Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three—Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito
"From the speedy rise of the Big Three to their stunning breakup, Urban's book says it all." - John Shea, National baseball Writer, San Francisco Chronicle
During the 2004 season, each of Oakland's Big Three aces had something to prove. Tim Hudson was determined to demonstrate his recovery from a recurring injury. Barry Zito had to show the world that after a ho-hum 2003, his 2002 Cy Young Award was not a fluke. Mark Mulder missed the 203 playoffs entirely with a stress fracture, but the way he saw it, he simply needed to be himself-the natural-born pitcher.
Given unprecedented access to the Big Three , Mychael Urban recreates their tumultuous season through their eyes. he explores the nuts and bolts of major league pitching, examining each player's unique approach to this craft while revealing how three very different personalities cope with the demands, rewards, and challenges of sports stardom.
Now with a new afterword on the 2005 season
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Book details
- Author
- Mychael Urban
- Imprint
- Trade Paper Press, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 320
- Formats
- Hardcover, Paperback
- Subjects
- Sports & Recreation › Baseball › Essays & Writings
- Topics
- baseball · Oakland Athletics · MLB pitching · behind the scenes · 2004 season
- ISBN-13
- 9780471675020 (Hardcover)9780471763161 (Paperback)
About the author
MYCHAEL URBAN was a San Francisco Chronicle bestselling sportswriter and the author of Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A’s Big Three—Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito.
Urban graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in journalism and spent more than two decades covering baseball, including eight years at various newspapers before joining MLB.com in 2001 as a traveling beat writer for the Oakland A’s. His work also appeared at the San Francisco Examiner, NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR, 95.7 The Game, The Athletic, and ESPN, and he contributed to five Olympic Games for NBC.
Urban was born in San Francisco on August 23, 1968, and died on August 23, 2023, his 55th birthday.