SKU: 37726111739

The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball

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The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented BaseballNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025 WINNER OF THE CASEY AWARD FOR BEST BASEBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR "Baseball books don't get any better than this Earl Weaver has at last been given his due." George F. Will "Vivid Most sports books are pop flies to the infield. Miller's is a screaming triple into the left field corner." Dwight Garner, The New York Times The first major biography of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025

WINNER OF THE CASEY AWARD FOR BEST BASEBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Baseball books don't get any better than this...Earl Weaver has at last been given his due." --George F. Will

"Vivid...Most sports books are pop flies to the infield. Miller's is a screaming triple into the left field corner." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times

The first major biography of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver--who has been described as "the Copernicus of baseball" and "the grandfather of the modern game"--The Last Manager is a wild, thrilling, and hilarious ride with baseball's most underappreciated genius, and one of its greatest characters.

Long before the Moneyball Era, the Earl of Baltimore reigned over baseball. History's feistiest and most colorful manager, Earl Weaver transformed the sport by collecting and analyzing data in visionary ways, ultimately winning more games than anybody else during his time running the Orioles from 1968 to 1982.

When Weaver was hired by the Orioles, managers were still seen as coaches and inspirational leaders, more teachers of the game than strategists. Weaver invented new ways of building baseball teams, prioritizing on-base average, elite defense, and strike throwing. Weaver was the first manager to use a modern radar gun, and he pioneered the use of analytical data. By moving six-foot four-inch Cal Ripken Jr. to shortstop, Weaver paved the way for a generation of plus-sized superstar shortstops, such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. He foreshadowed almost everything that Bill James, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, and hundreds of other big-brain baseball types would later present as innovations.

Beyond being a great baseball mind, Weaver was a rare baseball character. Major League Baseball is show business, and Weaver understood how much of his job was entertainment. Weaver's legendary outbursts offered players cathartic relief from their own frustration, signaled his concern for the team, and fired up fans. In his frequent arguments with umpires, he hammed it up for the crowds, faked heart attacks, ripped bases out of the ground, and pretended to toss umpires out of the game. Weaver also fought with his players, especially Jim Palmer, but that creative tension contributed to stunning success and a hilarious clubhouse. During his tenure as major-league manager, the Orioles won the American League pennant in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1979, each time winning more than 100 games.

The Last Manager uncovers the story of Weaver's St. Louis childhood with a mobster uncle, his years of minor-league heartbreak, and his unlikely road to becoming a big-league manager, while tracing the evolution of the game from the old-time baseball of cross-country trains and "desk contracts" to the modern era of free agency, video analysis, and powerful player agents. Weaver's career is a critical juncture in baseball history. He was the only manager to hold a job during the five years leading up to and the five years after free agency upended the sport in 1976.

Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. "No manager belongs there more," wrote Tom Boswell. "Weaver encapsulates the fire, the humor, the brains, the childishness, the wisdom and the goofy fun of baseball." The Last Manager tells the story of one man--belligerent, genius, infamous--who left his mark on the game for generations.

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SKU: 37726111739

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pat
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 3
Great idea poor construction
Color: Large size (7.9"), Color: Large size (7.9")
Great for a dog that likes tug and fetch but the seams are not strong so it ripped fast not from tug but my dogs teeth. I sewed it once since we loved playing with it but it didnt last. Other seams opened. The seams opened in the ball part not by the handles. Less seams and stronger ones would make it 5 star. Im trying a different brand.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2026
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Craig
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect Dog Toy and hard to find
Color: Large size (7.9")
Hard to find toy. My dogs favorite toy and this is a really good price.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2026
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Dawn Christine Davault
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 1
Not strong. Didn't last
Color: Large size (7.9")
Was ripped apart very quickly. Not strong. Would not buy again
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Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2026
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GRohloff
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 4
Keeps her busy!
Color: Medium size (5.9")
Our Molly loves this. Only thing is that it is a little too big for our Maltipoo, but she still tries to keep up with it.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2026
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Amazon Customer
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
Tough
Color: Medium size (5.9")
So far my dog hasn’t destroyed it! And it’s been a month. So I call that a win. Plus he loves it.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026

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