Before the Glory: 20 Baseball Heroes Talk About Growing Up and Turning Hard Times Into Home Runs

The authors interviewed baseball greats — including Ron LeFlore, who spent time in prison before playing for the Detroit Tigers in the 1970s — about their childhoods and struggles with poverty, drugs, and health issues. Each chapter includes a lengthy interview and a profile of a player. Staples is an English teacher in Bethlehem, Pa. Herschlag runs a consulting business, Turnkey Structural, in Easton, Pa.