Safe at Home:
Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic
by Alyssa Milano
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. —Rumi"
I long for the old days my father talks about. The days when kids stuck baseball cards in the spokes of their bicycles and rode the streets of Brooklyn until they came to a stickball game, at which point they jumped off, put their kickstands down, and jumped in. He actually got weepy about it a few years back when he told me of this time (and mind you, it wasn't the first time he told me of this time)...
Alyssa Milano is in love; she has been for some time. But the object of her affection isn't the subject of tabloid gossip or an actor; in fact, it isn't even a guy. It's a game, a game of nine innings that uses a ball made of leather and cork. A game called baseball.
Now in Safe at Home, Alyssa Milano, the mind behind the bestselling sports-clothing line Touch, tells the story about her lifelong obsession with baseball, revealing what the game has meant to her and why everyone should take a chance on nine innings. Like it does for so many of us, Alyssa's baseball story begins with a father. A native Brooklynite who scorned the Dodgers for abandoning the city he loved, her father was reunited with the team when he and his young daughter moved out west for a fledging TV show called Who's the Boss. It was then that Alyssa learned one of the fundamental truths of the game: No matter where you are, no matter how old you are, baseball connects you to your past.
As it turned out, the Dodgers were just the beginning. More than simply a book about the Dodgers, Safe at Home offers a view from the bleachers unlike any other, as Alyssa gives a fan's perspective on the heart-ache, headache, and joy that make every baseball season worth following. From arguing about the importance of baseball history to appreciating the quiet months of the off-season to criticizing Major League Baseball's response to the steroid scandal, Alyssa intertwines her thoughts about the game with stories from her life, bringing an intelligent, wry, and entertaining female voice to the world of baseball writing.
Throughout all the shifts in Alyssa's life—the madness of growing up a child star, having to navigate life's most awkward phases in front of the cameras—baseball has been her one constant, a distraction that was always welcome. Whether you're already a fan or you need some convincing, Safe at Home makes a compelling case for why baseball is and always will be America's game. The end result is a unique and unexpected book that is equal parts memoir, manifesto, and love letter to our national pastime.
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