Bill Giles and Baseball

Listen to a podcast, featuring John Lord and Bill Giles discussing Bill Giles and Baseball at the Bergino Baseball Club, 14 November 2014.

Bill Giles oversaw one of the greatest eras of winning that the Philadelphia Phillies ever enjoyed and helped guide major league baseball through the most turbulent era in its history. In Bill Giles and Baseball, John Lord deftly chronicles Giles’ remarkable career—which includes 44 years with the Phillies—to provide an insider's view of the business of the sport. He addresses the often controversial, sometimes ill-advised, moves by baseball’s hierarchy that have nonetheless propelled the game to unimagined economic growth.

Based on fascinating and extensive interviews, Bill Giles and Baseball spans Giles’ extraordinary life in baseball, from his childhood growing up in the game to the tumultuous years he spent as the president and managing partner of the Phillies. Purchasing the team in 1981, just after baseball experienced its first serious labor stoppage, Giles watched baseball add franchises, grapple with the player’s union, realign the leagues, and restructure baseball’s postseason. Lord shows how Giles skillfully navigated these tumultuous events. But as the public face of the Phillies championship teams of 1980, 1983, and 1993, Giles is best remembered for his critical role in creating innovative television deals and for leading the efforts to build the Phillies’ beautiful new ballpark.

Bill Giles and Baseball offers a penetrating behind-the-scenes look at the business of baseball as seen through the eyes of one of the architects of the game. Lord showcases the unique perspective of Giles, who tried to advance both the game he loves and the baseball industry itself despite the controversies and conflict that baseball faced during his era.