A great overview for novices and a precise reference guide for devoted fans! Admit it: Even if you’re a die-hard fan of our national pastime, sometimes an umpire’s call can be baffling. And for newer fans, Major League Baseball’s nuanced rules—developed and revised over many decades—can be downright perplexing. Now updated throughout with the latest changes, including specifications about the universal designated hitter and limits on defensive shifts, the Baseball Field Guide lays out every rule in plain English. You’ll learn to answer all these questions and more: Do you know the twenty-two ways a pitcher can be charged with a balk? Can you list all seven ways a batter can safely get to first base? Obstruction or interference—who’s at fault when things get rough? What are the rules that apply before and after a game? What happens when spectators are the ones who misbehave? How well do you understand the infamous Infield Fly Rule (and why does it exist)? This is the clearest explanation anywhere of the rules of baseball. Designed for quick and intuitive searches, this entertaining reference will help you understand every aspect of the game and add to your enjoyment of the sport.

A gift-worthy playbook of common and unexpected words and idioms that have their roots in sports and games. There are many metaphors we can quickly identify from the realm of sports: covering all the bases (baseball), game plan (football), and par for the course (golf). But the English language is also peppered with the not-so-obvious influence of sports and games, such as go-to guy (basketball) and dead ringer (horse racing). Filled with pithy entries on each idiom, plus quotes showing how big talkers from President Obama to rapper Ice-T use them, this quirky little handbook from former minor league ballplayer and award-winning journalist Josh Chetwynd is sure to be a conversation starter at tailgates, cocktail parties, and in the boardroom.

You volunteered to coach the local baseball team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball has the answers. In Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball, longtime coach Dan Keller shares his experiences and provides advice you can rely on from the first practice to the final game. From evaluating players’ skills and establishing realistic goals to using in-game coaching tips, it’s all here—the drills, the strategies, and most important, the fun! Develop your team’s fielding, catching, throwing, pitching, and hitting skills with the Survival Guide’s collection of the game’s best youth drills that young players can actually use. Best of all, you’ll be able to get the most out of every practice by following the ready-to-use practice plans. Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball has everything you need for a rewarding and productive season.

The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan’s dream road trip—including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition—revised and completely updated!

An enthusiastic, irreverent, but exhaustive guidebook to all the stadiums of Minor League Baseball, following up on the success of the first Ultimate Baseball Road Trip book, which was dedicated to Major League stadiums.

If baseball is a metaphor for life, the premise of this guide is that small improvements in diet and lifestyle made consistently over time will have significant, beneficial results for the health and well-being of the single father and his children. Includes a set of "Single Father's Golden Rules" to encourage a happy, fulfilled, and meaningful life for the single dad.