Life Is Yours to Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion, and Magic of Baseball

by Augie Garrido, Kevin Costner (Introduction), Wes Smith (With)

Overview

Now in paperback, the winningest college baseball coach of all time shares his powerful philosophy on life and sports.

FROM THE WINNINGEST COACH IN NCAA DIVISION I HISTORY, A GUIDE TO PRACTICING PERFECT AND PLAYING FOR FUN

While the statistics speak for themselves, Augie Garrido, the legendary baseball coach, is far from a “win-at-all-costs” leader. Rather, he focuses on building men of quality, teaching that lessons learned on the diamond can be applied to any facet of life. Life Is Yours to Win offers a refreshing approach to seizing life’s opportunities and understanding that trophies are not the true goal. Garrido’s advice includes:

• BE A PLAYER, NOT A PROSPECT—Garrido once used a game of catch with his Labrador retriever to show a team playing without heart the character it takes to be fully engaged as a ballplayer.

• STEP UP, SUPERMAN—Garrido stages a costumed Superhero Scrimmage each Halloween to remind his players that their inner superhero is just waiting to be realized.

• THE FEARLESS FIELD—Master fear and other emotions so that they don’t paralyze you. Renting a hearse and placing a casket on the pitcher’s mound helped a slumping Cal State team “bury” their fears and put past losses behind them.

• BUDDHA AT BAT—Small ball is not glorified like the home run, but the bunt does advance the runners and puts runs on the board. Small successes add up to big victories on and off the field.

Garrido’s coaching methods are often unconventional, but as seen in Life Is Yours to Win, his creativity and wry humor always lead to unforgettable lessons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439186947
Publisher:	Atria Books
Publication date:	04/03/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	490,265
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.44(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Augie Garrido has notched the most wins in NCAA Division I baseball history. Inspired by his coaching style, director Richard Linklater wrote and directed a 2008 documentary about him titled Inning By Inning: A Portrait of a Coach. Since 1997, Garrido has been head baseball coach at the University of Texas in Austin.

Table of Contents

Introduction Kevin Costner ix

Chapter 1 For Love of the Game 1

Chapter 2 A Chickenshit, Dooflopper, and Curb Cryer 14

Chapter 3 The Fearless Field 40

Chapter 4 The Game of Failure 89

Chapter 5 Be a Player, Not a Prospect 114

Chapter 6 Small Ball/Big Game 131

Chapter 7 Step Up, Superman 149

Chapter 8 The Tao of Teamwork 169

Chapter 9 The Reward Is Not on the Scoreboard 198

Chapter 10 Five Things I Think I Know about Baseball 221

Chapter 11 Be Your Own Best Friend 247

Editorial Reviews

A legendary college-baseball coach shares his thoughts on the game and how it can be used to improve one's life.

A self-described no-nonsense coach, Garrido has led his players to more NCAA victories than any other coach in the college dugout. His debut, the title of which is refreshingly direct and to-the-point in the delivery of the author's philosophy, is as much a biography of the author's life as a self-help manual. The author writes early on that he will refrain from using a baseball game as a metaphor for life, but he proceeds to do so in each chapter. While the author has decades of experience turning his young charges "into men," his attempt to cram years of leadership and mentoring within the pages of a book isn't as winning as his record. Garrido has a distinct voice, but he's a novice when it comes to structuring and framing a story. He reiterates material incessantly, his inability to stay on topic is often frustrating and the narrative is extremely male-oriented. Regardless, Garrido's book is an easy read that may attract non-veteran readers of nonfiction.

A stale rendition of a self-help trope that may appeal to college-baseball fans.

Kirkus Reviews