Beating the Breaks

<p> Few baseball fans are aware of the number of players with disabilities who have succeeded in the majors. Much of this unawareness is due to the affected players themselves who downplay weaknesses and tend to minimize their disabilities considering them just one of the chinks in the armor that everyone must deal with.</p><p> More than 20 players who have overcome their disabilities to have major league careers are profiled in this work. The book is divided by type of disability suffered: missing or partially missing limbs or extremities (Jim Abbott Hugh One Arm Daily Pete Gray Monty Stratton Bert Shepard); injured or diseased limbs (Lou Brissie Whitey Kurowski Eddie Kazak Charley Gelbert Bo Jackson Dave Dravecky); disfigured extremities (Mordecai Three Finger Brown Charley Red Ruffing Hal Peck Carlos May Gil Coan Jim Mecir); impaired organ function vision and hearing (William Dummy Hoy George Specs Toporcer Chick Hafey Ron Santo Russ Christopher Joe Hoerner John Hiller Danny Thompson Walt Bond); and neurological and psychological disorders (Grover Cleveland Alexander Tony Lazzeri Jimmy Piersall Jim Eisenreich).</p>