Whether you re a major league couch potato, life-long season ticket-holder, or teaching game to a beginner,Watching Baseball Smarterleaves no territory uncovered. In this smart and funny fan s guide Hample explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will surprise even the most informed viewers of our national pastime. What is the difference between a slider and a curveball? At which stadium did The Wave first make an appearance? How do some hitters use iPods to improve their skills? Which positions are neverplayed by lefties? Why do some players urinate on their hands? Combining the narrative voice and attitude of Michael Lewis with the compulsive brilliance ofSchott s Miscellany,Watching Baseball Smarterwill increase your understanding and enjoyment of the sport no matter what your level of expertise. Zack Hample is an obsessed fan and a regular writer for minorleaguebaseball.com. He's collected nearly 3,000 baseballs from major league games and has appeared on dozens of TV and radio shows. His first book,How to Snag Major League Baseballs,was published in 1999. From the Trade Paperback edition. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

"Professional fan" Hample (How to Snag Major League Baseballs), who falls squarely in the "deeply serious geek" category, has put together an invaluable resource for armchair fans. 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. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

From one of that new tribe of so-called professional fans, here's a guide that will make most of us enjoy the game even more and persuade those still aloof that there is some allure to its complexities. Divided by theme (e.g. "Pitchers and Catchers," "Base Running," "Statistics," as well as "The Basics" and "Random Stuff To Know") and with clear subheadings to keep the reader oriented, Hample's book offers a winning approach. For all collections. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Hample is known in the blogosphere as the foremost snagger of major-league baseballs (read all about it at snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs .com). Here he turns to ink and paper with a Baseball for Dummies-type guide that, thanks to its irreverent, tongue-in-cheek style, will also appeal to fans who left the dummy stage long ago. He covers such topics as the amateur draft, grips for various pitches--slider, curve, splitter, etc.--and what managers talk about on their visits to the mound. There is discussion of the seemingly obvious (the role of starting pitchers) and the more arcane (when not to slide), and there is plenty of genuinely fascinating historical trivia (how the letter K came to be the scorekeeper's symbol for a strikeout). All in all, this is a light but informative tome that will be just the ticket to get fans in the right frame of mind for opening day. --Wes Lukowsky Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.