Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks

This book does exactly what is promises - it greatly enhances the act of viewing baseball on TV. Not only can you read it from beginning to end to gain a step-by-step understanding of "why", but you can also use the glossary at will for the "what". Every time some ex-player commentator throws out a term like "squibber", you can just flip to "s" and get a simple explanation. Zach Hample writes with a great respect for the game, but also the insight into the casual viewer's mind. He is entertaining and educational all at once. It's an excellent book for you or as a gift - anyone who wants to know more about baseball, no matter how much they think they already know.

I strongly disagree with the reviewer that says that there is not much here that has not been said elsewhere. While I am new to baseball, at the age of 55 vastly more familiar with soccer, football, and basketball, my youngest son loves the game, and I have spent time looking for the perfect book that can both help him see the nuances, and help me follow the game.

This book is nothing less than extraordinary. It would be a superb gift for any high school or college student who loves the game, and for any parent or grandparent new to the game. Personally I think it has a great deal of information that those who consider themselves avid fans have NOT noticed, but you can decide that better than I.

Here are some of the nuggets in this book, which is the tactical complement to the strategic companion by another author, "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." The two books together constitute an instant reference library from any baseball affecionado.

1) 1 in 100,000 make it to major leagues from among those who strive to get there.

2) Going to college is a superb way to perfect your skills and shorten the time to selection for minor leagues--a tiny handfull get to go straight to the majors.

3) Five tool players can field well, throw hard (and accurately), run fast, hit home runs, and hit a high batting average.

4) Any major leaguer, however "bad" they might appear on a given day, is the best of the best and has spent a lifetime getting there.

5) Awesome concise clear description of the many kinds of balls that a pitcher can throw to a batter.

6) Runner on second can see catcher's signals and signal to the hitter more often than not. I had no idea.

7) When bases are loaded, a fast ball is more likely, hit to it and improve your batting average.

8) Amazing list of all the *many* reasons a coach might walk out to talk to a pitcher.

9) Leg strength is critical for all players and helps power the ball.

10) Run bases on a CURVE for faster rounding of bases.

11) A catcher can be the team's reference librarian, a goldmine of knowledge about hitters built up over a lifetime of observation.

12) Strike zone defined by each player, not a fixed box. From the kneecaps to a line halfway between the belt and the shoulders.

13) Outstanding section on umpires, who can spend thousands on a school and endure 8-12 years in the minors on bare subsistence salaries. If they do make it to the majors, then they earn a six-figure salary.

14) Lovely section that clearly illustrates and explains all of the symbols needed to record every move in a baseball game.

15) Umpires WILL remember every slight over the years, and when borderline calls need to be made, the slights will come home to roost.

Superb glossary.

I am giving this review and the book to my 12-year old, in the hopes that he will read every word and refer back to this book many times in the years to come.

This book is a GEM. Ignore the faint praise by other reviewers.

See also the DVDs
Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two-Disc Anniversary Edition)
A League of Their OwnBaseball - A Film By Ken Burns
The Natural (Director's Cut)
For Love of the Game
Impossible to Forget: The Story of the '67 Boston Red Sox
Nine Innings From Ground Zero: The 2001 World Series
Rising Sons Return - Matsui, Ichiro and More!
American Pastime
The Pride of the Yankees (Anniversary Edition)

After reading and enjoying this book, I purchased several copies to give as gifts. The recipents gave the book raving reports and consider it one of the best gifts ever received. It is also a book that will be consulted over and over again as it is informative, entertaining and humorous.

Watching Baseball Smarter will appeal to youngsters around 9-12 who are eager to grab as much baseball knowledge as possible by attending and watching games on television. For those young people, scoring, colorful terms, and obscure rules can make the game seem more mysterious than it is. At the same time, learn those elements of active watching and a youngster can develop the basics to enjoy being a lifelong fan.

If someone had given me this book at that age, I would have treasured Watching Baseball Smarter above all over gifts I got that at that time. I would have been most thrilled by the illustrations of how the various pitches are thrown.

Remember that observation when you consider if you know any budding fans who would be thrilled to have this book.

As for the claim that the book is also for semi-experts and deeply serious geeks, I don't think so. I didn't see any material that wasn't well known to me by the time I was 15. And I was hardly a semi-expert or a deeply serious geek. I just enjoyed watching and attending the games.

Don't give this book to a serious baseball fan; you'll embarrass yourself if you do.

Here are few questions to test your ability to enjoy the book:

1. What is the infield fly rule?

2. What is a double switch?

3. What is a catcher's earned run average?

4. What is a safety squeeze?

5. How do you keep score?

If know all five, this book isn't for you. If you know four, you'll get an occasional nugget from the book. If you know three or fewer, this book is a good choice for you.

On this reading, the main pleasure was from remembering when I first learned the material and from an occasional bit of trivia that was new to me. The former pleasure was what kept me reading, and I was disappointed that the book was aimed mostly at an elementary level . . . having found the subtitle to be misleading in terms of the book's relevance for me.

Play ball!

As a sixty year baseball fan, I think I know most everything about the game. However, Zack came up with some new/clarifying information for me. By the way, the game has changed since I started following it in the mid-1940s.