Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound [Hardcover]

Leo Mazzone (Author), Scott Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2003

This is the story of Leo Mazzone and his ascent through the minor leagues to the dugout of the Atlanta Braves where he has become one of the finest pitching coaches in the game and has coached perhaps the greatest pitching staff ever assembled on a major league roster. Mazzone has been developing pitchers at various levels of the Braves organization since 1979, but nothing has given him more satisfaction than the past 11 seasons. The Braves pitching staff has either led or been second in the major leagues in ERA's each year since 1992, and his starting pitchers have won six Cy Young Awards between them. Tales from the Braves Mound reveals many of Mazzone's coaching philosophy's and will give insight into his relationships with current Braves greats such as Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. An assortment of stories and memories from Mazzone's time on the Braves bench will make this book a must read for any Braves fan or baseball fan in general.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Freeman is executive editor of Indianapolis Monthly and the former executive editor of Atlanta Magazine, where he covered the Atlanta Braves. A native of Carrollton, Georgia, he is also the author of Midnight Riders, the critically acclaimed biography of the Allman Brothers Band, and Otis! The Otis Redding Story. Freeman also worked as a staff writer for The Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Macon Telegraph & News. In 1999, the Football Writers Association of America honored one of his stories as the Best Feature Story in the nation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC; 1st ed edition (May 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582616744
• ISBN-13: 978-1582616742
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mazzone holds court, October 13, 2005

By 

Leo Lim (Collierville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound (Hardcover)

Of the many factors influencing the Braves' stupendous run of 13 straight Division Championships, none of it is more prominent than its emphasis on pitching anchored by Leo Mazzone.

"Tales from the Braves Mound" contains anecdotes in Mazzone's career from his pitching days to his forays in the minor leagues and finally to his elevation to pitching coach with Bobby Cox as the manager of the Atlanta Braves.

The anecdotes provide some interesting tidbits such as Maddux's request to give him a mound visit because "it's lonely out there" and even Glavine's reluctance to hit a batter after his teammate was beaned by the opposing pitcher. Also, Mazzone defends his coaching philosophies which include the practice of throwing in between starts, getting the pitcher's input on how long he stays in the game, his aversion to the "wild card" format and emphasis on pitch location rather than raw power. Of course, the good coach in him refuses to dwell on the Braves' postseason failures but instead celebrates the team's successes.

Having said that, I would have liked him to make the book just a little bit longer by rating the current aces (Randy Johnson, Bartolo Colon) and sluggers (Barry Bonds, David Ortiz) and of course another chapter on the post-Maddux, Glavine era would have made the book perfect.

Even if pundits scoff at his team's postseason failures, I do believe real baseball enthusiasts including opposing players and coaches have a healthy respect for his and Cox's ability to mold a staff and in effect a team.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attention True Baseball Fans, May 30, 2003

By 

Kenneth P Miller "paulread" (Carrollton, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound (Hardcover)

I have been a Brave's fan since the late eighties watching the young guns loose close games by one or two runs, especially in 89 and 90. Scott and Leo team up to give us a highly entertaining behind the scenes look of a decade and more of one of the best pitching staff's in the history of baseball. This book is well written and is a must for any true baseball fan, particularly Brave's fans. Great book Scott and Leo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mazzone and the Braves, October 27, 2005

By 

Guy F. Verney (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound (Hardcover)

We bought this book as a gift for an ardent Atlanta (nee Boston, nee Milwaukee!) Braves fan. We had looked for some time to find an appropriate book, and this was a winner! Mazzone has been linked with Bobby Cox, the Braves manager, for several years and their results together have been recordbreaking. So much of the success of the Braves has had to do with the consistently high level of perfromance of their pitching staff, and Leo Mazzone has been the constant during all that time, despite turnover of the pitchers themselves. It was interesting to hear from the man himself, and the book makes excellent reading for a real baseball fan. It will be interesting to see how long the Braves maintain their pitching excellence, now that Leo Mazzone will be wearing a Baltimore uniform!