Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love

Every baseball fan knows that Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols are among the best to ever play the game. But how do their high-priced contracts impact their teams' abilities to compete for a World Series title? Which managers and executives are best at getting the most out of their roster, year-in and year-out? And how does sabremetrics play into all of this? In this book, veteran ESPN columnist Jayson Stark explores these questions and many more. Supplemented with insightful commentary from countless baseball insiders, it gives baseball fans a rare, fascinating glimpse into the why behind the game's winners and losers.

Jayson Stark has been a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com since 2000. His regular contributions include the newsy ＂Rumblings and Grumblings＂ column and his tilted look inside baseball’s numbers and quirks, ＂The Useless Information Department.＂ He was twice named Pennsylvania’s sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He previously authored The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History and Worth the Wait: Tales of the Phillies 2008 Championship Season. He lives in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Tim Kurkjian is a Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. He is also a contributor to ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. He lives in Maryland.