Baseball Books Sampling
Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks  by Zack Hample (Paperback - March 27, 2007).
A former college shortstop, four-time attendee of Bucky Dent's Baseball School and an obsessive baseball collector, Hample covers basics like what to watch for in pitchers, catchers, hitters, fielders and base runners; he also provides answers to such nagging questions as why spectators stretch in the seventh inning and why most ballplayers grab their crotches. He explains the difference between a change-up and a split-finger fastball, breaks down a box score and offers an extensive glossary of baseball slang that defines both a "courtesy trot" and a "dying quail." Other sections address free agency and fair balls, umpires and uniform numbers, stadiums and superstitions. Trivia abounds, including the names of the 10 switch hitters honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a record of inside-the-park homeruns. Hample hits the equivalent of a reference-book homerun with his witty, loose and readable style-taking a friendly for-a-fan-by-a-fan approach that doesn't hide his enormous depth of knowledge. Highly recommended for baseball watchers, Hample also schools amateur players and coaches with well-illustrated examples of some complex pitching, hitting and base-running scenarios.
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Sports Illustrated: The Baseball Book by Editors of Sports Illustrated (Hardcover - October 17, 2006).
Continuing in the tradition of Sports Illustrateds 50th Anniversary Book and The Football Book comes a spectacular celebration of baseball that will be treasured by fans of the National Pastime.With the same kind of unforgettable photographs and award-winning writing that propelled The Football Book to surpass the sales of the 50th Anniversary Book, a New York Times best-seller, this lavish coffee-table volume brings to life the legendary players, the classic action and the great traditions of the Summer Game.In 294 oversized pages, The Baseball Book commemorates the epic teams and characters, the crucial plays and classic games, the personalities and performances and artifacts that have kept baseball at the heart of American sports for more than a century.
The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance by H A Dorfman (Paperback - July 25, 2002).
In this book, authors H.A. Dorfman and Karl Kuehl present their practical and proven strategy for developing the mental skills needed to achieve peak performance at every level of the game.
Baseball DVD Sampling
Baseball - A Film By Ken Burns by Ken Burns (DVD - September 28, 2004).
Ken Burns's Baseball works magnificently on DVD, if only for the reason that scene selection in such a massive documentary is essential for viewing and re-viewing your favorite sections. The DVD menus are purely functional, and the timelines and baseball stats will appeal primarily to diehard fans of the game. Clicking on the PBS logo will take you to the stats and bios of players, although the bios are minimal. Each of the first nine discs contains these as well as trivia questions. Get the question right, move on to the next question. Get it wrong and a snippet of the documentary plays, showing you the correct answer. The real appeal of the DVD set (other than, of course, the fabulous documentary itself) is the 10th, "extra inning" disc. This final disc contains the documentary The Making of Baseball, as well as team info (which, again, is pretty basic) and episodes of Charlie Rose's talk show, in which he interviews Ken Burns, Bob Gibson, Yogi Berra, Bob Costas, and Rachel Robinson (the widow of Jackie Robinson). --Jenny Brown
When It Was a Game - Triple Play Collection (DVD - May 1, 2001).
This HBO documentary is based on a highly original idea: tell the story of baseball from the Great Depression era through the late 1950s using footage from home-movie cameras shot by fans and players. The result is a marvelous look at baseball in America as seen from the ground--the culture of stadiums, the ritual of afternoon games, the spiritually sustaining rivalries. Among the truly unexpected sights is color footage of the 1938 World Series, not only from inside the stadium walls but from the street as traffic cops, crowds, and vehicles amassed. It also covers World War II's impact on the game, and, of course, the heroes, often caught in relaxed, unselfconscious moments.
Arguably more defined and even more lyrical than its predecessor, When It Was a Game 2 moves from a general celebration of baseball culture in America to a specific focus on various facets of the game's history, including the special relationship between game announcers and fans and the farm-team system during the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Brooklyn's assimilation of the Dodgers into their community identity is covered quite winningly as is the heartbreak of the team's desertion to California. Last, the film takes us on a tour of some of the game's legends and presents a touching tribute to the extraordinary Babe Ruth. --Tom Keogh
When It Was a Game 3 focuses on the 1960s, a time of change for all of America. Through sharp, incredibly clear color footage of players and fans, the film shows how Major League Baseball slowly but surely evolved from pure sport to moneymaking entertainment. Covering the mighty Yankees, the western expansion of both leagues, the increasing inclusion of black players, and the rise of free agency and increased salaries, the film shows the growth of baseball from adolescence to adulthood. --Rob Lightner
Mr. Baseball by Fred Schepisi (DVD - July 1, 2003).
Tom Selleck stars in this hilarious comedy about a veteran major leaguer who attempts to revive his fading career by signing to play in Japan.
Aging superstar Jack Elliot (Selleck) just isn t hitting them like he used to. In fact, the only pro ball club willing to sign him is the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan. Cultures clash immediately when Jack hits town and proceeds to alienate everyone with his arrogance. But through the friendship of teammate Max Hammer Dubois (Dennis Haysbert, Far From Heaven) and the love of the team s beautiful translator, Jack finds a way to fit in and win in this heartwarming, action-packed comedy from director Fred Schepisi.
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