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

Whether you?re a major league couch potato, life-long season ticket-holder, or teaching game to a beginner, Watching Baseball Smarter leaves 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 never played by lefties?
Why do some players urinate on their hands?

Combining the narrative voice and attitude of Michael Lewis with the compulsive brilliance of Schott?s Miscellany, Watching Baseball Smarter will 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. more

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From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-04-2009

Great for the baseball geek's significant other

I'm a deeply professed baseball geek, sabremetrics aficianado, and obsessive baseball watcher. I bought this for a quick read through and a help for my darling girlfriend, who struggles to understand what I'm talking about when I reference "Old Abner," an eephus, or some of the finer points of...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-04-2009

Kindle Edition FAIL

This review is of the Kindle Edition.In the statistics section, there are numerous arithmetic formulae. For some reason, the author or typographer chose to use the ? symbol rather than the now-more-prevalent /. Unfortunately, in the Kindle edition (perhaps due to OCR?) nearly every ? has been...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-20-2009

I thought I already knew the game, but I didn't!

As the topic of baseball, I have been fixated as far as the history of the game. However, I never played the game at the high school level. I learned to be a student of the game. Hample writes examples such as the following: hat the pitcher is trying to throw, why the outfielders are aligned to a...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-14-2009

Not a home run, but it is a stand-up triple

I had to buy it because I was so surprised at the disparity between some commentators. I figured the book was either a really good or really bad so I took a chance.My opinion: this is a really good book. I think that the person who will get the most out of this book is one whose starting baseball...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-10-2009

For Beginners Only

I read this at the suggestion of a friend. I'm a lifelong baseball fan who works in professional sports. I attend 5-12 games a year, and watch about 3 times that number on television and the internet. I read this book in a single sitting. It's not terribly long, and, after a while it felt like...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-05-2009

really smarter

I'am a dutch seatlle mariners fan, for me this book is a eye opener, because it tells me everything about american baseball, the used baseball language,explaining the draft, and a hole lote more all the in and outs about baseball a great book.

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From: Amazon
Posted: Apr-11-2009

Great book for novices and long time fans

I grew up watching and playing baseball. I sometimes visit Major League parks in other cities while traveling.I have a friend who is not from this country, who now has a son, and he said he wanted to know more about the game.I decided to buy the book to take a look at it from those 2...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Nov-03-2008

The Baseball Collector

Not only is this a great book for the novice, experienced baseball fans will get something out of it as well. Hample writes about what he knows... and that's "How to Collect Baseballs" and How to watch baseball smarter. If you doubt his skills, just know that he caught the last Mets homer at...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-30-2008

Slightly above beginner

Your view of this short book depends on how much you know about baseball already and how much you want to know. Being that you are looking at it and the title, you are at least a little interested. I found myself speed reading through some sections, but others sections I read with great...

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From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-23-2008

insights for a baseball mom

This is a great book for moms who have sons playing baseball. I only wish I would have had this book when my son was younger. I always thought I knew what was going on in a game, but I didn't know so much. I have learned a lot from this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves or hates...

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