Grassroots Baseball (Where Legends Begin)

In Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, photographer Jean Fruth features two hundred of the best images from all levels of the amateur game in various US cities, as well as international locations such as Cuba, Japan, and several other countries in between! Each chapter opens with a portrait of a baseball legend and a first-person short essay recounting their early memories of playing the game. Some of the stars highlighted in this full-color book include Whitey Ford, Vladimir Guerrero, Hank Aaron, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Ichiro Suzuki, among others. The pages that follow in each chapter document the amateur game from the sandlots, to the youngest levels of organized baseball, to other levels, giving readers a window into where these legends' careers began. With an introduction by Cal Ripken, Jr. and an afterword by Johnny Bench, this book makes the perfect gift for baseball fans of all teams!