Baseball in Pinellas County

***

Baseball in Pinellas County, a new book by Dan Hirshberg, speaks to the "other side of the dugout."

While Pinellas County, Florida has historical significance as a hotbed for spring training, in the past with the Yankees, Cardinals and Mets and currently with the Phillies and Blue Jays, Baseball in Pinellas County focuses on some of the "baseball people" of Pinellas.

Author Dan Hirshberg points out that some of the subjects in the book made it to the Majors with a great deal of success, such as Hector Lopez, Howard Johnson, Casey Kotchman and Toby Hall. However, not necessarily everybody crafted a major league resume of note. Some played briefly in the majors, some in the minors, and a few have coached or scouted in the pros, including Tom Kotchman, Tom Zimmer (Don's son and a longtime Giants scout) and Tim Wilken.

Hundreds of Pinellas ballplayers have been drafted by Major League Baseball. In addition to the chapter on Hector Lopez, other chapters with Yankee connections include Ryan Garton's spoiling of Alex Rodriguez's last at-bat, Rickey Henderson (with the A's) getting thrown out by a backup catcher twice trying to steal in the same game, and former Yankee announcer DeWayne Staats.  

"You don't have to be from Pinellas County to enjoy this book," said Hirshberg. "It's a book with stories about people who could be from anytime, anywhere." 

Hirshberg is an award-winning author, publicist and columnist who writes feature stories about the baseball people of Pinellas County, Florida, for the Tampa Bay Weekly News Group. He previously authored a biography of Phil Rizzuto (Phil Rizzuto: A Yankee Tradition). and has written articles for Baseball Digest and other national publications. He has been recognized by the Florida Press Association and other industry organizations for both his writing and public relations work.

Books can be purchased online through Amazon and an array of other online outlets.