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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
This Book Made Me a Fan of the Game Again, March 14, 2000
Although I played baseball every day as a kid and was a major league fan, as I grew older I stopped watching the game and became a fan of the other 3 major pro sports. I found watching baseball to be a bore. However, reading this book opened my eyes to baseball and made me a fan once again.If you are a baseball nut, there may not be much to learn from this book (but you might be surprised). For everyone else, this witty, fun to read treatment of the game's rules, strategy and history can teach you what you need to know to appreciate the game. It teaches you the subtleties of the game, what to watch for and why. The tone is completely irreverent and the author does not take himself or the game too seriously. When I was done reading this book, I realized that the game is not boring at all if you know what to watch for. I now enjoy watching baseball, even on TV where the stock camera angles don't show all the action away from the ball. And thanks to this book, I now know that half the game is played away from the ball. This book delivers on the promise in it's title. What more can you ask?
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
An excellent all-around book, June 15, 2001
As a new fan to baseball, I found this book immensely helpful in understanding the subtleties of the game. Before I started watching baseball, I thought that it was boring because it seemed so simple. Once I started paying attention, I discovered that this game is anything but simple - in fact, it is very complex and there are rules to cover almost every situation. Bakalar discusses the rules, the players, the strategies, and even has a section on the managers, omners, coaches and umpires. He has a chapter at the end on how to talk like true baseball fan. I found this book very helpful in understanding baseball. I think that even a long-time fan would enjoy reading this book. It would also make an excellent gift for a baseball fan (though not for very young fans, as it is too complicated for a younger reader.)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
EXAMINES EVERY FACET OF THE DIAMOND, May 22, 2006
OK, I've got good news and bad news for ya.
THE BAD NEWS: I read Nick Bakalar's book, 'THE BASEBALL FAN'S COMPANION' in its entirety and only encountered a couple of things about baseball that I didn't already know.
THE GOOD NEWS: I'm forty-six years old; I've spent my entire life watching, following and playing baseball. I have a lifetime's worth of baseball knowledge crammed into my grey bean and this book covered all of the information that it took me over four decades of devotion to baseball to acquire. So what I'm really saying here is that if you are new to baseball and want to gain a full understanding of how the game is played and the strategies that are employed by managers and players in an attempt to score at least one more run than their opponent does, then this book is all ya really need.
Some people claim that BASEBALL IS LIFE. I won't go that far, but I will say that baseball is far and away my favorite sport (followed by football and then chess. And if you don't think chess is a sport it's only because you've never sat across a board from me. Chess is not only a sport, but I prove it to be a CONTACT sport!)
When my Pa married my Ma, he didn't know much about baseball, after all, Los Angeles was football territory and professional baseball didn't reach that city until 1958, the year my parents tied the knot and the same year that the Dodgers moved West. My Ma was already a baseball junkie coming from Cincinnati where she dated a couple of the Reds players at different times and followed the team almost like a religion. When the Dodgers followed her West to L.A., she took a job with the organization. While Dodger stadium was still under construction, she was told to go down on her lunch break and select her seats if she wanted to purchase season tickets. Being a very smart woman, she went down and chose the two best seats in the stadium. (No, I'm not kidding.) Subsequently, my Bro, my Sis and I all literally grew up at Dodger stadium, raised on Dodger Dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jacks.
I have photos hanging on the walls of my house that show me hanging out with the likes of Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Jim Gilliam, and Dick Bass, etc. (If yer a real sports fan you know that the last name belongs to a famous Ram running back, not a baseball player.)
Even when our family was fairly poor in later years, with financial help from my Grandpa, we still managed to keep the season tickets and now my Aunt Jane owns them. I'm telling you all this only so you will appreciate the fact that baseball has really been a very significant part of this reviewer's life. I KNOW THE GAME! And if you want to know the game as well as I do, all ya gotzta do is read 'THE BASEBALL FAN'S COMPANION.'
Nick Bakalar does a fine job in explaining the sport and examining all of its nuances; everything from the art of pitching, defensive positioning, hitting, and even the largely misunderstood science of baserunning/basestealing - this is where even many serious fans fall short in their understanding. In other words, Bakalar's "got all of the bases covered." (Sorry, sometimes I can't help myself.) He explores the thinking of pitchers, hitters, position players, managers and even umpires, which he claims "are people, too" (although he didn't prove that to this reader's satisfaction). And Bakalar does it all with clarity, humor, and an obvious passion for the game.
If you've been sitting there watching a baseball game and thinking that it's slow and boring because nothing seems to be happening, it's only in your mind where nothing's happening. You simply haven't grasped the game yet. As my friend, Rick Bass (son of Dick Bass) who played professionally says, "There's ALWAYS something happening in baseball!" This book will get your head in the game. I won't say it's a home run; I'll say he's hit the ball into the gap for a three-bagger, only because I take exception to his analysis comparing Dave Kingman with Tony Gwynn. (Gimme Gwynn any day! Bakalar didn't factor in where the two hit in the order: Kingman's job was to drive 'em in; Gwynn's was to be on base to BE driven in. Which one completed his assignment most often, and what was the quality of the players surrounding them?) And in his fun chapter, 'CHATTER: How They Talk Baseball And How You Can Too' (which will have you speaking "Baseballlingo" as well as I do in no time flat) he missed one of the most obvious: A "Twin Killing" means a double play.
Ladies, are you sick and tired of hearing your husband say, "Not now, honey; it's the bottom of the tenth with two outs, the winning run in scoring position, the closer is wild and the cleanup hitter's in the box" and wondering what in the world he's talking about? Then get 'THE BASEBALL FAN'S COMPANION.' The next time you'll be able to answer, "When he strikes out chasing the high cheese, come here and give me a hand" and yer couch potato hubby's gonna fall right outta the cushion's indentation.
I need to close this review with one of my favorite baseball stories (not included in Bakalar's book) about Ted Williams, (in my opinion) the greatest hitter who ever lived:
There was a young pitcher new to the major leagues. He was facing a batter by the name of Ted Williams. "Ball three," said the umpire; and the pitcher walked halfway to the plate and screamed, "What was wrong with that pitch?" The umpire dusted off the plate without answering. The young, frustrated pitcher wound up and threw; Williams whacked the ball and it flew over the Fenway Park fence for a home run. The umpire walked out toward the pitcher and said to the rookie, "You see, son, when you throw a strike, you don't have to look to me; Mr. Williams will let you know."
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Truly a companion, December 28, 2005
"More than any other American sport, baseball creates the magnetic, addictive illusion that it can almost be understood."
-Tom Boswell
I would consider myself an above average baseball fan. By no means am I a fanatic and can name off tons of statistics that are important to the history of the game, but I do appreciate the intricacies of the game. A few years ago I did not like baseball very much, but recently, I went to a few games with some friends who know a lot about baseball and I learned to appreciate the game through them. Now I go to every game that I can.
"The Baseball Fan's Companion" really educated me on a lot of topics within the game of baseball. Everything from infield positions based on various situations: two-outs, man on first, two-outs, etc; to pitching strategies; to types of pitches; to player psychology.
This book will help any person, no matter how much of a fan they are or not, to at least appreciate the game of baseball. Many people just pass off the game of baseball as boring and not interesting at all. This book, if read by those people, would provide enlightenment about the details of the game that make it less boring. They would understand why baseball fans watch the game away from the ball. These people would at least learn to appreciate the game or at the very least appreciate the reasons why people love the game of baseball.
There is something in this book for everyone, including baseball fanatics. I believe that this book is a good compilation of baseball facts, information, and general knowledge. It is witty, clever, and a well-composed book.
I recommend this book to anyone. As the quote above says, this game may be impossible to understand, but with this book, you can come a little closer.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Is a second edition forthcoming?, March 26, 2001
It is a shame this book is out of print. I have some hope that the publisher has pulled this title and is waiting for Bakalar to update. If not, the publisher should sell the rights to another publisher who will market the book more effectively. This book delivers exactly what the subtitle promises. Baseball is so thoroughly discussed in this book that either a newcomer to the game or a person who has been following baseball a long time will learn much about the game. Bakalar's descriptions of defense/offense duties make for exciting reading, and his sense of humor enlivens the subject matter even more. (The humor starts with the hilarious acknowledgments.) Mr. Bakalar, please update!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Refreshing refresher, August 22, 2000
When the Dodgers left Brooklyn, I left baseball. Recently, in response to what ancient impulse I know not, and now living near Boston instead of in Brooklyn, I began to feel stirrings of interest in the Red Sox, perhaps because their dreams of glory have been as hopeless as those of the Dodgers of yesteryear. So, I turned to Nick Bakalar's paean to baseball to bring me back up to speed.Bakalar loves the game, admires (most of) the big league players, and loathes (most of) the owners. The basic purpose of the book is to let us know the underlying strategies and tactics of the game, and what skills make a player valuable in the field and at bat. Along the way he provides some useful reminders of the game's rules and regulations and its cast of characters. It's fun to read, very informative, and a good general review of a game that is more complex than it appears. For someone who already knows the game well and watches it with some regularity I would guess is would be of little value, but to those like me, rusty from years of neglect, it serves a real purpose.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
A top-notch comprehensive guide, February 20, 2000
This is a book that badly needed to be written, and written well. Many people who watch the game on a regular basis - even relatively hard-core fans - do not necessarily know everything they think they do. Bakalar's talent lies in expressing complicated and arcane baseball minutiae concisely. For example, most respectable fans know what a balk is. Sort of. We know basically what it entails, and we can slog through the legalese in the rule book to figure it out. Bakalar sums the rule up neatly and advises the reader how to spot a balk for fun and profit. He also advises how to watch players away from the ball, and how they move in certain circumstances, how to watch the coaches and managers and how information flows between players, the dugout and the coaches' boxes.Bakalar also brings an understated dry wit to all of his topics, and covers on-the-field details of how to defend in a possible hit-and-run situation with the same depth and tenacity as the history of Major League labor relations. This book is probably a bit much for an absolute neophyte, but handy for almost everyone else and might even contain a few surprises or revelations for the hoariest old baseball sage.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent book for Babe Ruth and AAU coaches, April 1, 1998
As a manager and coach of a Babe Ruth team I found that this book fills in many of the gaps in my knowledge base. There are numerous anecdotes that are both amusing and useful; many can be passed on to your players. I now know why most stadiums face northeast and the origin of the term "southpaw". Great trivia; will make you look like a master even though you may be a rookie. If you think you know everything, read this book and you will probably learn something new.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Don't loan this book out!, March 11, 2002
By A Customer
The book is out of print.....And copies are hard to come by...I've owned 4..the first 3, I loaned out, and never got back. My 4th? I'm keeping it.
Great book, I'm 40, lifelong fan, but this changed the way I looked at the game. MAN, it's a great game! I merely enjoyed the game before, now it's a passion. Now if you want hardcore, see Keith Hernandez' book!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Outstanding, April 8, 2000
By A Customer
This book is GREAT! I'm a long-time baseball fan, and I watch every game I can. I disagree with anybody who thinks only the novice can learn something from this book. Obviously if you're an expert, you don't need to learn how to watch baseball like an expert. For the rest of us -- from novice to reasonably well-informed -- this book has much to offer.I've learned a lot more about the game, and my enjoyment of baseball has increased. Very readable, well written.
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