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Stoney Creek Publishing
  • Home
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    • A Family of Good Women
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    • Richard Coke: Texan
    • Runners
    • Second Lives
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    • The Bugbear Hunter
    • The Mushroom Girl
    • The Nectar Dancer
    • The Rise of the Mad March
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    • Voices of Camptown
    • Well of Deception
    • Why We Struggle
    • Wolfe -Being Ninety
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Grinders: Baseball's Intrepid Infantry

By Mike Capps & Chuck Hartenstein

A revealing look at the pro players you DON'T remember—the ones who took the hard knocks road, bouncing between the Show and obscurity, never quite achieving their dreams, all for a chance to play the game they love.

As a child, author Mike Capps became fascinated with sports journeymen--the players who take the field every week and slip off into obscurity at the end of their careers. As his beloved Grandfather reminded him, "You’ll even see their names in the box scores. They aren’t stars, but they're the engine that drives baseball’s bus.”
 

What his grandfather called baseball’s “engine” we now call “grinders.” The back-and-forth roller coaster ride between professional baseball’s minor leagues and its nirvana, Major League Baseball, remains perplexingly difficult for countless great players and their families.
 

Players like Deacon Jones, Brian Mazone, and Lorenzo Bundy fought tooth and nail for a shot at the big leagues and held on for as long as they could. Grinders—those relentless, hardworking players—fill every roster at every level, season after season. Without their grit, determination, and persistence, the stars wouldn’t shine as brightly.
 

It’s time they got the recognition they deserve. A must-read for every aspiring athlete, youth coach, and passionate sports fan—Grinders is a tribute to the heart and soul of the game.

978-1-7368390-4-1 (paper)

978-1-7368390-5-8 (ebook)

$19.95

Sports/Baseball/History

368 pp

Available

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BARNES & NOBLE

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BARNES & NOBLE

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TEXAS A&M PRESS

TEXAS A&M PRESS

TEXAS A&M PRESS

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BOOKSHOP

BOOKSHOP

TEXAS A&M PRESS

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AUDIBLE

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Grinders: Baseball's Intrepid Infantry

By Mike Capps & Chuck Hartenstein

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mike Capps

Chuck Hartenstein

Chuck Hartenstein

Mike Capps has been the play-by-play voice of the AAA Round Rock Express for 21 seasons. He's worked for the Texas Rangers, the Houston Astros and ESPN Radio. He worked in radio and television news for 22 years at ABC, CNN and stations in Dallas and Houston, covering the first Gulf War, the Branch Davidian siege and 16 Space Shuttle missions, including the Challenger disaster. Capps is also the co-author with Red Murff of The Scout: Searching for the Best in Baseball.


Chuck Hartenstein

Chuck Hartenstein

Chuck Hartenstein

Chuck Hartenstein pitched for 15 years as a reliever for the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. He later worked as a pitching coach and scout in both the minor and major leagues and was voted into the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2004.





REVIEWS

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

"When I finished reading this, I just left it on my reading table because I will be reading it again very soon. For any baseball fan, and especially those who love Minor League baseball, this is riveting reading. Multiple short stories about famous and some ordinary people who never, never give up. A true chronicle of baseball players who showed up every day to give total effort. Very inspirational reading."

- Sheriff Joe (Verified Purchase)

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

"As an avid reader, this will go down as one of my top books of the year. If you are a baseball fan, or even if you are not, you will enjoy this inspirational and well written book."

- Randy Patterson (Verified Purchase)

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

AMAZON REVIEW

"This book perfectly depicts the life in the minor leagues"

- Pam (Verified Purchase)

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