In Past Time, Tygiel gives us a seat behind home plate, where we see the fascinating interplay of American society and its national game. We begin in New York in the 1850s, where the newspapers promoted "town ball" to quash the popularity of cricket among British immigrants. We are present at the true birth of modern baseball with the development of its elaborate statistics -- the brainchild of Victorian Englishman, Henry Chadwick. Chadwick, Tygiel writes, created the sport's "historical essence" and even imparted a moral dimension to the game with his concept of "errors" and "unearned" runs. Tygiel offers equally insightful looks at the Progressive era and the formation of the upstart American League and he describes the moving struggle to establish the Negro Leagues. He also examines baseball during the Great Depression (revealing how Branch Rickey and Larry MacPhail saved the game with the inventions of the farm system and night baseball), the rapid relocation of franchises that began in the 1950s, and the emergence of rotisserie leagues and fantasy baseball camps in the 1980s.

In Past Time, Jules Tygiel provides baseball history with a difference. Instead of a pitch-by-pitch account of great games, in this groundbreaking book, the field is American history and baseball itself is the star.