Aces : The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito [Hardcover]

Mychael Urban (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller

From the speedy rise of the Big Three to their stunning breakup, Urban's book says it all." - John Shea, National baseball Writer, San Francisco Chronicle

During the 2004 season, each of Oakland's Big Three aces had something to prove. Tim Hudson was determined to demonstrate his recovery from a recurring injury. Barry Zito had to show the world that after a ho-hum 2003, his 2002 Cy Young Award was not a fluke. Mark Mulder missed the 203 playoffs entirely with a stress fracture, but the way he saw it, he simply needed to be himself-the natural-born pitcher.

Given unprecedented access to the Big Three , Mychael Urban recreates their tumultuous season through their eyes. he explores the nuts and bolts of major league pitching, examining each player's unique approach to this craft while revealing how three very different personalities cope with the demands, rewards, and challenges of sports stardom.

Now with a new afterword on the 2005 season

Urban traces the fortunes of the Big Three after Hudson was sent to Atlanta and Mulder to St. Louis, trades which held the dramatic promise of them being reunited again-as opponents-in the playoffs.

"Written with great color, style, humor, and grace, Aces takes readers on a captivating ride." - Mike Silver, Sports Illustrated

"Mychael Urban's book is a fabulous read... This is hardly just a baseball book. It's about life, and he tremendous burden each pitcher carried while trying to lead the Oakland A's to the playoffs. I absolutely loved it." - Bob Nightengale, Senor Writer/Columnist, USA Today Sports Weekly

"From the southern fried heat of Tim Hudson to Mark Mulder's cool aloofness to Barry Zito's cerebral wanderings, Urban captures the engine of Oakland's Little Engine That Could of a team with grace and aplomb." - Scott Miller, National Baseball Columnist, CBS.SportsLine.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent book that's well-written...and a fitting tribute to what will someday likely be considered a renaissance age of Oakland A's baseball." (Athletics Nation)

Review

"Aces is a fascinating look at three of the best pitchers in the game. I learned a lot about Hudson, Mulder and Zito that I wish I'd known before. Mychael Urban proves again that it takes a pitcher to know a pitcher."
--Tim Kurkjian, senior writer for ESPN Magazine, reporter/analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight

"If you got any closer to Oakland's Big Three of Hudson, Zito and Mulder than Mychael Urban takes you in this compelling read, you'd be standing in the middle of the Athletics' clubhouse. And I can assure you: Mychael's book smells much better. From the Southern Fried heat of Tim Hudson to Mark Mulder's cool aloofness to Barry Zito's cerebral wanderings, Urban captures the engine of Oakland's Little Engine That Could of a team with grace and aplomb."
--Scott Miller, National baseball columnist, CBS.SportsLine.com

"Every baseball fans knows that the Oakland Athletics have beaten the odds by winning a lot of baseball games in this era of big payrolls and high-priced free agents. You ask: Didn't someone already write a book about that? Sure. But while Moneyball is about Oakland's baseball philosophy, Mychael Urban's Aces tells the fun and real story about the three great and very different pitchers who actually won the games on the field. Sadly, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito have been split up now -- that's how baseball goes. But the aces live and breathe in these pages."
-- Joe Posnanski, columnist, Kansas City Star

"While Moneyball is about Oakland's baseball philosophy, Acestells the fun and real story about the three great and very different pitchers who actually won the games on the field."
-- Joe Posnanski, columnist, Kansas City

"Beautifully organized and written with great color, style, humor and grace, Aces takes readers on a captivating ride. And while Hudson, Mulder and Zito represented a uniquely entertaining era of A's baseball, the tale of their dramatic final season together is something any baseball fan will no doubt enjoy."
-- Mike Silver, Sports Illustrated

"Mychael Urban's book is a fabulous read. He brings you behind-the-scenes with their private conversations and thoughts on the most famous pitching trio since Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Mychael had a unique relationship with Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, earning their trust, and feeling comfortable to reveal intimate details of their personal lives. You learn about their hopes, their fears, their ideas and just what makes them tick. You'll know everything from Barry Zito's parents to Mark Mulder's golf game to Tim Hudson's family life. This is hardly just a baseball book. It's about life, and the tremendous burden each pitcher carried while trying to lead the Oakland A's to the playoffs. I absolutely loved it."
--Bob Nightengale, Senior Writer/Columnist, USA Today Sports Weekly

"Aces? How about Aced? This colorful account of Hudson, Mulder and Zito takes the reader through their final season together in Oakland, which was as stormy as it was stirring. Along the way, Urban provides some wild anecdotes from what he witnessed and what they told him in his exclusive interviews. Who else could give never-before-told insight to the pitchers’ achievements on the mound as well as a revealing look into their personal lives, including a memorable night at the Pussycat Club? From the speedy rise of the Big Three to their stunning breakup, Urban’s book says it all."
--John Shea, National Baseball Writer, San Francisco Chronicle

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471675024
• ISBN-13: 978-0471675020
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ACES- A MUST READ, April 12, 2005

By 

Willem Suyderhoud - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aces : The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito (Hardcover)

Tony Huang's review is as far off base as Eric Byrnes was when attempting to score in the 2003 ALDS. In fact, his review chafes me so much that I feel like I need to do Amazon customers justice by standing up for an outstanding piece of baseball literature. I've read every one of Mychael Urban's articles on MLB.com the last four years, so I have the credibility to say that "Aces" doesn't read anything like what Huang calls a "string of daily recaps." The book flows smoothly and the quotes from Hudson, Mulder and Zito are extremely insightful. I've read some great baseball books in the past, including Roger Kahn's "Boys of Summer" and David Halberstam's "The Teammates," but I've never learned so much about the game of baseball than I have from Urban's book. Urban's reporting gives us fans an inside look at what goes on inside a pitcher's head when he toes the rubber. When reading Aces, I felt as if I was sharing the mental problems Barry and Mark were experiencing throughout the 2004 season. This book brought me closer to the playing field, just as all great sports works should. Pick up a copy of Aces. It's worth every word.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, not as good as moneyball, March 23, 2005

By 

Everything WILL be all right (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aces : The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito (Hardcover)

This is an interesting look at the 2004 Oakland A's. Not as colorfully written as Moneyball, but with a more journalistic style, fitting as Mychael Urban is a columnist for oaklandathletics.com. However, it is fun to get a behind the scenes look at Mulder, Huddy, and Zito as they occasionally truimphed and often struggled over the course of the 2004 season. A must read if you are an A's fan.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true inside look, April 14, 2005

By 

K. Schacht (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aces : The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito (Hardcover)

Urban's look inside the Big Three is well done and entertaining, even for the non-baseball junkie. If you're looking for more detailed insight on how a splitter is thrown, you may want to buy Tom Emmanski's videos, but if you want to know what's inside the heads of these guys while on the mound and in the dugout, as well as what it's truly like to be a big leaguer, look no further. He takes the reader through the flow of the season, but doesn't bog them down with the details of every game, all while explaining the emotions, relationships and interactions that happen on the team bus, in the clubhouse and at the watering holes where these guys hang out.