My thanks to everyone who helped me put this book together, especially:
Lindsay Brown and Emmalisa Sparrow from Beyond Words for their awesome list of contacts and their hard work making the many pieces of this book fit together. I couldn’t have done any of this without their guidance!
The amazing athletic department at Clarkstown Central School District in New City, New York, especially Tess Brogan, Danielle DeLay, Vince Louther, Tony Mellino, and Edward Benvenuto. Thanks also to Abe Asher, Elizabeth Bennett, Adam Bjaranson, Danielle and Margaret DeStaso, Patsy Jensen; Samantha, Steven, and Sonia Kaner; Garret Kramer, Annelise Loevlie, Joseph Lofberg, Sondra Novak and Howard White from Nike, Ned Rice and the Baltimore Orioles, Kristof Schroeder, Mike Sheridan; Claire, Lydia, and Ann Tembruell; Kevin Tuve and John Burns from the Rockland Boulders baseball team. And to my research assistants and fact checkers: James J., and Leanne and Grace Mattern.