George Altman is retired from major league baseball. Lew Freedman is a long-time, prize-winning journalist for such newspapers as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Anchorage Daily News and Wyoming’s Cody Enterprise. Specializing in sports and the outdoors, he has written more than 100 books. He lives in Columbus, Indiana.

“Altman has seen it all and he offers illuminating observations about teams, fans and the game”—The Courier.

• Table of ContentsIntroduction by Lew Freedman 11. Growing Up in Goldsboro 72. Basketball at Tennessee State 173. Back to Baseball 274. The Kansas City Monarchs 335. The Minors, the Army and Making the Cubs 416. The Major Leagues 517. Winter Ball in Cuba 608. Getting Used to the Majors 689. Just Playing Big League Ball 7510. Big Moments and Tough Moments 8411. Cubs Life 9112. Joining the Cardinals 9713. On to the Mets 10614. Back to the Cubs 11515. Learning to Play Ball in a Different Language 12416. “Pure Boru!” (Play Ball) 13317. Being an American in Japan 14118. Japanese Workouts and Meetings 14919. Nearing the End in Tokyo 15720. Health Scare and Retirement 16521. Retirement 17422. Quite a Life in Baseball 185Epilogue by Lew Freedman 195Notes 199Index 201

George Altman is retired from major league baseball. Lew Freedman is a long-time, prize-winning journalist for such newspapers as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Anchorage Daily News and Wyoming’s Cody Enterprise. Specializing in sports and the outdoors, he has written more than 100 books. He lives in Columbus, Indiana.

“Altman has seen it all and he offers illuminating observations about teams, fans and the game”—The Courier.

• Table of ContentsIntroduction by Lew Freedman 11. Growing Up in Goldsboro 72. Basketball at Tennessee State 173. Back to Baseball 274. The Kansas City Monarchs 335. The Minors, the Army and Making the Cubs 416. The Major Leagues 517. Winter Ball in Cuba 608. Getting Used to the Majors 689. Just Playing Big League Ball 7510. Big Moments and Tough Moments 8411. Cubs Life 9112. Joining the Cardinals 9713. On to the Mets 10614. Back to the Cubs 11515. Learning to Play Ball in a Different Language 12416. “Pure Boru!” (Play Ball) 13317. Being an American in Japan 14118. Japanese Workouts and Meetings 14919. Nearing the End in Tokyo 15720. Health Scare and Retirement 16521. Retirement 17422. Quite a Life in Baseball 185Epilogue by Lew Freedman 195Notes 199Index 201