Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life

A book of lessons in baseball enlightenment from three-time MLB Manager of the Year, Joe Maddon.

"A perfect baseball book, as invaluable as it is unique." ―Jane Leavy, author of The Last Boy LP: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood

No one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the “shot and beer” town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon is one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century: taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball one year to the World Series the next and leading the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

Like his teams, Maddon defies convention. He is part strategist, part philosopher, part sports psychologist, and part motivational coach. In The Book of Joe, Maddon gives readers unique insights into the game, including the tension between art and data, the changing role of managers as front offices gain power, why the honeymoon with the Cubs did not last, and what it’s like to manage the modern player, including stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish, and Kris Bryant.

But you expect even more from a manager who meditates daily, admires Twain, and has only one rule when it comes to a team dress code: “If you think you look hot, wear it!” And Maddon delivers. Built on-old school values and new-school methods, his wisdom applies beyond the dugout. His mantras about leadership, mentorship, team building, and communication are meditations on life, not just baseball.

The Book of Joe is Maddon at his uniquely holistic best. It is a memoir of a fascinating baseball journey, an insider’s look at a changing game, and a guidebook on leadership and life.

Joe Maddon is a three-time Manager of the Year award winner. Among his 19 years managing, most recently with the Los Angeles Angels, he led the Tampa Bay Rays to their first World Series and the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

Tom Verducci is the lead baseball writer for Sports Illustrated and a lead analyst and reporter for MLB Network and Fox Sports. He is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year award winner, a five-time Emmy Award winner, and a member of the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame.