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

This is a great book for those just getting into baseball. Hample clearly and quickly explains baseball's rules, history, traditions, and lingo (the latter occasionally to the extent that it becomes distracting). If you are new to the game or only casually follow it, this book is a must-read.

However, the title indicates that this book is intended not only for beginners, but "semi-experts and deeply serious geeks" as well. I'd put myself somewhere between the latter two categories, and I have to say that for me the book was a waste of two hours. After skipping chunks of the "Basics of the Game" section, I read at least most of every section but came away learning little or nothing. If you consider yourself a hardcore baseball fan, skip this book and pick up Baseball Between the Numbers by Baseball Prospectus or one of many other more advanced books.

I LOVED this book!! I loved it so much that I purchased six more copies to give as gifts to family and friends. I don't care who you are - you will get something out of this book. Even if you think you know everything, I'm sure there will be a few surprises. I could not wait to attend my first game after reading this book - what a difference it made in understanding and enjoying the game. And not only that, I can now appreciate what the announcers are talking about when they use baseball jargon. There is a great glossary of terms with all the slang you ever need to know.

This book was very enjoyable to read and informative. I would recommend it to any baseball enthusiast.

I bought this for my ten-year-old grandson who is a Little League participant and a baseball nut. He has thoroughy enjoyed it and feels that his improved understanding of the game will help him as a player.

I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and I learned things that I had wondered about.