This book is dedicated to my family, which has encouraged and supported me from the day I wrote my first word as a sportswriter.

To my father, whose love of baseball left a permanent imprint on me.

To my mother, who drove me from ballpark to ballpark after I landed my first newspaper job as a 15-year-old without a driver’s license.

To my two children and my grandchildren who are the delights of my life.

And most of all, to my wife for her unending love and support of my passion, despite the hours she spent waiting for me in empty high school gyms and the nights at home alone as I worked.

I am truly privileged.

—KA