Six Outs To Go, A Baseball Anthology is not so much a sports history as it is an informative, entertaining, fact-based narrative that brings to life characters and events which have defined Milwaukee’s baseball heritage since the late 19th Century. By way of research and first-hand accounts, author Doug Schmidt takes the reader on an anecdotal journey through 130 years of professional baseball in Milwaukee, starting with a litany of players and executives who put Brew City on the map during baseball’s formative decades. The story continues with the arrival of the Braves from Boston in 1953 and the hold they had on this writer as well as thousands of other fans, followed by a dissection of the Braves bolt from Milwaukee to Atlanta after just 13 years. Finally, Schmidt takes the reader behind the scenes through a series of unvarnished, and sometimes uncensored, clubhouse interviews accumulated during his 18 years of serving as a baseball correspondent at Milwaukee County Stadium for United Press International and the Associated Press from 1976 through 1994. The journey is augmented by photos and illustrations taken from Schmidt’s personal collection.

Hang on to your batting helmet, Grandma. Doug Schmidt is going to take us on a whirlwind excursion through Brew City’s baseball history, from Bill Veeck’s three-toed outfielder to a one-legged manager who kicked Milwaukee baseball back into high gear. Along the way, we are guaranteed to smile, laugh, and maybe even shed a tear or two. -Bob Buege, author of The Milwaukee Braves: A Baseball Eulogy and Borchert Field