The Game According to Syd: The Theories and Teachings of Baseball's Leading Innovator

In 30-plus years as a scout, scouting director and general manager with Kansas City, Oakland, Pittsburgh and the Yankees, Thrift gained a reputation as one of baseball's brightest executives. Much of this resulted from his successes with the Kansas City Royals' Baseball Academy, a research and development facility, and with the Pirates, where in three years he turned a losing team into a contender for the pennant. Writing with Shapiro, former editor of Sport , he presents his views on hitting, base running, pitching and fielding and shows the positive results he has obtained by enlisting sports psychologists, kinesiologists, nutritionists and financial advisors to aid his players. The average fan will find the first half of the book too technical, but when the authors get down to such aspects of the general manager's job as making trades, it is absorbing. (Apr.)