Case Study: Going Extra Innings at the City of Hope National Medical Center

(Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2020)

Former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Fred Claire’s cancer diagnosis came out of left field, but at the City of Hope, he found the dream team to help him beat it.

A baseball legend
The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series. The last time the Dodgers won the Fall Classic was back in 1988, with an overachieving team assembled by former sportswriter-turned-baseball-executive Fred Claire.

Fred Claire
Fred Claire continued his tenure with the Dodgers until 1997, when he stepped away from the game he loved and started a glorious retirement filled with friends, family, staying active, and playing a lot of golf. But in January 2015, Claire received bad news: the supposedly harmless spot on his lip was instead squamous cell carcinoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer.

That’s when Claire entrusted his care, treatment, and life to the doctors and nurses at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. After some highs and lows, Claire is now in recovery and attributes his good health to the amazing team at City of Hope and the support of his friends and family.

Telling a story of hope in the fight against cancer
Claire was so moved by the care and treatment he received that he wanted to let the world know about the groundbreaking work happening at City of Hope. It occurred to him a book would be a great way to talk about his cancer journey to inspire others and give CoH a platform to talk about its approach. CoH was on board; it would provide support for the project and make the doctors and nurses who helped Claire available for interviews.

Claire approached our parent company, Mascot Books, about his idea and we were on board. It was an inspiring story with a worthy cause. And to help kick things off, we connected Claire with Tim Madigan, a respected author and journalist who has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Politico, Reader’s Digest, and, for thirty years, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Together, we took two trips to the City of Hope to see for ourselves the exceptional care and innovation happening beyond its doors.

Our goals?
1. Partner with Claire, City of Hope, and Tim Madigan to produce Extra Innings: Fred Claire’s Journey to City of Hope and Finding a World Championship Team
2. Highlight the innovative treatment occurring at City of Hope
3. Raise awareness for City of Hope through both baseball- and cancer-related media hits

Madigan got to work writing the book and telling Fred Claire’s and City of Hope’s unique stories and how they came together. From its origins as a treatment center for homeless tuberculosis victims in the 1910s, CoH has become not only a leader in diabetes treatment and bone marrow and stem cell transplantation but also a leader in cancer research and treatment. Madigan captured CoH’s humanity, its combination of science and compassion, and its excellent health care professionals. One reviewer on Amazon stated, “Tim Madigan has woven [baseball and CoH] together in a masterful story that will make your soul happy.”

Extra Innings gave City of Hope the opportunity to spread the knowledge of its research and treatments far and wide. Its innovations in chemotherapy, radiation, experimental surgery, and immunotherapy all put it on par with its peers, like the Mayo Clinic. By partnering with Claire on Extra Innings, CoH advances its name and saves more lives.

People remember Fred Claire well. In the Daily Bulletin, Fred Claire’s story ran in two articles, the first titled “Writing sports in Pomona led Fred Claire to Dodgers (and World Series)” which retold his journey to becoming Dodgers general manager. In the second, “Readers haven’t forgotten Fred Claire, the Pomona sportswriter who became a Dodgers exec,” newspaper readers share their memories of Claire during the 1980s. Claire also appeared on the podcast SABRcast with Rob Neyer in May 2020 to talk about his baseball career and journey to City of Hope. Also, a review of Extra Innings is currently in the works with the magazine Baseball America.

Extra Innings drew attention because of its cancer subject matter, as well. Not only did City of Hope write an article about Claire and the book on its website (“Fred Claire: Former Dodgers GM Chronicles Cancer Journey In New Book”), but he was also interviewed by Ed Hart on From the Hart, a podcast that tells inspiring stories. Claire has an upcoming appearance on Thrive Podcast, a podcast about fighting cancer and moving forward with life, as well.

Keep on swinging
Fred Claire has had his ups and downs, but his recovery is going very well. And with the Los Angeles Dodgers contending to win the World Series again, he’s spending his free time rooting for them to repeat that victory for the first time since his team did.

All proceeds from Extra Innings go to the City of Hope National Medical Center.

Back to Blog

The Big Ideas Coming Your Way in 2020

(Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020)

Thought leaders. Influencers. Disrupters.

How we label them doesn’t matter. It’s the ideas that matter. And our Amplify authors have the kind of big ideas that will change minds, shift perspectives, and—at the very least—make us stop and think this year. (Something we can all agree we need more of.)

Contract to Unite America: Ten Reforms to Reclaim Our Republic
Available February 18.
As an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018, Neal Simon witnessed the destructive nature of modern American politics. He experienced firsthand the perverse incentives that push candidates and lawmakers to ideological extremes. He watched as party leaders resisted pragmatic solutions to our nation’s problems. He saw politicians prioritize loyalty to their party bases over progress for the American people.

In this comprehensive analysis of United States politics, Simon shows how degradations in party primaries, campaign finances, and election rules have caused American self-government to collapse into gridlock and divisiveness. However, the American promise is so much greater. As the first U.S. President, George Washington, noted in his famed address, “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”

Capitalizing on personal insight derived from Simon’s political campaign along with extensive research, Contract to Unite America provides specific, practical solutions for an improved government and a better tomorrow.

Invisible Solutions: 25 Lenses that Reframe and Help Solve Difficult Business Problems
Available March 3.
Unprecedented access to infinite solutions has led us to realize that having all of the answers is not the answer. From innovation teams to creativity experts to crowdsourcing, we’ve turned from one source to another, spending endless cycles pursuing piecemeal solutions to each challenge we face.

What if your organization had an effective and systematic approach to deal with any problem? To find better solutions, you need to first ask better questions. The questions you ask determine which solutions you’ll see and which will remain hidden.

Stephen M. Shapiro’s compact yet powerful book contains the formulas to reframe any problem multiple ways, using 25 lenses to help you gain different perspectives. With visual examples and guidance, it contains everything you need to master any challenge and will help you discover why we are hardwired to ask ineffective questions; learn to work through those barriers; understand the power and importance of well-defined questions; reframe any problem multiple ways to find the optimal solution; and move from idea-based innovation to question-based innovation that drives higher ROI.

Apply just one of the lenses and you will quickly discover better solutions. Apply all of them and you will be able to solve any problem—in business and in life.

The Conscious Marketer: Inspiring a Deeper and More Conscious Brand Experience
Available in April
The parameters of what constitutes successful marketing are shifting. In today’s increasingly competitive, global marketplace it is essential for companies and brands to not only understand what consumers are buying, but why they are making those purchases. That is where The Conscious Marketer comes in.

It’s one thing to be conscious, but it’s something else entirely to do something impactful with that consciousness. In this expansive guide, Jim Joseph breaks down the ways the marketing industry is changing to meet the needs of a more conscious, engaged consumer, and how those within the marketing industry can adapt to meet those expectations.

The Conscious Marketer provides readers with the tools to navigate the ever-changing landscape of effective marketing and branding, explaining how to market empathetically, actively, and with intent.

Our Future: The Basic Income Plan for Peace, Justice, Liberty, and Personal Dignity
Available in April
Politicians promise to bring us together, seek the center, and reach common ground, yet our government is broken and paralyzed by partisan conflicts. Americans have been in need of a plan to unite the country and renew the vision and values of our founders, and it’s finally here in Our Future.

In this conversational and thought provoking book, basic income expert Steven Shafarman presents a comprehensive history of related ideas—as well as offers a solutions-based compelling vision—with basic income as the key. It’s a concept millions of us currently support, with liberal Democrats endorsing it as a solid floor to replace the tattered social safety net, and conservative Republicans as a way to cut and simplify government. The core of Shafarman’s plan takes the best of both, updating proposals form moderate politicians and leading economists.

Our Future holds the blueprint to successful years ahead, to acting together as We the People and making history.

Pivot & Go: The 29 Day Mindset Blueprint to Redefine and Achieve YOUR Success

Available in June
Most of us run on an endless string of vague goals, should-haves, and “tomorrows”, with true, empowering change always just out of reach. Most of us feel stuck in a pattern or are unknowingly trapped in our day-to-day routine, without the proper tools to break the mold and live our best lives every single day. David Nurse, a renowned optimization and life coach of more than 100 NBA players and CEOs, knows it doesn’t have to be that way, and a powerful shift in perspective is the answer.

Pivot & Go is a compelling, hands-on blueprint to changing course and leading the life you want to live—today. In this energizing, adventurous, and actionable guide, David outlines a clear 29-day plan; not to living the life, but to living your absolute best life. His key is to make mindful mindset pivots, ones that allow you to shift your perspective by incremental, but profoundly powerful, degrees. Focusing on success, failure, passion, joy, and confidence, Pivot & Go is here to help you find your genuine rhythm—one that will carry you through each chapter of life with the energy and ability to make the most of every day.

Punctuated with stories from his own journey to leading a full and rewarding lifestyle, as well as featuring never-before-told stories of triumph from some of the top NBA athletes in the world, David has delivered a book like none other. Not only will it give you the power to change your life, it will give you the strength to do so. Get ready to banish negative thoughts, live to the max, and become energized and ready to tackle each and every day.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for updates on all Amplify Publishing books and publishing industry insights.

Back to Blog