Brushbacks. Beanballs. Charging the mound. Collisions at the plate. Bench-clearing brawls. The Code: Baseball's Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your Own-Risk Code of Conduct by Ross Bernstein takes you in-depth and behind the scenes to explore the history of baseball's unspoken expectations of the players, managers and umpires.

More than 50 MLB players, managers and media personalities were interviewed to examine how players go about their business on the field of play. They explain why various "rules" are expected among players and what tactics are used during games.

The Code: Baseball's Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your Own-Risk Code of Conduct discusses the top controversies on the diamond, including:

• Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura's infamous brwal
• Roberto Alomar spitting on umpire John Hirschbeck
• Kirby Puckett being beaned by Dennis Martinez
• Pete Rose's infamous home-plate collision with Ray Fosse
• Ben Davis bunting to end Curt Schilling's perfect game
• White Sox fans attacking umpire Tom Gamboa

In addition to analyzing the reasons for controversial actions in baseball, Bernstein elaborates further by covering the unspoken code of players, managers and even the fans. Top players from the past and present discuss their experiences on how baseball players police themselves, including Rob Dibble, Jack Morris, Torii Hunter and many more.

The Code: Baseball's Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your Own-Risk Code of Conduct brings together the most memorable violations of the code in baseball history. No other book ever written goes behind the scenes of America's Pastime the way The Code offers the casual or diehard fan.

In The Code, author Ross Bernstein has pulled back the curtain on baseball's tacit rules regarding retaliation, sportsmanship, and intimidation. The result of dozens of interviews with some of the biggest names in the game, The Code is a systematic description of every major "unwritten rule" in the game today — from brushback pitches, bunting during a no-hitter, and running up the score, to home-run celebrations, stealing signs, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Ross Bernstein is the best-selling author of 40 sports books and has appeared on more than a thousand local and national television and radio programs. His work has been featured on CNN, ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. As a sought-after motivational speaker, he speaks to corporations and groups across the country about the inspirational legacy of the late Herb Brooks, Hall of Fame coach of the fabled 1980 gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" hockey team. Ross and his wife, Sara, have a five-year-old daughter and presently reside in Eagan, Minnesota.