
The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle
From Tom Tresh to Bryce Harper
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kevin Scollin
-
By:
-
Barry Sparks
About this listen
“The worst curse in life is unlimited potential.” (Ken Brett)
High expectations come with being labeled “the next Mickey Mantle.”
But once the media or an organization utters that phrase, it becomes an albatross.
The expectation is that the player will become one of the greatest players of all time—not a good player, not even a star—a superstar of the brightest magnitude.
Every player, however, feels the pressure of high expectations. Author Barry Sparks gives listeners a close look into the dynamic challenges some players had trying to meet goals and expectations of others. The physical and psychological struggles that these players faced is an aspect of the game we don’t hear enough about.
Some of the players featured in this book went on to have solid careers. Others were mediocre, some were disappointments or complete busts. One or two may even be headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most of them, unfortunately, never had the benefit of a sports psychologist to help.
Even though Mickey Mantle was the gold standard for superstars, it took him five frustrating years to reach that level. In this book, find out which players who were tabbed “the next Mickey Mantle” could overcome what sportswriter Bob Hertzel called “the curse of talent and the burden of potential.”
©2022 Sunbury Press, Inc. (P)2023 Beacon AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The 1998 Yankees
- The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever
- By: Jack Curry
- Narrated by: Jack Curry
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The visiting clubhouse in San Diego was soggy, sweaty and sticky after the 1998 Yankees swept the Padres in four games and celebrated winning their 24th World Series title. The players raised bottles of Champagne, sprayed the bubbly on each other and reveled in a baseball season that might have been more memorable than any in history. Jack Curry was part of that unforgettable scene as a reporter, navigating around the clubhouse to ask the same, pertinent question.
-
-
The best team ever!!!
- By Daniel Cardona on 03-03-25
By: Jack Curry
-
Road to Nowhere
- The Early 1990s Collapse and Rebuild of New York City Baseball
- By: Chris Donnelly
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Road to Nowhere is the story of New York City baseball from 1990 to 1996, describing in intimate detail the collapse of both the Mets and the Yankees in the early nineties, the Yankees' then reclaiming of the city, and the Mets attempts to rebuild from the ashes. After the chaos of the 1980s, the New York Yankees finally bottomed out in 1990. It looked like New York would remain a Mets town well into the twenty-first century.
By: Chris Donnelly
-
62
- Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Bryan Hoch
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aaron Judge, the hulking superman who carried an easy aw-shucks demeanor from small-town California to stardom in the Big Apple, had long established his place as one of baseball’s most intimidating power hitters. Baseballs frequently rocketed off his bat like cannon fire, dispatching heat-seeking missiles toward the “Judge’s Chambers” seating area in right field, sending delirious fans scattering for souvenirs. But even in a high-tech universe where computers measure each swing to the nth degree, Roger Maris’s American League mark of sixty-one home runs seemed largely out of reach.
-
-
Storytelling
- By Colin Korczyk on 06-04-24
By: Bryan Hoch
-
Thurm
- Memoirs of a Forever Yankee
- By: Thurman Munson, Diana Munson - foreword, Marty Appel - contributor
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over forty years since Thurman Munson's death, Thurm: Memoirs of a Forever Yankee revives the life of the famous New York Yankees catcher. In collaboration with longtime Yankee historian Marty Appel, Munson chronicles in his own words his path to the majors, his career success, his approach to being the first team captain in nearly forty years since Lou Gehrig, the Yankees return to glory when they won the 1977 and 1978 World Series, the breakdown of his body as he gave his all to the sport, and his absolute dedication to his wife and children above all else.
-
-
Many Sides to Thurman
- By R Cristiano on 11-10-23
By: Thurman Munson, and others
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
-
-
Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
The Greatest Summer in Baseball History
- How the '73 Season Changed Us Forever
- By: John Rosengren
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, American League attendance had fallen, and America's team—the Yankees—had lost more games and money than ever. Yet that season, five of the game's greatest figures rescued the national pastime. Hank Aaron riveted the nation with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's landmark home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees at a bargain basement price and began buying back their faded glory.
-
-
Terrible, Just Terrible.
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-23
By: John Rosengren
-
The 1998 Yankees
- The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever
- By: Jack Curry
- Narrated by: Jack Curry
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The visiting clubhouse in San Diego was soggy, sweaty and sticky after the 1998 Yankees swept the Padres in four games and celebrated winning their 24th World Series title. The players raised bottles of Champagne, sprayed the bubbly on each other and reveled in a baseball season that might have been more memorable than any in history. Jack Curry was part of that unforgettable scene as a reporter, navigating around the clubhouse to ask the same, pertinent question.
-
-
The best team ever!!!
- By Daniel Cardona on 03-03-25
By: Jack Curry
-
Road to Nowhere
- The Early 1990s Collapse and Rebuild of New York City Baseball
- By: Chris Donnelly
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Road to Nowhere is the story of New York City baseball from 1990 to 1996, describing in intimate detail the collapse of both the Mets and the Yankees in the early nineties, the Yankees' then reclaiming of the city, and the Mets attempts to rebuild from the ashes. After the chaos of the 1980s, the New York Yankees finally bottomed out in 1990. It looked like New York would remain a Mets town well into the twenty-first century.
By: Chris Donnelly
-
62
- Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Bryan Hoch
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aaron Judge, the hulking superman who carried an easy aw-shucks demeanor from small-town California to stardom in the Big Apple, had long established his place as one of baseball’s most intimidating power hitters. Baseballs frequently rocketed off his bat like cannon fire, dispatching heat-seeking missiles toward the “Judge’s Chambers” seating area in right field, sending delirious fans scattering for souvenirs. But even in a high-tech universe where computers measure each swing to the nth degree, Roger Maris’s American League mark of sixty-one home runs seemed largely out of reach.
-
-
Storytelling
- By Colin Korczyk on 06-04-24
By: Bryan Hoch
-
Thurm
- Memoirs of a Forever Yankee
- By: Thurman Munson, Diana Munson - foreword, Marty Appel - contributor
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over forty years since Thurman Munson's death, Thurm: Memoirs of a Forever Yankee revives the life of the famous New York Yankees catcher. In collaboration with longtime Yankee historian Marty Appel, Munson chronicles in his own words his path to the majors, his career success, his approach to being the first team captain in nearly forty years since Lou Gehrig, the Yankees return to glory when they won the 1977 and 1978 World Series, the breakdown of his body as he gave his all to the sport, and his absolute dedication to his wife and children above all else.
-
-
Many Sides to Thurman
- By R Cristiano on 11-10-23
By: Thurman Munson, and others
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
-
-
Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
The Greatest Summer in Baseball History
- How the '73 Season Changed Us Forever
- By: John Rosengren
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, American League attendance had fallen, and America's team—the Yankees—had lost more games and money than ever. Yet that season, five of the game's greatest figures rescued the national pastime. Hank Aaron riveted the nation with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's landmark home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees at a bargain basement price and began buying back their faded glory.
-
-
Terrible, Just Terrible.
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-23
By: John Rosengren
-
Once a Giant
- A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football
- By: Gary Myers
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1986 New York Giants are legendary. A championship team coached by Bill Parcells and his wunderkind assistant Bill Belichick, featuring future Hall of Famers and All-Pros like Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Mark Bavaro, and Harry Carson. They were dominant on the field and formed a unique and lasting bond off of it. More than thirty years later, it's the friendships that have proved more important—a matter of life and death. In Once a Giant, bestselling football writer Gary Myers tells the story of that team and what became of it.
-
-
Must Read for Big Blue Fan
- By Mark A. McCoy on 03-05-24
By: Gary Myers
-
Deadball Trailblazers
- Single-Season Records of the Modern Era
- By: Ronald Waldo
- Narrated by: John Guccion
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1900 to 1919, a host of great players ushered in a century of groundbreaking baseball. Many exceptional diamond icons during this period established single-season modern era records that have acted as a litmus test for players throughout history to try to surpass. The old adage that records are made to be broken isn't necessarily a practical conclusion when it comes to the great players in this book. Some of these records, set over a century ago, still haven't been broken.
-
-
A must have for fans of the Deadball era
- By Steven Gerweck on 10-05-23
By: Ronald Waldo
-
History of Baseball for Kids
- Basic Knowledge of Baseball with Some Fun Facts and Records
- By: William Lawson
- Narrated by: George Pettingell
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s no surprise that, with so much exposure to the game, your child has developed an interest in the sport. Every single time they’re around someone who loves baseball, they’re going to hear excited conversations about scores, player performance, and historical clashes between top players. And when your child starts to get curious and ask out-of-the-box questions, they’re going to turn to you for answers.
-
-
Informative and Engaging
- By Bobby Jane on 08-03-23
By: William Lawson
-
Willie Horton: 23
- Detroit's Own Willie the Wonder, the Tigers' First Black Great
- By: Willie Horton, Kevin Allen - contributor, Jake Wood - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At fifteen, Willie Horton received his first contract offer to become a professional baseball player. At twenty, he smacked his first major-league home run. At twenty-four, Horton stood in full uniform on the hood of his car, in the midst of burning homes and overturned vehicles, and pleaded for an end to the violence of the 1967 Detroit riots. In this new autobiography, Horton shares the fascinating story of his life and career, from growing up in Detroit's Jeffries Projects as the youngest of twenty-one children to winning a World Series with his hometown Tigers in 1968.
-
-
Motown loves Willie
- By B Ingram on 04-12-24
By: Willie Horton, and others
-
Jim Kaat
- Good as Gold: My Eight Decades in Baseball
- By: Jim Kaat, Bob Costas - foreword, Douglas Lyons - contributor
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a career that has now touched eight decades, Jim Kaat has had a prime front row seat for baseball's continuing evolution. Not only was he a major-league pitcher for twenty-five seasons, but his time as a pitching coach and his many years as a broadcaster have given him a singular long view of the game. In Good as Gold, Kaat weaves the tale of a lifetime, taking fans on the field, into the clubhouse, and behind the mic as only he can.
-
-
Touch ‘em All Kaat
- By David on 06-21-23
By: Jim Kaat, and others
-
True
- The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson
- By: Kostya Kennedy
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For players, fans, managers, and executives, Jackie Robinson remains baseball’s singular figure, the person who most profoundly extended, and continues to extend, the reach of the game. Beyond Ruth. Beyond Clemente. Beyond Aaron. Beyond the heroes of today. Now, a half-century since Robinson’s death, letters come to his widow, Rachel, by the score. But Robinson’s impact extended far beyond baseball: he opened the door for Black Americans to participate in other sports, and was a national figure who spoke and wrote eloquently about inequality.
-
-
Boring
- By Amazon Customer on 02-02-25
By: Kostya Kennedy
-
How to Beat a Broken Game
- The Rise of the Dodgers in a League on the Brink
- By: Pedro Moura
- Narrated by: Pedro Moura
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winning at modern baseball is nothing like it was even twenty years ago. In the years since the famous Moneyball revolution, baseball has grown to look less like a sport than a Wall Street firm that traded its boiler room for a field. Teams relentlessly chase every tiny advantage to win games and make money, even as it hurts fans, TV ratings, and players, courting bigger problems in the long run. This dramatic and insightful book takes you into the clubhouse with the championship players, as well as into the offices where teams constantly seek new ways to win.
-
-
Good insight on Dodgers system
- By Michelle & A on 03-02-23
By: Pedro Moura
-
In Scoring Position
- 40 Years of a Baseball Love Affair
- By: Bob Ryan, Bill Chuck
- Narrated by: Pat Grimes, Chris Lutkin, Pete Cross
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Ryan has scored every baseball game he's attended, at every level, since the start of the 1977 season. It's a deeply personal tradition still going strong at more than 1,400 games and counting. The tattered scorebooks he's filled are worn from age, travel, and countless summer days, but their grids and scrawled symbols tell the stories of milestones, rivalries, rare historic achievements, and more. In Scoring Position captures the incomparable spirit of baseball, with its infinite possibilities and madcap anomalies.
-
-
Enjoyable for baseball fans
- By Mark Davidson on 08-27-22
By: Bob Ryan, and others
-
Whispers of the Gods
- Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It
- By: Peter Golenbock, John Thorn - foreword
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves. Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times, this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends, pulled from hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the author. The players interviewed were All-Stars, Hall of Famers, and heroes to many, and their impact on the national pastime is still seen to this day. Baseball history comes alive, offering a fascinating account of the golden age of baseball.
-
-
Meh
- By DavidF on 03-26-25
By: Peter Golenbock, and others
-
Playing Through the Pain
- Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever
- By: Dan Good
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Playing Through the Pain, writer Dan Good seeks to make sense of MLB MVP Ken Caminiti's fascinating, troubled life. The story of Caminiti, the player who opened the lid on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, has never been properly told. Caminiti voluntarily admitted in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that he used steroids during his career, including his 1996 season, and guessed that half of the players were using performance-enhancing drugs. Good's on-the-record sources include Caminiti's steroids supplier, people who attended rehab with him, and more.
-
-
Dull Reader, decent story
- By Amazon Customer on 02-24-23
By: Dan Good
-
The Captain
- A Memoir
- By: David Wright, Anthony DiComo
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Wright played his entire Major League Baseball career for one team, the team he dreamed of playing for as a kid: the New York Mets. A quick fan favorite from Virginia who then earned his stripes in New York, Wright came back time and again from injury and demonstrated the power of hard work, total commitment, and an infinite love of the game.
-
-
Literal Chills
- By Billy Schutt on 11-15-20
By: David Wright, and others
-
Billy Ball
- Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland A's
- By: Dale Tafoya
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 1970s, the Oakland Athletics became only the second team in Major League Baseball history to win three consecutive World Series championships. But as the decade came to a close, the A's were in free fall, having lost 108 games in 1979 while drawing just 307,000 fans. Free agency had decimated the A's, and the team's owner, Charlie Finley, was looking for a buyer. First, though, he had to bring fans back to the Oakland Coliseum. Enter Billy Martin.
-
-
Better Options
- By Mark on 03-08-22
By: Dale Tafoya