Rick Wolff (writer)
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- For the economist, see Richard D. Wolff.
Richard Wolff - a Harvard and Long Island University graduate - is a former minor league baseball second baseman, coach, author and sports psychologist.
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[edit] Playing career
He was originally drafted as a second baseman by the Detroit Tigers in the 33rd round of the 1972 amateur draft. In 1973, he played for the Anderson Tigers, posting a batting average of .246 with one home run and 26 runs batted in in 86 games, drawing a lot of walks. With the Clinton Pilots in 1974, he batted .229 with one home run and 25 RBI in 110 games, with a .932 fielding percentage.
[edit] Coaching career
From 1978-1985, Wolff coached the baseball team at Mercy College.
Wolff found himself on the Cleveland Indians coaching staff from 1990 to 1994, where he dealt with baseball psychology.
[edit] After baseball
After his baseball career, he became a writer, among other things.
Writing an article for Sports Illustrated about the minor leagues, Wolff got the chance to fill in for Cesar Bernhardt of the South Bend White Sox for a three-game series against the Burlington Braves during the 1989 season. He went 4 for 7 at the plate, driving in three runs and hitting a double. His average-.571-was the highest among all players in the Chicago White Sox chain that year. Because he played for three games during the season, he also got a championship ring when the South Bend White Sox got to the playoffs.
When compared to Roy Hobbs, the fictional ballplayer, Wolff said, "I don't think Roy Hobbs felt as bad as I did the next morning."
Nowadays, Wolff is considered an authority on children's sports and sports psychology, and he is the chairman of the Center for Sports Parenting. He has also hosted The Sports Edge on WFAN Radio in New York City. In 1997, he co-hosted a videotape program called Youth Sports with quarterback Steve Young.
Wolff is currently an assistant general manager of the Stamford Robins, a team in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League.
[edit] List of books authored
- Good Sports: A Concerned Parent's Guide to Little League and Other Competitive Youth Sports
- Coaching Kids for Dummies
- Game Day Baseball: The Player's Companion
- What's a Nice Harvard Boy Like You Doing in the Bushes?
- Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience for Your Kids in Any Sport (co-authored with Cal Ripken, Jr.)
- Playing Better Baseball
- Golf Dirty Tricks (co authored by Jim Becker, Andy Mayer and Barrie Maguire)
- Ted Williams (Baseball Legends)
- Sports Parenting (Training Camp Guide to)
- Brooks Robinson (Baseball Legends)
- Sports Parenting Edge
- A Thing or Two About Soccer (co authored with Michael Teitelbaum and James Buckley)
- A Thing Or Two About Baseball (co authored with David Fischer)
- A Thing of Two about Golf (co authored with Larry Dennis and James Irwin)
- Life for Real Dummies: Life for the Totally Clueless (For Dummies Series) (co authored with Richard Sandomir)
- Sports Illustrated: A Parody Issue
- Breaking Into the Big Leagues (co authored with Al Goldis)
- Baseball...a Laughing Matter! (co authored with Warner Fusselle, Brian Zevnik, Bill Wilson)
- The Psychology of Winning Baseball: A Coach's Handbook
- The Sports Parenting Edge: The Winning Game Plan for Every Athlete--From T-Ball to College Recruiting
