{"product_id":"the-tao-of-the-backup-catcher-playing-baseball-for-the-love-of-the-game-9781538726556","title":"The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"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 baseball columnist\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis 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.​\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In baseball there are superstars and stars and everyday players and then there are the rest. Within the rest are role players and specialists and journeymen and then there are the backup catchers. \u003ci\u003eThe Tao of the Backup Catcher\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tao of the Backup Catcher\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Backup catchers survive in part because every team needs one. They are necessary, once or twice a week. They prosper because the game, like the world around the game, still needs good souls, honest efforts, open eyes and ears, closed mouths, compassion for the sad parts, a laugh for the silly parts, and a heart that knows the difference. Backup catchers 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Tao of the Backup Catcher\u003c\/i\u003e profiles Erik Kratz, Josh Paul, AJ Ellis, Bobby Wilson, Drew Butera, Matt Treanor, and John Flaherty to name a few. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This isn't just a story about baseball. It's about life and the beauty of knowing and accepting who you are.\" ―Jeff Passan \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTim Brown \u003c\/b\u003ehas covered baseball for more than 30 years and has written two \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers: \u003ci\u003eThe Phenomenon\u003c\/i\u003e with Rick Ankiel and \u003ci\u003eImperfect\u003c\/i\u003e with Jim Abbott. In 2016, he was awarded first place in beat writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eErik Kratz\u003c\/b\u003e played baseball for 14 different MLB organizations over a 19-year career--13 years in the minor leagues and 6 years total in the big leagues--many of them as a backup catcher.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Twelve","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50612324991250,"sku":"9781538726556","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_684e7ba0-bcfa-4ede-b1f1-307bdcfb4c74.jpg?v=1732373106","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-tao-of-the-backup-catcher-playing-baseball-for-the-love-of-the-game-9781538726556","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}