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Welcome to Brad's Yankees Shop and Recommended Readings

Highlight of the Season

1923 Old Yankee Stadium Model
by Chisel and Mouse



Limited-Time Special Discount for My Visitors!
Use the discount code "ultimateyankees" to receive 10% OFF your order!

I just got my hands on this amazing model of Old Yankee Stadium.  This is the nicest and most accurate models of its kind. 
This model is made by Chisel and Mouse Precision Architectural Scluptures in the United Kingdom. 
The model depicts Gate 6 of Old Yankee Stadium in all its glory. 
his unique model displays amazing accuracy and detail of how Gate 6 looked back in the day. 
 have examined many models over the years, and this one is one of the nicest pieces I have seen yet. 
I recommend this Old Yankee Stadium model to any Yankees fan or baseball fan of any kind. 
This is a great conversation piece and belongs in a museum. 
Contact Chisel and Mouse today to order your own model. 
http://www.chiselandmouse.com/

Books - Recommended Readings and Videos to Watch

Looking for a great baseball gift?

Grab a copy of "The Pitch That Killed" by Mike Sowell

Summer Game Books announces the first eBook release of The Pitch That Killed, by Mike Sowell. Originally released in 1989 and now under option as a full-length movie, The Pitch That Killed was selected as a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year" and won the CASEY Award.

On a torridly hot August day in 1920, Ray Chapman was struck and killed by a Carl Mays fastball, in what was and remains the only on-the-field fatality in the history of major league baseball. The drama of Good Guy Chapman versus Bad Guy Mays is a wrenching human tale. Add to it an intense pennant race, the meteoric ascension of Babe Ruth to baseball supremacy, the banning of the Black Sox for throwing the previous year's World Series, and the story grows to one of the most fascinating and compelling in the annals of baseball history.

Few stories in the annals of baseball history match the irony or drama of the popular Ray Chapman’s fatal beaning by lone wolf Carl Mays. And few titles in the annals of baseball literature have received the critical acclaim of The Pitch That Killed, Mike Sowell’s award-winning telling of the tale.

More information on how to purchase the book can be found at: http://www.summergamebooks.com/pitch-killed-mike-sowell/

The Summer Game Books edition is the first and only eBook of this classic and features an exclusive new epilogue by the author, with 25 years of perspective, during which time, the legends of Mays, Chapman, and Chapman's replacement, Joe Sewell, have only grown.

About Summer Game Books

Summer Game Books publishes quality books by and for lovers of baseball. Its goal is to be the go-to publisher for all things baseball with innovative, informative, and entertaining print and electronic books. Summer Game Books features new fiction and non-fiction titles, as well as reissues of classic baseball books. For more information, visit http://www.summergamebooks.com.

NEW E-Book!!!
BABE'S PLACE - Only $5.95!!!
The Lives of Yankee Stadium
by: Michael Wagner

The long awaited e-book is finally here! Featuring 620 pages, "BABE'S PLACE: THE LIVES OF YANKEE STADIUM," features around 250 photos, including 151 1970's renovation photos, and 88 general photos pertaining to the stadium and events. Photos and history of the building of Yankee Stadium in the 1920's are also covered. This e-book also includes photos and text of the Yankees in Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975. Nearly all of the photos in "BABE'S PLACE" are in color. Author and historian, Michael Wagner, spent over 12 years on this project, and has revealed many never-before-seen pictures and other information that any baseball fan will enjoy. Few books have ever been written in as much detail to cover the 1970's Yankee Stadium renovation. This book is groundbreaking in details, insights, and history. Over 200 former baseball players, umpires, and baseball executives express their opinions of the renovation of Yankee Stadium. Come relive history today in "BABE'S PLACE: THE... More > LIVES OF YANKEE STADIUM."

Grab this one-of-a-kind book on Yankees history.  Grab a copy for yourself and grab one for any baseball fan.  Makes a great gift!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEW BOOK, 'JUST OUT OF REACH: THE 1980s NEW YORK YANKEES,' EXAMINES AN OFT-OVERLOOKED ERA OF THE BRONX BOMBERS

The 1980s New York Yankees were loaded with talent - including such eventual Hall of Famers as Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Goose Gossage, and Phil Niekro, as well as one of the most popular players to ever don pinstripes, Don Mattingly. But somehow, someway, it did not all add up - resulting in one of the few decades in Yankees history that did not include at least one World Series championship. The new 346 page book, 'Just Out of Reach: The 1980s New York Yankees,' focuses solely on this period of the team.

As with his earlier titles, 'Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984' and 'Sack Exchange: The Definitive Oral History of the 1980s New York Jets,' author/journalist Greg Prato conducted nearly 30 all-new, exclusive interviews with players, sportswriters, and sportscasters for the book. The end result is not only a genuine account of the Yankees from this time, but also, of Major League Baseball in general. Set up in the oral history format, 'Just Out of Reach' reads like a documentary, but in book form, as the participants weigh in on the ups and downs of the Yankees, and pull no punches in their recollections and opinions.

Those who were interviewed for the book include such MLB Hall of Famers as Goose Gossage and Phil Niekro, as well as such popular Yankees as Tommy John, Dave Righetti, Steve Balboni, and Mike Pagliarulo, 2x Pulitzer Prize nominee sportswriter Steve Jacobson, renowned sportscaster Fran Healy, plus the sons of two Yankee legends, Billy Martin Jr. and Dale Berra.

Featured are Dave Righetti's memories of pitching a no-hitter on July 4, 1983, Phil Niekro's recollections of notching win #300 as a Yankee, what went wrong in the 1981 World Series, what exactly prevented the Yankees of the '80s from going the distance, and individual chapters on George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, and Goose Gossage.

Released on March 1^st and priced at $19.99 (paperback) and $9.99 (Kindle download), 'Just Out of Reach: The 1980s New York Yankees' is the definitive story of one of the all-time great professional sports teams' most overlooked eras. For ordering info and to read samples before purchasing, visit the following sites:

PAPERBACK:  http://amzn.com/1494931230

KINDLE:  http://amzn.com/B00INW1FHY

TO REQUEST A REVIEW COPY OR TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, CONTACT VIA EMAIL - gregprato@yahoo.com

Marty Appel is one of the leading authorities and historians on the New York Yankees and baseball in general.
Here are just a few books by the great Yankees PR man himself, Marty Appel.

PINSTRIPE EMPIRE
THE NEW YORK YANKEES
FROM BEFORE THE BABE TO AFTER THE BOSS
BY MARTY APPEL


Order the Book HERE today!

"There are numerous publications about the New York Yankees, but very few that stand out above the rest.  'Pinstripe Empire - The New York Yankees - From Before the Babe to After the Boss' gives an in-depth look into the entire history of the Yankees franchise.  Marty Appel knows how to bring out every element and detail of their entire history and communicate it in a way that captures and holds the reader.  This is a must read for any pure Yankees fan or baseball fan.  It is a unmitigated perspective of a franchise whose history is unmatched by any other sports franchise.  Marty Appel's passion and insight of the Yankees cannot be equated by anyone.  Marty Appel has a way of not just telling a story, but giving the story a personal and privy feeling.  From the introduction of groundskeeper Phil Schenck to traveling secretary Mark Roth to Mel Allen's 'How about that!', Marty Appel reveals the exhaustive story about the New York Yankees.  Any baseball fan can talk about Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, but few know the story behind the story and all the personnel involved that made these majestic stories come into existence.  'Pinstripe Empire' is the one book that must be on the bookshelf of any Yankees fan and is a must read for those who are passionate about the Yankees and the history of their franchise." - Bradford H. Turnow - www.YankeesHistory.com

Other great Yankees baseball books that I recommend....

From an award-winning humorist, a touching memoir and manifesto that reveals the deep secrets of fan jinxes, hexes, and charms.  Did you know there is a secret to winning ballgames? It’s not the players, managers, money, or luck. It’s juju, and no one knows it better than Hart Seely. Seely has spent a lifetime practicing the art of juju from his living room. And winning ballgames for the New York Yankees. He paces floors. He yells at defenseless TVs. He rallies the team like Churchill addressing the collective British soul. But what he is really doing is harnessing juju energy to influence the outcome of games. And it works.  In this uproarious, unforgettable fan confessional, Seely shares the basics of juju for the beginner—“Setting the Table,” asking for a called strike instead of a walk-off homer—to advanced juju—“Bringing the Neg,” predicting bad events to keep them from actually happening—to the deepest, darkest formulas of this age-old art. Along the way readers come to know Hart and his hilarious band of fellow juju practitioners, a secret club of friends whose fandom bonds them across decades, not to mention won/loss columns.  Nostalgic, heartwarming, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Juju Rules is a memoir of a life well-lived in service to one’s team that shows how love can be a powerful passion in the best way.

“Hart Seely’s use of ‘juju rules’ in support of the Yankees is not only curious, hilarious, and excessive but also familiar! His ‘off the wall’ tennis ball game (played at home to spur a Yankees rally) was also a backyard passion of my own. Clearly Hart comes to the classic fanatic level, and this chronicle of his life as a devoted fan is entertaining—and universal.” —Tony LaRussa, former major league manager.

THE JUJU RULES is a memoir of Hart Seely’s lifelong devotion to the New York Yankees. He may be the world’s biggest Yankees fan, which he says is code for “Whatever you do, don’t bring up the Yankees in his presence.” And yet, one might argue that Seely actually works for the team, something he’s done from his living room couch during ballgames for decades. You see, Hart Seely is a member of a secret club: He is a seasoned practitioner of the ancient art of juju. He harnesses atomic particles from the cosmos—“Rizzutons” as he calls them—to influence the outcome of Yankees games, or innings, or at bats.

From the moment he forsakes his father, a dyed-in-the-wool Yankees hater, and declared his love for New York’s team, Seely was hooked. Despite his father’s tormenting, Seely grew ever more obsessed and found he could help guide Roger Maris to home plate by going outside during a game and flinging balls against the side of the house, one after another. He could will a hit from Mickey Mantle if he sat in his lucky chair at just the right moment. Seely believed that with these rituals he was helping his team to win games; he was sure that he had tapped into something powerful.

And he didn’t stop believing. From attending college in upstate New York to meeting his first Red Sox fan and learning the power of sarcasm; from going home after college to carve out a career in the family newspaper business to trying to find love, one thing remains constant throughout: Seely watches the Yankees.

He works various jobs in print and radio, trying to find his calling. He toils away at his great American novel, which of course is about the Yankees, and he falls in love with a girl named Janice who finally agrees to marry him, even when she learns the true, ugly depths of his obsession. At every juncture his life is tied to what the boys in pinstripes are doing on the field—and his TV screen.

THE JUJU RULES*

*Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A Memoir of a Fan Obsessed

by Hart Seely

On sale: April 17, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-547-62237-8 ·$25 hardcover

Also available as an ebook

Over the course of the book, readers are introduced to the hilarious and universal rules of juju, in chapters that are interspersed throughout the memoir. Along the way they will also come to know and love an absolutely unforgettable group of mismatched friends who form around Seely over the years, all connected by the great Bronx Bombers. They include:

·         College friend Dog Man, who calls after every Yankee event and communicates purely through Bruce Springsteen lyrics. For example, when the Yankees traded pitching hopeful Al Leiter in the late 1980s and Seely is writhing on the floor of living room at the news, Dog Man calls to say “Bar eyes shine vacancy.”

·         Alphonso, the master of bringing the neg, which is the practice of reverse Rizzutonian juju whereby you always expect the worst for your team in hopes of actually getting the best.

·         Bonfatti, a Meatloaf lookalike who roots for the Red Sox and torments Seely but who makes a fatal juju mistake. He throws a victory party for the 1986 Red Sox/Mets game and it ends with the ball dribbling through Buckner’s legs. Lesson learned: Never throw a victory party before a victory!

·         Old man Bill Glavin, who calls after every Yankees loss or trade, to say to Seely, “What were you and George thinking making that trade?” He believes every Yankees fan is a personal lackey to the dreaded George Steinbrenner.

·         Tom Peyer, a political cartoonist who confesses to Seely that he grew up in a Yankees household but knows nothing about baseball, and so he asks Seely to teach him how to be a Yankees fan, a task Seely takes on with great seriousness. He assigns reading and coursework and tutors him on all things Yankees. Only it’s during an abysmal time in Yankees history: from 1986–92 a time Hart calls the 7-year barf.

They all practice juju. They all live for baseball. It measures the key moments, events and memories of their lives. Part buddy book, part love story, and part juju primer, THE JUJU RULES is a heartfelt memoir of a life well lived—sweet, poignant, nostalgic, and full of wonderfully wry humor and self-deprecating asides.

About the Author

Hart Seely is an award-winning reporter for the Post-Standard in Syracuse and a popular humorist. His pieces have appeared in The New Yorker, National Lampoon, and Slate. He is the co-editor of O Holy Cow!: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto, and he wins Yankee games from his living room.

In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of Banzai! Banzai Babe Ruth! The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill.  Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour and the two nations shared love of the game could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan s growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour s success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.

Harvey Frommer is another great Yankees historian and writer about the great sport of baseball.

Below are other recommended readings for Yankees fans.  Feedback is always welcome!

GEORGE “SNUFFY” STIRNWEISS BOOK!!!

George (Snuffy) Stirnweiss is one of those N.Y. Yankees whose name is lost beside the immortals: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, et al.  Yet he led the Yankees into the World Series three times and had a year, 1945 which is unmatched by any other Yankee including the aforementioned immortals.  That year he led the American League in: at bats, batting average, on-base %, at bats hits, total bases, triples, stolen bases, & extra-base hits, and he and teammate Phil Rizzuto led the league in double plays while George had a .970% fielding average..  Yet his name is virtually forgotten by the Yankee organization and is mostly unknown by millions of Yankee fans.  George was killed in a tragic train wreck in 1958, but he has left behind a large family (6 children, 13 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren) who need to learn more about him.  The biography tells Snuffy’s story from Prep School through college and his career with the New York Yankees.  There is also a chapter which details the story of his tragic death on that train wreck about which there is so much conflicting information.

To help keep his name alive for all these people, a long-time fan (60+years) PATRICK MACKIN has written Snuffy’s biography.  Mr. Mackin is donating all of his proceeds from the sale of this book to a scholarship at Fordham Prep in NYC where George went to school.  Although the book is not yet being published, a “pre-publication” copy is available at cost + shipping from Mr. Mackin. Write to him at: patmack27@comcast.net for further information.

"The First Boys of Spring"

A Film by Larry Foley

For parts of five decades, the immortals of America's National Pastime trained on baseball diamonds and "boiled out the alcoholic microbes" of winter in the thermal baths of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  During this time, there were fun stories that were told as the players trained and got ready for the upcoming season.  This is where "spring training" really began.  This film is their story...Click on the movie banner below for more information about this great film narrated by Billy Bob Thorton and to view the trailer.  With the help of baseball writer Bill Jenkinson and baseball historian Tim Reid, this is the untold story we all need to know.