Sign-In
Cart
The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game
Hardcover
Publisher Price: $30.00
ISBN13: 9781538726556
Publisher: Twelve
Published: Jul 11 2023
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.07
Height: 1.13 Width: 6.36 Depth: 9.27
Language: English
This fascinating book chronicles the unsung men of baseball who serve the job, the hardships they face, and their love for a game that would not always love them back-told partly through the experiences of an MLB veteran.
Reminds us of the beauty of baseball. --Jim Abott, former major league pitcher
In baseball there are superstars, stars, and everyday players--and then there are the rest. The Tao of the Backup Catcher is about them, the backup catchers, who exist near the bottom of the roster and the end of the bench and between the numbers in a sport--and a society--increasingly driven by cold, hard analytics.
The Tao of the Backup Catcher is a story of grown men who once dreamed of stardom and generational wealth. Instead, they were handed a broom and a deeper understanding of who wins and why, who stands tall and who folds, and who will invest their own lives in catching bullpens and the back ends of doubleheaders. Backup catchers survive in part because every team needs one. They are necessary, once or twice a week. They are sports' big brothers, psychologists, priests, witch doctors, player coaches, father figures and drinking buddies, all wrapped in a suit of today's polycarbonate armor and yesterday's dirt. They come with a singular goal: to win baseball games. They play for the greater good. After that, they play for themselves.
A reverie on loving the grind and the little things baseball can teach us, The Tao of the Backup Catcher profiles Erik Kratz, Josh Paul, AJ Ellis, Bobby Wilson, Drew Butera, Matt Treanor, and John Flaherty to name a few.
This isn't just a story about baseball. It's about life and the beauty of knowing and accepting who you are. -Jeff Passan, ESPN sports writer
Also from
Brown, Tim
The Greatest Love: Lessons for Living with Extraordinary Courage--Even After the Worst Day of Your Life
Brown, Tim
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Design Thinking (with Featured Article Design Thinking by Tim Brown)
Christensen, Clayton M.
Brown, Tim
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Change Management, Vol. 2 (with Bonus Article Accelerate! by John P. Kotter)
Review, Harvard Business
Kotter, John P.
Brown, Tim
Paperback
The Flaming Pentagram: The Magick & Psychology of Pentagram Rituals
Brown, Tim
Seims, Melissa
Paperback
Heart Disease Diet Recipes for Seniors: A healthy meal recipe book for heart disease patients
Brown, Tim
Paperback
AI for Change Makers Strategic Playbook for Business Analyst, Product Owners and Project Managers
Brown, Tim
Paperback
Weight Loss Book for Women Over 40: A well detailed guide to loosing excess weight
Brown, Tim
Paperback
Also in
Baseball & Softball
Dick Bremer: Game Used: My Life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins
Bremer, Dick
Bruton, Jim
Hardcover
The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball's Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses
Baird, Addy
Hardcover
The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner
Vaccaro, Mike
Hardcover
Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience
Cole, Jesse
Paperback
Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks, and Innovators Engineered Baseball's New Era of Pitching Dominance
Friedman, Rob
Hardcover
The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball
Miller, John W.
Hardcover
True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It
Delsohn, Steve
Paperback
It's a Numbers Game! Baseball: The Math Behind the Perfect Pitch, the Game-Winning Grand Slam, and So Much More!
National Geographic Kids
Buckley
Hardcover
Royal Treatment: Jackie Robinson, Montreal, and the Breaking of Baseball's Color Barrier
McLaughlin, Sean J.
Hardcover
Brain Games - To Go - Facts & Fun: Baseball: Info, Stats, Puzzles, Quizzes & More
Brain Games
Publications International Ltd
Paperback
The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II
Keene, Anne R.
Paperback
Fenway Punk: How a Boston Indie Label Scored Big on Baseball's Greatest Rivalry
Wrenn, Chris
Hardcover
Out of This World: How the Los Angeles Dodgers Captured Back-To-Back World Series Championships
Los Angeles Daily News
Paperback
The Chosen City, The Owner, the Players, and the New Hampshire City that Integrated Baseball in the United States
Ranauro, Bill
Paperback
In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball
Fitts, Robert K.
Hardcover
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
O'Brien, Keith
Paperback
The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black
Pavlovic, Alex
Paperback
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
Ballard, Chris
Paperback
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
Mahler, Jonathan
Paperback
Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant
Guerrieri, Vince
Paperback
The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality
Pearlman, Jeff
Paperback
L.A. Story: Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a Season for the Ages
Plunkett, Bill
Hardcover
Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game
Sexton, John
Oliphant, Thomas
Schwartz, Peter J.
Paperback
We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech Republic's Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes
Clair, Michael
Hardcover
A Year of Playing Catch: What a Simple Daily Experiment Taught Me about Life
Bryan, Ethan D.
Paperback
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection: Celebrating the Game's Greatest Players
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
America's Ballparks: A Trip Across the Country to Visit Baseball's Playing Fields, Old and New
Hajeski, Nancy J.
Hardcover
Legendary Ballparks: Moments and Memories from America's Most Storied Stadiums
Enders, Eric
Hardcover
Coaching with Purpose: The Game Plan That Helps Coaches Build Winners on and Off the Field
Madison, Keith
Paperback
America's Classic Ballparks - Revised Edition: Celebrating Parks Past and Present
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
The Last Best League, 10th Anniversary Edition: One Summer, One Season, One Dream
Collins, Jim
Paperback
They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History
Coffey, Wayne
Paperback
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
Murphy, Cait N.
Paperback
Summer of the Cheap Wieners: What the 1941 Phillies Were Up to While Joe Dimaggio Was Making History
Klugh, Justin
Paperback
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness
Olney, Buster
Paperback
Slider: A baseball story that throws love, murder, drugs and corruption into the game.
Alderman, Peter
Paperback
Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
Hamilton, Tom
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
The Complete Book of Baseball Trivia: Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions
Chandler, Matt
Paperback
The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It
Ritter, Lawrence S.
Paperback
Back When We Were Colored, Helping Black Athletes During Segregation, and Being Helped By Some 'Decent White Men' Along the Way
Woolfolk, Virgal Tyrone
Paperback
Tenacious and True: Coastal Carolina's 2016 Championship and the Rise of a Baseball Power
Pleasant, Scott
Hardcover
The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Challenge: Over 600 Quiz Questions for Die-Hard Baseball Fans
Patton, Hank
Paperback
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's
Turbow, Jason
Paperback
Ron Shandler's 2026 Baseball Forecaster: And Encyclopedia of Fanalytics
Murphy, Ray
Hershey, Brent
Kruse, Brandon
Paperback
Brain Games - Baseball Goats (Greatest of All Time) Word Search: Players, Managers, Games, Mascots, & More!
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
Hot Foot: My Hijinks and Upside-Down Life with the World Champion New York Mets
Feldmann, Doug
McDowell, Roger
Hardcover
Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball
Epplin, Luke
Paperback
Baseball in Paradise: A Century of Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida
Carlucci, Pasquale A.
Hardcover
Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Early, Gerald
Hardcover
Baseball as It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything
Ferling, John E.
Hardcover
The Texas Rangers and Me: A Baseball Writer's Thirty-Two Years in Arlington
Sullivan, T. R.
Hardcover
Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark
Tannenbaum, Seth S.
Paperback
So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin' True Story of the New York Mets--The Best Worst Team in Sports
Gordon, Devin
Hardcover
Second to None: A Coach's Message of Love & Selflessness Propels Tiny El Segundo to a Dramatic Little League World Title
Boehle, Danny Joseph
Coonan
Paperback