The first guide to help you get to the next level of baseball play To continue advancing up the ladder of competition, you need to master the game's advanced skills and techniques, those exciting plays that surface at crucial moments in competition and bring victory--the game-breaker plays and skills. The Louisville Slugger® Book of Game-Breaker Baseball moves beyond the basics. It features step-by-step instructions supplemented by major-league players explaining their styles in making the same plays. This book: Teaches you 30 key skills illustrated with 150 high-quality photographs Offers you a complete blueprint if you want to play at the game's higher skill levels Provides approximate ages to master the skills and how long it should take to learn them

This step-by-step approach starts from the ground up, including: problems in the stance, pre-swing movements, hip rotation, the swing, and more.

Reveals the collected wisdom of the legends of the game, from Ty Cobb to Tony Gwynn, from Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds, and helps parents, coaches, and players at all levels sort through the advice to find the hitting style that's just right for them.

Every aspect of hitting is explored, such as: choosing the right bat; mechanics, from the grip & the stance to the swing & follow-through; learning the strike zone, & your hitting zone; rotationalÓ vs. weight-shiftÓ hitting techniques; reading pitches & pitchers; situational hitting & basic offensive strategy; training & conditioning, featuring a special section on developing a hitter's eyeÓ; & the mental game, including relaxation & visualization. A special section on getting youngsters started hitting. Numerous anecdotes from players, historical sidebars, profiles of the top hitters, lists of important batting records, an essay on the scienceÓ of hitting, & fascinating facts about the legend of the Louisville Slugger bat. Over 100 illustrations.

The authoritative sourcebooks for parents, players, and coaches Baseball is a complicated game to learn, particularly for a 9- to 12-year-old's attention span. Bewildered managers, coaches, and parents of the more than 2.5 million Little League Baseball® players need all the help they can get. Filled with fun and easy-to-follow instructions and advice on teaching the fundamentals of baseball, the bestselling Little League Baseball® series is sure to score with coaches and kids alike. THE LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL® GUIDE TO CORRECTING THE 25 MOST COMMON MISTAKES For young players (and their coaches) there's nothing more frustrating than struggling with baseball fundamentals. With the systematic approach in this user-friendly guide, coaches will learn to recognize and repair the most common faults that young players make.

Details the differences from men's softball and offers effective strategies.

Baseball remains the most popular sport in America and is rapidly gaining acceptance in other countries as well. And, yes, there are many books on the subject. Many of those other books cover the subject in its entirety - but consequently not in adequate depth. Once you are familiar with the game, a general book is not going to be of much help: You'll quickly figure out for yourself where your strengths and weaknesses are and which aspects need more work. The most important of these aspects that can lead to a dramatic improvement in performance is the art of hitting. It has been said that hitting a round ball with a round bat - squarely - is the most difficult part of baseball, and that's what this book concentrates on. Without wasting your time with lengthy text explanations, it shows with clear illustrations and simple drills how to perfect that most difficult part of the game. The book is packed with simple drills, tricks, and exercises to bring your hitting up to speed.

Major League Baseball has compiled the definitive instruction manual on learning to play the game. Fully illustrated with action photos of MLB stars illustrating key points and drills for each defensive position, this book also includes special tips from MLB players on batting, base running, the rules of the game, and coaching. Easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams of all the skills beginning players need to master the game--how to throw, hit, and field all the positions--while also promoting good sportsmanship. Each skill and position is presented separately, with photographs and drawings of a player executing the specific skill, advice on how to perform it, and when to use it, and the most common mistakes. Written and compiled by the best baseball instructors, coaches, and players in the world, this comprehensive how-to is informative enough to help even the brightest young stars shine brighter. With keen insights from instruction and developmental coaches, the need to create a positive environment in practice and encourage creativity as well as technical correctness is stressed. Most importantly, the coaches understand that kids are not just small adults--and they back up their understanding with advice on how to help kids fall in love with "America's pastime." Model training sections construct excellent practice sessions--from warm-up through cool-down exercises and hundreds of drills and games to reinforce--this is an essential tool for all coaches as a guide to improving performance and enjoyment of practice and playing the game. This must-have resource covers it all: Batting, Pitching, Base running and sliding, Specific drills for playing all defensive positions, Coaching and rules, Offensive and defensive strategy. Partial list of Big League tips on How to Play the Game: Tony Gwynn (hitting), Sammy Sosa (judging fly balls), Bernie Williams (playing the outfield), Mark Grace (approach to hitting), Alex Rodriguez (fielding ground balls), Jeff Bagwell (hitting), Roberto Alomar (fielding ground balls), Jaret Wright (pitching mechanics), Edgar Renteria (how to play SS), John Lackey (improving your pitching), Carlos Delgado (mastering 1B), Rocco Baldelli (basic approach at plate), Cristian Guzman (fielding ground balls), Danny Kolb (good approach on the mound), Dontrelle Willis (pitching strategies), Torii Hunter (playing the outfield), Jason Marquis (pitching with control), Chone Figgins (sliding), Orlando Cabrera (improving your game), Gary Bennett (becoming a better catcher), Ervin Santana (pitching under pressure), Mark Teixeira (playing 1B), Ryan Howard (hitting), Joey Gathright (playing the OF), Troy Tulowitzki (succeeding at the plate), Joel Zumaya (pitching with poise), Josh Johnson (pitching with confidence)