The Hot Stove League

Many men are still looking ahead to their professional prime at age 35, while the pro ballplayer's best days at his long-practiced craft are behind him. The Hot Stove League explores what happens to players who slip through the cracks of the game's memory, and how they cope with life after baseball. Readers will also get a look at the legacy of hard drinking and gluttony left by some of the game's early players, including Babe Ruth's often astounding ability to consume food. This collection reveals the origins of some of baseball's most mystifying terminology, and tells the story of the first electrically illuminated night game ... played in 1880. Is there any statistical evidence that ballplayers die more freakish and violent deaths than the average American? Which states produced the most early-century ballplayers, and why? The Hot Stove League answers these questions and more, and is sure to entertain baseball fans from any generation.