University of New England

Baseball travel writer Josh Pahigian's new book selected as finalist for Spitball magazine's Casey Award

BIDDEFORD, Maine - 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out by University of New England Adjunct Faculty Member Josh Pahigian was chosen as one of the 10 finalists for Spitball magazine's 2008 Casey Award.

The Casey Award was inaugurated in 1983 by Mike Shannon and W.J. Harrison, the editors and co-founders of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine, and was the first award to honor the authors and publishers of the best baseball book of the year.

Pahigian teaches writing in UNE's English Department.

In 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out, Pahigian gathers together the best of the best of the thousands of baseball attractions, shrines, and gravesites with a collection of essays that explain where to find these locations and why these particular spots reflect the soul of America.

Great places to visit coast to coast include the St. Paul Saints’ Midway Stadium, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, the Billy Goat Tavern, the Field of Dreams movie set, the Jackie Robinson Center, Lenny Dykstra’s Car Wash and Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park, among others.

For armchair travelers, sports fans and lovers of local folklore, this is a  tribute to the game that made America great.

Pahigian is the author of The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip, The Spring Training Handbook, and The Red Sox in the Play-offs; and co-author of The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip and Why I Hate the Yankees.

(Press release updated Dec. 18, 2008)