Synopses & Reviews
If baseball is America's national pastime, surely our national genius is in tinkering: taking things apart to see how they are put together and how they work. The Way Baseball Works combines these two expressions of Yankee (to say nothing of Dodger) ingenuity to break the game down into its component parts and examine it through text, charts, computer-generated illustrations, and photos.
The Way Baseball Works explores:
x The development and design of equipment, from the construction of a baseball to the evolution of the glove
x The science of the game -- pitching grips and trajectories, the physics of fielding, and the reason why, as Ted Williams said, "hitting a baseball is the hardest thing in sports"
x The geometry of a ballpark, and why baseball, virtually alone among team sports, is a different game depending upon the park in which it is played.
x The game as it is played at its highest level: in the head. How managers decide when to hit-and-run and when to sacrifice, how players make the split-second decisions that spell the difference between hitting .250 and .310...the difference between victory and defeat
x The organization of baseball at all levels, including introductions to the dramatis personae of a baseball game -- not just players, but grounds-keepers, umpires, scorers, and trainers, all part of the ceremony and history of this most American of games.
The Way Baseball Works, featuring an introduction and dozens of comments by ex-major leaguer and present-day broadcaster and analyst Tim McCarver, and published with the full cooperation of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, is the ultimate treasure for baseball fans.
Synopsis
If baseball is America's national pastime, surely our national genius is in tinkering: taking things apart to see how they are put together and how they work.
The Way Baseball Works combines these two expressions of Yankee (to say nothing of Dodger) ingenuity to break the game down into its component parts and examine it through text, charts, computer-generated illustrations, and photos.
The Way Baseball Works explores:
* The development and design of equipment, from the construction of a baseball to the evolution of the glove
* The science of the game -- pitching grips and trajectories, the physics of fielding, and the reason why, as Ted Williams said, "hitting a baseball is the hardest thing in sports"
* The geometry of a ballpark, and why baseball, virtually alone among team sports, is a different game depending upon the park in which it is played.
* The game as it is played at its highest level: in the head. How managers decide when to hit-and-run and when to sacrifice, how players make the split-second decisions that spell the difference between hitting .250 and .310...the difference between victory and defeat
* The organization of baseball at all levels, including introductions to the dramatis personae of a baseball game -- not just players, but grounds-keepers, umpires, scorers, and trainers, all part of the ceremony and history of this most American of games.
The Way Baseball Works, featuring an introduction and dozens of comments by ex-major leaguer and present-day broadcaster and analyst Tim McCarver, and published with the full cooperation of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, is the ultimate treasure for baseball fans.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 208) and index.
About the Author
Dan Gutman is the author of numerous books about baseball, including It Ain't Cheatin' If You Don't Get Caught, Baseball Babylon, Baseball's Biggest Bloopers, World Series Classics, Baseball's Greatest Games, and Banana Bats and Ding-Dong Balls. He lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey, with his wife, Nina, and his children, Sam and Emma.
Table of Contents
Contents Introduction by Tim McCarver
Chapter 1 Equipment
Making a Baseball
Inside the Bat Factory
The Evolution of the Glove
Uniforms
Protective Equipment
Innovators
Chapter 2 The Science of Baseball
Pitching Grips
Pitching Deliveries
Trajectories
Spin Doctors
Hitting Gurus
The Physics of Fielding
The Ultimate Ballplayer
Chapter 3 Playing the Game
The Strike Zone
Running the Bases
Going by the Book
Managing
Platooning
Defensive Alignments
Head Games
Bending the Rules
Chapter 4 The Ballpark
Bucolic Ballparks
Concrete & Steel
Park Effects
Artificial Turf
Cookie Cutters & Throwbacks
Groundskeeping
Scoreboards
Chapter 5 The Structure of Baseball
The Making of Ballplayer
Scouting
The Minor Leagues
Baseball's Hierarchy
Trades
Statistics Spring Training
On the Road
Chapter 6 Behind the Scenes
The Press
Broadcasters
Familiar Figures
Fans
Index