Ernest Thayer's classic tale of baseball hopes and dreams comes to life like never before with LeRoy Neiman's lush, meticulously detailed charcoal drawings and an original introduction by Yankees manager Joe Torre, considered by many to be the greatest baseball manager of all time. These illustrations -- a rare departure from the vibrantly colored paintings that made LeRoy Neiman famous -- evoke Mudville's beloved Casey in images that are muscular, immediate, and unmistakably American.