Baseball Days
Recollections of America's Favorite Pastime

by Garret Mathews
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» Dick Vitale (back row, second from left) is color commentator for college basketball on CBS and ESPN. His latest book is Holding Court: Reflections on the Game I Love. He is a former coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Growing up, I was a baseball fanatic. We lived thirty minutes from Yankee Stadium, so naturally I wanted to be a Yankee. The first time I ever put on a baseball uniform was when I played for the Garfield, New Jersey, Little League. The team was sponsored by Mazzo Oil Company. One day I pitched a perfect game. I wore the uniform to bed that night.

From the book Baseball Days by Garret Mathews © 1999. Published by Contemporary Books.
Excerpted with permission.