mindless churn of Internet blather and highlight shows can be more important than those played on the national stage.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Odds are you never heard of Mike Coolbaugh or Tino Sanchez. But you’ll never forget either man after you read this compelling, superbly written book about their journeys through the gritty, unforgiving world of the minor-league ballplayer, and how their paths converged in one awful, random moment. It’s a story that’s both heartbreaking and uplifting, much like baseball itself.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDave Barry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Price brilliantly takes the reader through life in the minors, and as such it is also a portrait of small-town America. . . . \u003ci\u003eHeart of the Game\u003c\/i\u003e is a piece of literary excellence.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTrenton NJ Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A superb storyteller. . . . S. L. Price has done a masterful job.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[V]eteran Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price weaves his magic. Genuine and raw, Heart of the Game is a heartfelt work of despair, triumph, and redemption.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“More than just another baseball book being released. It’s a legacy, an heirloom that can be handed from a father no longer here to his children.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMLB.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“S.L. Price has become a powerful force in giving readers a front-row seat to the spectacular. Through his unique gifts of observation and prose, the veteran journalist has painted compelling portraits of the special people, places and moments that define the games we play and watch.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Antonio Express-News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The best baseball book I have ever read...Dazzling...a welcome antidote to the poisonous steroid sleaze that hogs the headlines and crams the bookshelves...If you read only one baseball book this year, make it ‘Heart of the Game.’” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStan Hochman, Philadelphia Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] superbly written book . . . a story that’s both heartbreaking and uplifting, much like baseball itself.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDave Barry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I was reminded, as I read HEART OF THE GAME, what baseball has meant to me. The story of Mike Coolbaugh’s life and death will break your heart – and you won’t ever look at the game in quite the same way.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDarryl Strawberry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Price] structures the narrative to achieve maximum emotional impact . . . every word, deed and moment in the lives of Coolbaugh and those around him acquires deep poignancy. . . .  Price ably highlights all the cruel ironies, coincidences and improbabilities of the moment. . . . A graceful account.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“S.L. Price’s work, “Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America” is more than just another baseball book being released. It’s a legacy, an heirloom that can be handed from a father no longer here to his children.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMLB.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s a story of hard luck in a hard game but, in the lives of two minor leaguers, Scott Price reveals the code of baseball. This is one of the baseball books that will endure as long as the game is played.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard Ben Cramer, author of \"Joe Dimaggio: The Hero's Life\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hear the heartbeat of America and feel its breath in this beautifully-told tale of love, fate, and forgiveness. The best sports book I’ve read in many seasons.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRobert Lipsyte, former New York Times sports columnist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“S.L. Price gets what it means to be a ballplayer – I was reminded, as I read HEART OF THE GAME, what baseball has meant to me. The story of Mike Coolbaugh’s life and death will break your heart—and you won’t ever look at the game in quite the same way.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDarryl Strawberry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889694273765,"sku":"NP9780061671302","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061671302.jpg?v=1730231762","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/heart-of-the-game-life-death-and-mercy-in-minor-league-america-isbn-9780061671302","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}