Baseball is explored with skill, humor, and devotion by a literary great in this compendium which includes a moving eulogy for Curt Flood and no-holds-barred portraits of Ted Williams, Pete Rose, and Billy Martin. 90 photos.

If you are a baseball fan, then coaching youth baseball is one the most enjoyable and rewarding activities you’ll experience. But what if you’ve never coached before? Or you haven’t played the game in a while and have forgot some key points to the sport? No worries! Coaching Baseball for Dummies guides you through the rules of the game, explaining all the essential skills and the best ways to teach them to your players. Covering different age groups and great practice routines, this guide is all you need to have a fun-filled season. You’ll discover how to: Fulfill the role of being a coach and parent Develop a coaching philosophy Understand how your league works Evaluate your team Teach your players fundamentals Understand all kinds of children Create your practice plan Prepare for game day Overcome challenges and problems This plain-English guide also shows you how to run all kinds of drills, from hitting and pitching to fielding and base running. And when your team is tense or low on morale, it shows you how to relax your players and keep them focused on the game. There are also suggestions for making your season, and theirs, a memorable one. Coaching Baseball for Dummies shows you how much fun it can be to train kids to be athletes, have good sportsmanship, and work together as a team.

Teaching Statistics Using Baseball is a collection of case studies and exercises applying statistical and probabilistic thinking to the game of baseball. Baseball is the most statistical of all sports since players are identified and evaluated by their corresponding hitting and pitching statistics. There is an active effort by people in the baseball community to learn more about baseball performance and strategy by the use of statistics. This book illustrates basic methods of data analysis and probability models by means of baseball statistics collected on players and teams. Students often have difficulty learning statistics ideas since they are explained using examples that are foreign to the students. The idea of the book is to describe statistical thinking in a context (that is, baseball) that will be familiar and interesting to students. The book is organized using a same structure as most introductory statistics texts. There are chapters on the analysis on a single batch of data, followed with chapters on comparing batches of data and relationships. There are chapters on probability models and on statistical inference. The book can be used as the framework for a one-semester introductory statistics class focused on baseball or sports. This type of class has been taught at Bowling Green State University. It may be very suitable for a statistics class for students with sports-related majors, such as sports management or sports medicine. Alternately, the book can be used as a resource for instructors who wish to infuse their present course in probability or statistics with applications from baseball. The second edition of Teaching Statistics follows the same structure as the first edition, where the case studies and exercises have been replaced by modern players and teams, and the new types of baseball data from the PitchFX system and fangraphs.com are incorporated into the text.

Many fans enjoy keeping track of baseball action with easy abbreviations written on simple grids. Serious scorekeeping, however, is more complicated than just jotting down runs, outs, and the final score. Official scorekeeping requires a thorough knowledge of a large body of rules--many of which are confusing, and all of which must be followed carefully to ensure that the scorekeeper's data are valid. With confidence and enthusiasm, Andres Wirkmaa leads the reader through the daunting maze of rules that govern official scorekeeping. Chapters explain and clarify the official scorer's duties, responsibilities and authority; the official scorer's reports; and all the game-to-game details such as player listings, substitute batters and runners, out-of-turn batters, called and forfeited games, runs batted in, base hits, stolen bases, sacrifices, putouts, assists, double and triple plays, errors (and instances when errors are not charged), wild pitches and passed balls, bases on balls, strikeouts, earned runs, winning and losing pitchers, and saves. Also covered are statistics, percentage records, minimum standards for individual championships, and consecutive hitting and playing streaks.

Sports Illustrated Baseball is a complete and sate-of-the-art teaching guide by one of the nation's foremost college coaches. Former Major Leaguer Jerry Kindall shows you: The keys to improving you hitting, running, fielding, and throwing How to pitch, catch, and play the infield and outfield Eight unique batting drills and how to make them work for you Six plays any serious infielder should know 22 defensive stituations and how your team should handle them

Become a fundamentally sound player in every aspect of the game with Baseball: Steps to Success. For years, the Steps to Success series has helped people around the world master the fundamentals of sport. Its unique progressive instructional approach to every skill makes learning the game of baseball easier and more enjoyable than ever before. With Baseball: Steps to Success, the road map to becoming a five-tool player is at your fingertips. Step out of the dugout and onto the diamond with confidence in your skills in the game’s most important areas: • Hitting • Bunting • Throwing • Fielding • Pitching • Catching • Baserunning • Situational play Drawing on more than 76 self-improvement and practice drills that include skills broken down to their most basic techniques, you’ll be a threat every time you step to the plate or take the mound. Baseball: Steps to Success leaves no area of the game uncovered. Whether you’re learning, teaching, or coaching, Baseball: Steps to Success will help you master this great game. Part of the best-selling series with more than 1.7 million copies sold, it is your guide to on-the-field excellence.

Fun, safety, and effective instruction are the focus of the fourth edition of Coaching Youth Softball, helping you create an environment that promotes learning, cultivates a love of the game, and motivates your athletes to come out for the team year after year. Numerous coaching books present the skills and drills of softball. But here's a book that teaches you how to convey those skills to your athletes in an engaging and positive manner. Endorsed by Babe Ruth Softball, Coaching Youth Softball is focused on teaching offensive and defensive skills through gamelike drills, which sets it apart from the current lineup of softball coaching books. The fourth edition includes 12 new drills and 37 age-specific coaching tips that are sure to jump-start your practices, all in a reorganized format geared for sequential learning and quick reference. Coaching Youth Softball's double play of softball fundamentals and essential coaching skills, like communicating with parents and officials, motivating players, and preparing for games and practices, makes this book a must-read as you prepare to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of coaching young athletes.