Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks | 
 enlarge | Author: Zack Hample
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.94
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Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 3020
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0307280322
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357
EAN: 9780307280329
ASIN: 0307280322
Publication Date: March 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling books online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080516225610T
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Product Description
Whether you’re a major league couch potato, life-long season ticket-holder, or teaching game to a beginner, Watching Baseball Smarter leaves no territory uncovered. In this smart and funny fan’s guide Hample explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will surprise even the most informed viewers of our national pastime.
What is the difference between a slider and a curveball?
At which stadium did “The Wave” first make an appearance?
How do some hitters use iPods to improve their skills?
Which positions are never played by lefties?
Why do some players urinate on their hands?
Combining the narrative voice and attitude of Michael Lewis with the compulsive brilliance of Schott’s Miscellany, Watching Baseball Smarter will increase your understanding and enjoyment of the sport–no matter what your level of expertise.
Zack Hample is an obsessed fan and a regular writer for minorleaguebaseball.com. He's collected nearly 3,000 baseballs from major league games and has appeared on dozens of TV and radio shows. His first book, How to Snag Major League Baseballs, was published in 1999.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 Great for beginners, less for semi-experts March 27, 2008
I enjoyed this book, especially the glossary of baseball lingo. I think I'll keep this book near the TV when I listen to the "color commentator" spew all that meaningless baseball jargon! Some parts of the book were helpful, but a lot was fairly obvious if you've spent much time watching games or playing Little League. Still, the author includes some fun little-known facts...and I *think* I finally understand the infield fly rule! But don't quiz me on it.
 Take me out to the ballgame March 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Football may have the hard-hitting action and basketball may have the slam-dunk feats, but baseball has character. In what other sport are the fans supposed to all stand in the middle of a game and sing a song? Furthermore, while basketball, football, hockey and soccer are all essentially different versions of the same game (pushing a puck or ball into the goal defended by the opposition), baseball has no real parallel (except maybe cricket, which is at most a minor sport in the U.S.). And, of course, unlike almost any other sport, there are no real time or point constraints to baseball; you're always in the game until the last out.
The unique elements of baseball can be off-putting to fans of other sports, who may find the subtleties of the game to be slow or boring. But as Zack Hample illustrates in his book Watching Baseball Smarter, there is a lot more going on than is readily apparent. Designed for the casual baseball fan, Hample offers insights into the sport that may escape most people (though the more die-hard fan will know much of what he describes).
After a review of some of the basics of the game, Hample has sections dedicated to the four major components of the game: pitching (and catching); hitting, base running and fielding. He then has chapters on stadiums, umpires, statistics and "random stuff". If you want to know the difference between a cut fastball, a four-seamer and a two-seamer, Hample provides the information in the pitching chapter. If you want to know why left-handed catchers are so rare, look in the fielding chapter.
For the avid fan, an error or two may be noted. For example, in the section on umpires, it is noted that the catcher can appeal to the first or third base umpire on a check swing; actually, he appeals to the home plate umpire, who can seek the appropriate umpires opinion. Any other errors also seem to be on such subtle issues, so it really isn't a major issue. In general, this is a fun book for baseball fans, filled with the slang and historical perspective that gives the sport its personality. If you enjoy baseball, you should read this book.
For deeply serious geeks... January 18, 2008
I purchased this book for my husband who happens to be a deeply serious baseball geek. He's not much of a reader so I wasn't sure if the book would keep him enthralled enough to keep reading it. Much to my surprise he's yet to put the book down. The two of them have been inseparable since Christmas. I figure if it can keep his interest it most certainly will keep the interest of other baseball fans wanting to learn the sport. For this reason I highly recommend the book.
Informative, easy & enjoyable to read January 15, 2008
Zack Hample wrote this book in an easy-to-understand and pleasant writing style. His writing style is conversational and you almost feel as if he is there in person talking to you. He provides an extensive glossary near the back and words that are in the glossary are italicized when they're used in the body of the book. The book provides a lot of insight into professional baseball and is really useful for someone who is not an aficionado. It helped me enjoy the game more by understanding strategy and understanding baseball jargon. Hample also provides some history of the game and of the league as a tool for helping the reader understand why certain rules or strategies exist. A book on a subject like baseball could easily be written in a dry style; this book is anything but dry. I enjoyed reading it.
Table of content for this book:
Ch. 1, The Basics
Covers the draft, how players get into the Major League, How the League is organized, spring training, regular season, post season.
Ch 2, Pitchers and Catchers
Covers the signs they use, the different types of pitches (with diagrams), pitching strategy, what's really going on during time-outs at the mound.
Ch. 3, Hitting
Covers how the lineup is determined, fundamentals, stances, recognizing pitches, hitting strategy, and more.
Ch. 4 Baserunning
Covers the rules, strategy, signs, base-stealing,the various types of slides, signs given by coaches to runners, duties of the first base coach.
Ch. 5 Fielding
Covers the various types of defensive alignments (and why), why you'll probably never see a left-handed catcher, types of ball bounces and how the player responds to each, field positions and the skills needed to play each, and more.
Ch. 6 Stadiums
Covers the challenges of playing in various well-known stadiums.
Ch. 7 Umpires
How umpires get to be umpires, what life is like for an umpire, meaning of gestures used by umpires, why umpires work in fours, why the ump places a hand on the back of the catcher, why the ump puts mud on the balls, why the ump goes with the trainer when the trainer goes to the mound to talk to the pitcher, and lots more.
Ch. 8 Statistics
Lists baseball stats, gives formulas for how the stats are determined, and explains how they are used. (This chapter could have been dry, but was not. It was as fun to read as the rest of the book).
Ch. 9 Random Stuff to Know
Why the players grab and adjust their crotches, why the letter K represents a strike in scoring, how baseball began using numbers on the uniforms (and negative reaction to it), unwritten rules, controversies, and more.
Ch 10 Random Stuff to Notice
A few pages of odds and ends; some of it interesting and some of it mundane.
Glossary: Baseball Slang
42 pages of terms with definitions
Appendix A: More Statistics
Baseball stats with their abbreviations, the record holders, and informative commentaries.
Appendix B: Uniform Numbers
Shown in order by number, provides list of famous players who wore the numbers 1 - 55.
 not for the enthusiast January 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'd give this book to a girlfriend or anyone who wants to understand the game. It's on par with Baseball for Dummies. Not much new for the real fan. Disappointing.
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