Stepping Up is the first-ever biography of Curt Flood, the All-Star with a conscience who stood up to Major League Baseball.

As a .300 hitter, a Gold Glove centerfielder, and a team-first guy, Flood was a fixture for the championship Cardinals teams of the 1960s. He had survived a hard road to stardom and was a hero in St. Louis. He had given his heart and soul to the city, and had made a life there.

Then, suddenly, in 1969, Flood was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He was crushed. But instead of accepting the trade as generations of players before him had done, he shocked baseball by suing the sport over its unfair reserve system, which gave players no say over where they played. Flood’s courageous case went to the Supreme Court and paved the way for free agency, a major advance in players’ rights that changed the face of the game forever.

About the Author:

Alex Belth lives in the Bronx, New York. He is a columnist for SportsIllustrated.com and the host of Bronx Banter, a Yankees-obsessed blog. Previously, he worked in the postproduction end of the movie industry for such filmmakers as Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers. Stepping Up is his first book.