
The Baseball Codes
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Narrated by:
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Michael Kramer
About this listen
Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime
Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), and some of which only a minority of players are even aware of (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box).
In The Baseball Codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed, and least known, traditions. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining.
At the heart of this book are incredible and often hilarious stories involving national heroes, like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, and notorious headhunters, like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale, in a century-long series of confrontations over respect, honor, and the soul of the game. With The Baseball Codes, we see for the first time the game as it’s actually played, through the eyes of the players on the field.
With rollicking stories from the past and new perspectives on baseball’s informal rulebook, The Baseball Codes is a must for every fan.
©2010 Jason Turbow with Michael Duca (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Featured Article: The Best Baseball Audiobooks of All Time
Ask any baseball fan and they'll tell you: some of their favorite sounds can only be heard at the ballpark—the smooth, satisfying pop of a catcher’s glove as a pitch hits its mark; the crack of a bat as it tears into a fastball, explosive and hopeful, drawing the crowd to their feet. Our list, a roundup of outstanding baseball audiobooks, offers a glimmer of that same ballpark magic with just a few of the greatest stories from our national pastime.
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Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
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The Boys of Summer
- The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What's Happened to Everybody Since
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a story about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a story by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is the story about what happened to the team when their glory days were behind them.
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Classic book!
- By Christopher Arthur on 11-19-17
By: Roger Kahn
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Watching Baseball Smarter
- A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks
- By: Zack Hample
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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This smart and funny fan's guide to baseball explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will appeal to anyone - whether you're a major league couch potato, lifelong season ticket-holder, or a beginner. 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.
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No New Information
- By amarkstone on 12-15-17
By: Zack Hample
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The Matheny Manifesto
- A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life
- By: Mike Matheny, Jerry B. Jenkins
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Mike Matheny was just 41, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results.
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If your a youth coach, get this book
- By Brady on 12-11-15
By: Mike Matheny, and others
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Smart Baseball
- The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.
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If you sorta like baseball--save your money
- By david ortega on 05-11-17
By: Keith Law
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Baseball
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Ken Burns
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
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The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.
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Abridged
- By David Munoz on 02-15-16
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
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The MVP Machine
- How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.
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Just too much cussing!
- By D Maybee on 04-19-20
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
What listeners say about The Baseball Codes
Highly rated for:
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- steve
- 12-03-21
Excellent book
Narration is excellent
The book is a gold mine for baseball lovers.
Have the tissues ready at the end
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Overall
- Everett
- 09-17-10
A bit dry, both in content and narration...
Whenever I review an audiobook, I comment on both the book itself and the narration, as poor narration can make or break a book, even if it's a good one in print.
Books like this lend themselves especially well to audio format, as they're essentially a collection of stories. If done well, it's like listening to an eloquent old-timer tell fascinating stories from his past. If done poorly, it's a bit like the auditory equivalent of watching grass grow. While I wouldn't say the narration here is quite as bad as the latter analogy, it's closer to it than to the former. Michael Kramer is dry and passionless in his narration. He inject no color into the stories. He's simply... reading. Quite boring. These professional narrators just leave me cold. They have clear voices and good diction, but no character. They would have been much better off getting someone from the baseball world to read the book. Veteran broadcaster Charley Steiner, who narrated the excellent umpiring chronicle, "As They See 'em" would have been perfect.
As to the book itself, it's a little boring as well. Perhaps it's just because I've been involved in baseball all my life, but most of the codes were pretty obvious and well-known. The book is heavy on anecdotes, many of which are not nearly as interesting as one would think. Anecdotes are a good thing, but he provides too many of them for each of the "codes." He seems intent on having about five – lengthy! – examples for each one, where one or two, perhaps three, would have been fine. This makes the book drag on a bit, and leaves the reader often thinking, "okay... I get it!" It could have been more effective by grouping them into themes rather than specific "codes," and then having different examples within the theme.
If you're new to baseball, yet very interested in it, you will probably enjoy this book – if the narration doesn't put you to sleep, you will probably enjoy it. If you're a baseball veteran, you won't find too much new inside.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Blue. No - Yellow
- 05-21-16
Awesome
I found it impossible to put down. Fantastic research, very good writing and excellent narration.
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- JMKIII58
- 08-01-13
Excellent Book!
Would you consider the audio edition of The Baseball Codes to be better than the print version?
Didn't read the print version.
What did you like best about this story?
The stories... Just were wonderful
Any additional comments?
Recommend to all baseball fans.
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- barry
- 05-31-18
for true fans of the game
Best baseball book I have read or heard in years. All who played or watched. hell anyone that loves the game must experience this book.
Barry
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- Matt Gurule
- 12-08-16
Baseball fans will delight.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Baseball Codes?
I really enjoyed the commentary on Nolan Ryan. He was definitely a throw back to the past in today's modern game.
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- Bradley K.
- 05-17-19
great stuff!
Just good baseball stories.... a must read for any baseball fan. would recommend to anyone.
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- KellysHero718
- 01-10-22
When the Game was a Game
I came of baseball age in 1964, just in time for the Cardinals to whip the Yankees in the Series. So one think I liked about this book is that I knew so many of the player names, from the early 1900s through to today. I also worked at a double-A baseball stadium for eight years, and always lamented the quality of play. These young men didn't know the game, didn't understand the game's history. They had no code. This book explains how and why baseball has reached that point. It is extremely well-researched, well-written, and well-received. It also proves my often-made statement that Lou Brock is the greatest base stealer in the game because Ricky Henderson had no code.
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- Kathleen H. Crook
- 04-07-18
learned lots
for a novice baseball fan, I learned much re baseball and how much players love the game
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anne
- 07-03-13
Entertaining and Enlightening
Would you consider the audio edition of The Baseball Codes to be better than the print version?
No, i preferred to imagine the inflections of the actual people when making their various statements and or quotes throughout the book. The narration was fine however I might have chosen a voice with a bit less gravitas.
What did you like best about this story?
I love all of the background information, all of the tidbits from so many players I am familiar with from the current era dating all the way back to the early parts of the game's history. It was so much fun to hear all of their stories and opinions about how the game was played and how it is played today.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
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