Reading Baseball

St. Louis is considered a terrific baseball town.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us that wasn’t the case at the turn of the 20th century, but the tide turned 100 years ago.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, the author of Growing Up With Clemente and editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.

Sports fans have become accustomed to franchises raising money by selling the naming rights to their stadiums.

In this special commentary, Pete Peterson says the latest name change of a stadium has fans of one NFL team up in arms.

Hall of Fame Pitcher Bob Gibson is a legendary figure in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and across baseball.

In this edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson looks at a renowned essay written by Roger Angell, who recently passed away. The piece offered a unique perspective on Gibson’s intimidating personality.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, the author of Growing Up With Clemente and editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader, now available in paperback.

On this edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson revisits his days as a sore loser, but this time his confessions come with a brighter outlook.

With his grandson visiting from California after the end of his Little League season, Pete remembers how he hated to lose as a youngster, but it’s his love for the game that still burns inside him today as a man in his 80’s.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader, newly released in paperback.

Former St. Louis Cardinal Rookie of the Year Bill Virdon passed away last year.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson will describe how he learned to love the bespectacled centerfielder after was traded to his hometown team in the 1950's.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, the author of Growing Up With Clemente and editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Reading Baseball commentator Pete Peterson and his wife Anita recently returned to their hometown of Pittsburgh.

Pete was there to make a presentation at the Heinz History Center Sports Museum. But, it was mostly a trip down memory lane for the couple as they enjoyed some of their favorite foods and even stopped by the church where they were married in the 1960’s.

Itchy Jones is the winningest baseball coach in the history of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and led the Salukis to three appearances in the College World Series.

He had such a legendary coaching career at SIU-C, the baseball stadium on campus bears his name and the program recently retired his uniform number 1.

In this edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson remembers the time Jones became a cover boy when the SIU Press reprinted a critically-acclaimed baseball book.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader, now available in paperback.

Major League Baseball recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the game’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson looks at the ramifications of Robinson’s historic achievement on several of his teammates.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader, now available in paperback.

The St. Louis Cardinals opened the season on April 7 with a 9-0 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In this edition of Reading Baseball, lifelong Pirates fan Pete Peterson says he was thankful he could forget about his team’s unimpressive debut by watching a classic baseball film.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader, newly released in paperback.

One of the rule changes fans will recognize for this upcoming Major League Baseball season is the use of a designated hitter in the National League.

In the latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson takes a look at the end of a longtime baseball controversy.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.