|
Baseball books in a league of their own
They say that in spring a young person's thoughts turn to love, but for many it means something else. Baseball's back! And as the players are gearing up for the new season, fans can get back into the groove with any number of the new lineup of books on the national pastime. |
REVIEWS BY RON KAPLAN
For many aficionados, statistics are the lifeblood of their enjoyment, so the authors have included a section on how to calculate those batting percentages and earned run averages. And lest anyone forget that the pro game is not just played in the U.S. and Canada, Baseball For Dummies reminds us that there's a great big baseball world out there, and includes discussion on the sport as it's played in Asia, Australia, and South America. Morgan and Lally aren't shy about offering expert opinion as they select their ten greatest players, past, present, and future; they also choose the records they believe are least likely to be broken and the events that transformed the game. Readers may find these lists subjective, but such arguments are part of the fun, part of what being a fan is all about. The appendix offers a glossary of baseball terms, a plethora of records (always welcome by trivia buffs), and a list of contacts for information on just about every aspect of the game, from T-ball to senior leagues, from professional leagues to team Web sites.
By Joe Morgan and Richard Lally IDG, $19.95 ISBN 0764550853
Those who prefer watching the game from the comfort of their living rooms will find a new appreciation for television broadcasts as McCarver explains how the director puts the action together, what he looks for, and what is not seen on the screen.
By Tim McCarver with Danny Peary Villard, $23 ISBN 0375500855
By Lawrence Ritter and Mark Rucker Total Sports, $40 ISBN 0965694909
By Phil Pepe Ballantine, $25.95 ISBN 0345414977
Take his signature phrase. Viewed in a strictly baseball context, it's absolutely true. How often has a team been behind late in a game, only to come back from the brink of defeat? From a technical standpoint, it's accurate as well: a thing is not over until it is over. It's a phrase worthy of Candide. Surely there are other ballplayers, as well as us regular folk, who have made similar verbal gaffes, but somehow the amiable Mr. Berra is the leader of the pack. So whether you're a "dummy" or a "brain surgeon" when it comes to baseball, there's a book out there for whatever your special interest. Step up to the plate, dig in, and enjoy.
By Yogi Berra Workman, $7.95 ISBN 0761110909
Ron Kaplan, a freelance writer from Montclair, New Jersey, is working on a book about baseball during the Korean War.
edited by Kenneth Robson (Algonquin, $14.95, 1565121929)
by R.J. "Jack" Smalling (Baseball America, $14.95, 0963718959)
by Jim Prime and Bill Nowlin (Masters Press, $29.95, 1570281386)
by David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft (St. Martin's Griffin, $19.95, 0312181833)
by George Gmelch and J.J. Weiner (Smithsonian Institution Press, $21.95, 1560988762)
by Kirbe Higby with Martin Quigley (Bison Books, $11, 080327310X)
|
Those who aren't up on their game needn't feel embarrassed. Baseball For Dummies can bring even the most horsehide-impaired up to speed. (But there's plenty to entertain veteran fans as well.) Joe Morgan, a Hall of Fame second baseman, now an analyst for ESPN games, teams up with Richard Lally for this volume of everything you would want to know about baseball (but were too chagrined to ask). Want detailed instructions on how to play the game yourself? It's here. So is a study of each major league stadium, with suggestions on where to sit to maximize your chances of catching a foul ball.
Support your 
At the other end of fandom, there's Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro. McCarver, who appears on New York Mets and FOX telecasts, is another former star who has become one of the game's foremost commentators and analysts. Where Dummies spends more time on the rudiments of the game, McCarver and Peary delve deeper into strategy and nuance. This is perhaps the best book I've ever encountered to understand how a pitcher decides what to throw; what goes through a hitter's mind as he steps into the batter's box with the game on the line; how an outfielder positions himself; or how a speedy runner uses his savvy to know when not to steal a base. Readers will be nodding their heads and saying "Ahhh. So that's how (and why) they do that." McCarver offers plenty of examples and anecdotes drawn from nearly 40 years of experience. 
Once you're done dealing with the present, it's time to take a look at the game's glorious past. It has often been said that, more than any other sport, the history and tradition of baseball lends itself to the written word. And perhaps no one exemplifies those attributes more than Babe Ruth. Lawrence Ritter, author of the classic oral history The Glory of Their Times, and Mark Rucker, considered one of the games' greatest pictorial archivists, have assembled The Babe: The Game That Ruth Built. Through prose and pictures, this handsome volume marks the 50th anniversary of the Babe's passing. It's a sentimental look at the man who some say saved baseball in the wake of the 1919 world series gambling scandal and the dark days of the Depression. The photographs -- some rare, others familiar -- offer a glimpse of the Babe not only as the most legendary figure in sports, but also as a father, husband, and friend. Beloved by millions all over the world, the snapshots of Ruth in Japan, surrounded by adoring children, are evidence of this global homage.
For a fun look at the more recent past, there's Phil Pepe's Talkin' Baseball: An Oral History of Baseball in the 1970s. Through interviews with more than 60 former players, managers, and others associated with the game, Pepe recounts the events of a decade which saw some of the most enormous changes in the history of the game, including the advent of free agency and the designated hitter, a new home run king, and George Steinbrenner.
In the words of that great philosopher Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til it's over." So this article can't conclude without mentioning The Yogi Book. He wants to make one thing perfectly clear. Well, perhaps not perfectly, but he does want to address the misconceptions regarding many of the quotes attributed to him throughout his long and colorful career. Known as "Yogi-isms," many of these aphorisms have woven themselves into folklore stature. Yogi freely admits that some were simply syntactical errors, but if you look under the surface they make a lot of sense.