The Ballpark and Beyond

Baseball is more than a game—it is a living chronicle of American history, culture, and imagination. In this richly illustrated and masterfully told collection, celebrated designer and historian Todd Radom blends meticulous research with a designer’s eye for detail, breathing new life into stories both well-known and obscure. In The Ballpark and Beyond, Radom takes readers on a captivating journey across 150 years of baseball history, weaving together little-known anecdotes, aesthetic curiosities, and the human drama that makes the sport timeless. Here are the tales of ornate nineteenth-century stadiums that looked like castles, the rowdy Baltimore Orioles who pioneered “inside baseball,” and the quirky pillbox caps and mascots that defined whole eras. You’ll discover the origins of iconic team emblems, the strange saga of a baseball game played at the foot of the Sphinx, and the unforgettable icons—from Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson to Mantle, Paige, and Clemente—who helped elevate th