Mickey Mantle and Jimmy Piersall : the dark side of fathers and sons playing catch -- Yaz and the impossible dream : remembering baseball at its best -- Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey : the elegant dance -- Nolan Ryan : baby boomer symbol of the game -- Bart Giamatti : baseball's lyricist -- Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame : the magic of baseball's home plate -- Roger Maris : the man, his record, and the steroids controversy -- Friends in the game : a writer, a minister, a cardiologist, and a goodwill ambassador -- First person perspective : time in the sun with a son and then time by myself.