The Finest in the Field®: A History of Baseball Through 50 Iconic Gloves

By Ed Wheatley, Johnny Bench The gloves themselves are the stars in this rich history of baseball's most memorable fielding moments, as curated from Rawlings's unmatched collection. Highlighting fifty gloves as touchstones of baseball's most storied players and plays, this book pairs a gallery of sumptuous glove photography with essays to place each glove into its historical context. The treasury also features archival photos of the players, period advertisements, and other memorabilia. Baseball's history comes to life with famous gloves and famous moments. They include Christy Mathewson's game used glove from the National Baseball Hall of Fame's collection illustrating the model worn during the greatest pitching performance in World Series history in 1905; Jackie Robinson's model glove worn during the years he broke baseball's segregation barrier in 1947; and the model like Mickey Mantle wore in 1956 while making the catch to preserve the only World Series perfect game. Other gloves are immediately connected to plays so famous they have their own monikers: Willie Mays's “The Catch,” Derek Jeter's “The Flip,” and Ken Griffey Jr.'s “The Wall Banger.” Throughout the book—which features every Gold Glove Award winner—are quotes from players and vignettes calling out special moments. This book will be compelling to fans, players, historians, and collectors. Students of the game, from all generations, will now truly own a piece of baseball's rich history.

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