Where Legends Begin
Follow Jean Fruth as she tells the stories of Grassroots Baseball through her images.
Jean Fruth’s first book, Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin
The book that started it all!
On sale now! The first book in the Grassroots Baseball series, that spawned 2022’s Grassroots Baseball: Route 66 and 2024’s See Her Be Her.
In Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, photographer Jean Fruth features more than 250 of the best images from all levels of the amateur game in the US as well as several hotbeds of baseball around the world.
Each chapter opens with a portrait of a baseball legend and a first-person essay recounting his early memories of playing the game. Some of the stars highlighted in this full-color book include Whitey Ford, Vladimir Guerrero, Hank Aaron, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Ichiro Suzuki.
The pages that follow in each chapter document the game from sandlots to big-time ballparks, and at every level of organized baseball, giving readers a window into how these legends’ careers began. With an introduction by Cal Ripken, Jr., a foreword by Steve Wulf, and an afterword by Johnny Bench, this book makes the perfect gift for baseball fans of all teams.