Audiobooks by Bill Madden

Yankees, Typewriters, Scandals and Cooperstown: A Baseball Memoir

A freewheeling memoir of baseball, journalism, and New York spanning over 50 years of America's pastimeBefore he'd covered dozens of World Series; before he'd written about countless hirings, firings, superstars, andscandals, Bill Madden was a cub reporter on one of his first assignments at Yankee Stadium—and managerRalph Houk had just gone out of his way to spit tobacco juice all over Madden's shoes. “That’s Ralph’s waywith rookie writers he doesn’t recognize,” came the explanation. “He doesn’t mean anything by it.”So began a Hall of Fame scribe's career, as detailed in this clear-eyed memoir. With verve and candor, Maddenreflects on five decades of triumphs, misadventures, and unforgettable characters.From Jackie Robinson to Aaron Judge; from newsrooms filled with hundreds of teletype machines droning likean army of cicadas to the sleek yet ruthless digital age, keen baseball fans will devour these tales of America'spastime against the backdrop of a rapidly changing media and cultural landscape.

Bill Madden (Author), Gregory Abbey, TBD (Narrator)

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Tom Seaver: A Terrific Life

An authoritative biography of Hall of Fame pitching legend Tom Seaver, still the greatest player ever to wear a Mets jersey, by a journalist who knows him well. He was called Tom Terrific for a reason. Tom Seaver was one of the most talented and popular players in the history of baseball. He is one of only two pitchers with 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts, and an ERA under 3.00. He was a three-time Cy Young award winner, twelve-time All Star, and was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame with the highest percentage ever at the time. Popular among players and fans, Seaver was fiercely competitive but always put team success ahead of personal glory. Born in Fresno, California, Seaver signed with the New York Mets in 1967, leading them to their stunning 1969 World Series victory. After a legendarily lopsided trade, he joined the Cincinnati Reds, then later played for the White Sox and the Red Sox before ending his career following the 1986 season. After his playing days, Seaver retired back to California to establish a successful vineyard. Then in 2013, a recurrence of Lyme disease severely affected his memory, which Madden was the first to report. In 2019 Seaver's family announced that he had been diagnosed with dementia and was withdrawing from public life. Madden began following Seaver's career in the 1980s. Seaver came to trust Madden so completely that, eager to return to New York from Chicago, he asked Madden to explore a possible trade to the Yankees, which never materialized. Drawing in part on their long relationship, Madden offers a deeply personal and fascinating portrait of one of the greatest and most admired players of all time.

Bill Madden (Author), David Marantz (Narrator)

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Lou: Fifty Years of Kicking Dirt, Playing Hard, and Winning Big in the Sweet Spot of Baseball

In this candid, revealing, and entertaining memoir, the beloved New York Yankee legend looks back over his nearly fifty-year career as a player and a manager, sharing insights and stories about some of his most memorable moments and some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball. For nearly five decades, Lou Piniella has been a fixture in Major League Baseball, as an outfielder with the legendary New York Yankees of the 1970s, and as a manager for five teams in both the American and National leagues. With respected veteran sportswriter Bill Madden, Piniella now reflects on his storied career, offering fans a glimpse of life on the field, in the dugout, and inside the clubhouse. Piniella speaks from the heart about his teams and his players, offering a detailed, up-close portrait of the Bronx Zoo’s raucous personalities such as Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, as well as his close friendship with Thurman Munson and his unusual relationship with George Steinbrenner. He also delves deep into his post-Yankee experiences, from winning a World Series for the controversial owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Marge Schott, to transforming the perennial cellar-dwelling Seattle Mariners into one of the league’s best teams. Some of the game’s brightest stars are here: Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez, Piniella’s supremely talented and controversial protégé. Throughout his time in the majors, Piniella has witnessed MLB grow into a multi-billion-dollar business. Piniella reflects on those changes, voicing his highly critical opinions on a range of controversial subjects, including steroids. Hilarious and uproarious, filled with eight pages of photos, Lou brings into focus a man whose deeply rooted passion for baseball has defined his life.

Bill Madden, Lou Piniella (Author), Johnny Heller (Narrator)

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Zim: A Baseball Life

Don Zimmer had his first taste of baseball glory in 1948 as a member of a national champion American Legion team. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers, only to have his career'and life'threatened when he was beaned in a minor league game in 1953. After a miraculous recovery, he went on to play for Brooklyn's only world-championship team in 1955, the L.A. Dodgers' first world-championship team four years later, and as an original New York Met in 1962. Zim managed the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs, and was Joe Torre's bench coach during the Yankee's world championship seasons of 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. His career has crossed paths with some of baseball's most memorable people and events. Here is fifty years of baseball history as seen through the eyes of one of its most colorful characters. 'Collaborating on Zim: A Baseball Life with Bill Madden may be the best decision the Yankee coach ever made. On every page, he is there to be appreciated for his journey as a player, manager and coach for more than half a century as well as for his wisdom, his humor and for just being himself.''New York Times

Bill Madden, Don Zimmer (Author), Denis McKee (Narrator)

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Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball

No owner has changed the landscape of sports more than New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. From the moment he bought the team in 1973 for $10 million, Steinbrenner's monomaniacal pursuit was to restore the most fabled franchise in baseball history to its former glory. Today the New York Yankees are worth more than $1 billion and are once again world champions. Award-winning sportswriter Bill Madden traces Steinbrenner from his early days in Cleveland through his years as a shipping magnate, a Nixon fund-raiser, and a champion horse breeder to the fateful moment when he bought the Yankees, even though his father disparaged George's desire to own a professional sports team as a "hobby." Over the next four decades, Steinbrenner's tumultuous reign included his epic battles with Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, even beloved Yankee captain Derek Jeter. His ruthless and free-spending tactics made him a lightning rod for controversy but they also paid off: Steinbrenner's Yankees have won seven championships and remain the gold standard in all sports. In the last few years, with his health declining, the Boss ceded control of the team to his sons, but not before lording over the team's historic transition from the House That Ruth Built to the House That George Built. Throughout his three decades of covering the Yankees, Bill Madden has cultivated hundreds of sources at every level in the organization, from the many managers and front-office personnel Steinbrenner has fired to the bat boys who are ever present in the locker room. All of them have colorful stories about the man with whom they have enjoyed a love-hate relationship, but it is the Boss himself whose voice rises above the rest. And when Steinbrenner decided to give his final print interview, he spoke to Madden to set the record straight on his extraordinary life and career.

Bill Madden (Author), Kerin McCue (Narrator)

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