
The Book of Joe
Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life
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Narrated by:
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Will Collyer
About this listen
Lessons in baseball enlightenment from three-time MLB Manager of the Year Joe Maddon.
No one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the “shot and beer” town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon over 19 seasons in Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Anaheim has become one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century: taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball one year to the World Series the next and leading the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.
Like his teams, Maddon defies convention. He is part strategist, part philosopher, part sports psychologist, and part motivational coach. In THE BOOK OF JOE, Maddon gives listeners unique insights into the game, including the tension between art and data, the changing role of managers as front offices gain power, why the honeymoon with the Cubs did not last, and what it’s like to manage the modern player, including stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish, and Kris Bryant.
But you expect even more from a manager who meditates daily, admires Twain, and has only one rule when it comes to a team dress code: “If you think you look hot, wear it!” And Maddon delivers. Built on-old school values and new-school methods, his wisdom applies beyond the dugout. His mantras about leadership, mentorship, team building, and communication are meditations on life, not just baseball. Among those mantras are:
“Do simple better.”
“Try not to suck.”
“Don’t ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure.”
“See it with first-time eyes.”
“Tell me what you think, not what you’ve heard.”
THE BOOK OF JOE is Maddon at his uniquely holistic best. It is a memoir of a fascinating baseball journey, an insider’s look at a changing game, and a guidebook on leadership and life.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci (P)2022 TwelveListeners also enjoyed...
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Baseball has been defaced and consumed by corporate America. As Moneyball-thinking and Ivy League graduates grabbed hold of the sport, the Astros set out to build a cost-efficient winning machine on the principles of the outside business world, squeezing every dollar out of every transaction, player and employee. In less than a decade, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow helped revolutionize the game and create an environment that led to one of the worst cheating scandals in baseball history, a Shakespearean tragedy of innovation and failed change management.
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The Houston Trashstros
- By DavidF on 02-20-23
By: Evan Drellich
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The Last of His Kind
- Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness
- By: Andy McCullough
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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More than any baseball player of his generation, Clayton Kershaw has embodied the burden of athletic greatness, the prizes and perils that await those who strive for it all. He is a three-time Cy Young award winner, the first pitcher to win National League MVP since Bob Gibson, and a surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Many of his peers consider him the greatest pitcher to ever climb atop a big-league mound.
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Last of his kind is one of a kind
- By Anonymous User on 01-28-25
By: Andy McCullough
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The Matheny Manifesto
- A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life
- By: Mike Matheny, Jerry B. Jenkins
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Mike Matheny was just 41, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results.
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If your a youth coach, get this book
- By Brady on 12-11-15
By: Mike Matheny, and others
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The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
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Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
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The Yankee Way
- The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era
- By: Andy Martino
- Narrated by: Andy Martino
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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With rare access to the inner sanctum of the New York Yankees, SNY analyst Andy Martino weaves two years of exclusive interviews with general manager Brian Cashman into a revelatory account of never-before-told stories about Derek Jeter, Aaron Judge, Alex Rodriguez, the complex front office, team ownership, and insights into the World Series wins and day-to-day running of the team that fans never get to see.
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Interesting listen.
- By Harly Davis on 03-20-25
By: Andy Martino
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The Last Folk Hero
- The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.
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If you are a sports fan and over 35 years old, you have to listen/read this. Awesome!
- By betty sammons on 06-29-23
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Try Not to Suck
- The Exceptional, Extraordinary Baseball Life of Joe Maddon
- By: Bill Chastain, Jesse Rogers, Ben Zobrist - foreword
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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With his irreverant personality, laid-back approach, and penchant for the unexpected, Joe Maddon is a singular presence among Major League Baseball managers. Whether he's bringing clowns and live bear cubs to spring training or leading the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in 108 years, Maddon is always one to watch. In Try Not to Suck, ESPN's Jesse Rogers and MLB.com's Bill Chastain fully explore Maddon's life and career, delving behind the scenes and dissecting that mystique which makes Maddon so popular with players and analysts alike.
By: Bill Chastain, and others
What listeners say about The Book of Joe
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- PB
- 04-05-24
Enjoyable listen of a baseball life lifer
Will always appreciate Joe for what he did with the Cubs. And I learned some things about leadership during that run and from the book.
I do think that the game changed and sometimes managers are limited by those changes, but I also think sometimes Joe failed to see a need for him to change. The style was perfect for a young Cubs team as he deflected lazy questions about past failures, but the group seemed to become entitled and overly confident in 2018. That wouldn’t have necessarily required a philosophy overhaul, but it needed adjusting.
The book is a good insight into his perspective. And he’ll be in the Hall of Fame, deservedly.
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- sosnows8
- 10-26-22
Interesting listen
I learned a lot about Maddon in the book. I found his story to be quite compelling. My only issue was some of the tangents made certain parts of the story hard to follow.
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- MNoyes
- 01-19-23
Good book, but not great as Joe.
As a Chicago cub and Tampa Bay rays fan, I really respect Joe and his approach to baseball. The book was very good, but I wish Joe read the audio. Also more of his in-game philosophy and less stories of managers in the past would have been better. All in all, a great read
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- Eric
- 12-29-22
Theo - YOU Suck
Great insight on so many levels. Baseball acumen has now doubled. Men and their egos, for shame - especially you Theo. Obtain exit interviews just to support your agenda. What a crap business. You get to go on with prestige. I knew it. I could feel it and I was right about you. I speak as a fan, not for JM. How do you ignore his 2nd half winning pct? You’re supposed to an analytical guy??
Many interesting tidbits here about significant events.
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- Bo
- 08-30-23
Excellent
This book does a great job of giving a fair and balanced take on not just the state of professional baseball, but the different angles coaches can take when coaching up their people/players.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-02-24
Long long ride to the Show
Excellent book my God Joe had to pay his dues along the way never gave up obviously in love with the game,of Baseball! Amazing insight on how analytics are now dominating the game, Nice to see a guy that paid his dues get rewarded in life! I think a high percentage of people would’ve gave up their dreams. Look for a steady better paycheck. I commend Joe .
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-21-23
Great book
Great insight into Joes back story and insight into managing a baseball team and how analytics can drive out tried and true baseball people.
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- Adam
- 10-15-23
A classic baseball persons book
Very good book that gives a deep dive into the life and Coaching Career of Joe Maddon. It’s interesting how Joe was an early adopter and pioneer of analytics and technology and how their evolution would later govern the game. Am a Joe Maddon fan and wish him the best. Baseball needs his voice and intuition.
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- Greg Mamula
- 01-07-23
Insider Baseball info and leadership manual
This is a great biography, mixed with baseball history, and insider take on the current manager and front office dynamics in many major league teams. Interspersed are the excellent leadership nuggets that can be applied beyond baseball. If you love baseball, appreciate Maddens unique coaching philosophies, and want a few take away for your personal leadership potential, this is the book for you.
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- Tug
- 06-21-23
Love this book.
Thanks Joe. Enjoyed reading this book to the finish. We go back to my Angels days on the early ‘90s when you were the epitome of positive. I’m only sorry I didn’t get to experience you as a manager. That said, GREAT JOB and GOOD LUCK. — Tug
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