These unique tales describe Leo Mazzone's ascent through the minor leagues to the dugout of the Atlanta Braves, where he was the named the best pitching coach in baseball in a player´s poll conducted by Sports Illustrated. Though he is widely known for nervously rocking in the dugout during close games, Mazzone's pitching staff in Atlanta either led or was second in the major leagues in earned-run average in all but one year from 1992-2005. Mazzone also coached six Cy Young Award winners - more than any other active coach - and the core group of John Smoltz and 2014 Hall of Fame inductees Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine anchored what some consider the greatest pitching staff ever assembled on a major league roster. He developed pitchers at various levels of the Braves organization beginning in 1979, and in 2006 took his talents to the Baltimore Orioles as their new pitching coach. Nothing gave him more satisfaction in Atlanta, however, than the team's extraordinary run of 14 consecutive division championships. The new edition of Tales from the Mound featuring the Mazzone Method outlines his technique for maximizing pitchers’ performance while maintaining healthy arms. It also reveals his coaching philosophies and provides insight into his relationships with Braves pitchers, including Smoltz, Hall of Famers Maddux and Glavine, the combustible (and controversial) John Rocker, and the underdog 2005 division championship team that beat all the odds. An assortment of stories and memories from the coach´s time on the Braves bench makes Tales from the Mound a must-read for any Braves fan - as well as for baseball fans across the country.
Basically a collection of memories recorded in a book about the glorious days of the Atlanta Braves in the 1990's. A must-read for Braves fans to relive the brilliant pitching that spoiled us rotten!
Transparency on the front end, I am a huge admirer of Leo Mazzone’s philosophies and approaches to coaching pitchers. Every Braves game I watch, I long for the wisdom of Leo and The Professor to sink into these younger guys to maintain their ability to play vs so many surgeries. Being the massive Braves fan I am, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this treasure from Leo. That being said, editing could have been better in organizing the content. Overall, I’d read/learn anything I could from Leo Mazonne! Those were the days!!!
I love Leo, but this is the third edition and he still hasn't found a decent editor. I'm not talking about needing someone to cut excess text. I'm talking about someone to catch the errors that spellcheck lets by. He tells good stories, and he seems to be a nice guy, but he's not the poet laureate of major league baseball.
I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. This was a very in-depth pov of major league pitchers. Not only just regular major league pitchers but major league Hall of Famers. This will go down as one of the greatest books of all time in my opinion.