
Watching Baseball Smarter
A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks
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Narrated by:
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Barry Abrams
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By:
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Zack Hample
About this listen
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.
- 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2007 Zack Hample (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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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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The Soul of Baseball
- A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: David Sadzin
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The Soul of Baseball is as much the story of Buck O'Neil as it is the story of baseball. Driven by a relentless optimism and his two great passions - for America's pastime and for jazz, America's music - O'Neil played solely for love. In an era when greedy, steroid-enhanced athletes have come to characterize professional ball, Posnanski offers a salve for the damaged spirit: the uplifting life lessons of a truly extraordinary man who never missed an opportunity to enjoy and love life.
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Buck O’Neil fan!!
- By scott on 04-24-20
By: Joe Posnanski
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Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
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Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
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Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning
- 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
- By: Jonathan Mahler
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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By early 1977, New York City was in the grip of hysteria caused by a murderer dubbed "Son of Sam". And on a sweltering night in July, a citywide power outage touched off an orgy of looting and arson that led to the largest mass arrest in the city's history. As the turbulent year wore on, the city became absorbed in two epic battles: the fight between Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson and team manager Billy Martin, and the battle between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo for the city's mayoralty.
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Excellent
- By pp on 04-22-21
By: Jonathan Mahler
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Poems of Emily Dickinson: Series 1
- By: Emily Dickinson, Thomas W. Higginson - editor, Mabel Loomis Todd - editor
- Narrated by: Kendra Murray, Nancy Beard, Jennifer Fournier, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Emily Dickinson was one of the most reclusive of all poets. She spent much of her life in seclusion in her father’s house in Amherst, and only a handful of her 1800 poems were published in her lifetime. Credit for the posthumous publication of her work must be given to her editor and friend Thomas W. Higginson, who reported that, in spite of the voluminous correspondence which passed between himself and Dickinson, he only met her twice in person.
By: Emily Dickinson, and others
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Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
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Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
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Baseball
- A History of America's Favorite Game
- By: George Vecsey
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author George Vecsey is an esteemed and award-winning sports journalist for the New York Times. In Baseball, he recounts the history of America's national pastime. Baseball has been around in various forms for thousands of years, but only within the last 200 years has it become an American institution. Growing from a sport played in open fields and big-city streets, baseball has seen its share of innovators and detractors, heroes and villains.
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Disappointing
- By Tomilee on 08-04-07
By: George Vecsey
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Tales from the Deadball Era
- Ty Cobb, Home Run Baker, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and the Wildest Times in Baseball History
- By: Mark S. Halfon
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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The Deadball Era (1901-1920) is a baseball fan's dream. Hope and despair, innocence and cynicism, and levity and hostility blended then to create an air of excitement, anticipation, and concern for all who entered the confines of a major league ballpark. Cheating for the sake of victory earned respect, corrupt ballplayers fixed games with impunity, and violence plagued the sport. At the same time, endearing practices infused baseball with lightheartedness, kindness, and laughter.
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Enlightening History
- By Ray R. on 09-17-19
By: Mark S. Halfon
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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 Greatest Summer in Baseball History
- How the '73 Season Changed Us Forever
- By: John Rosengren
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, American League attendance had fallen, and America's team—the Yankees—had lost more games and money than ever. Yet that season, five of the game's greatest figures rescued the national pastime. Hank Aaron riveted the nation with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's landmark home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees at a bargain basement price and began buying back their faded glory.
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Terrible, Just Terrible.
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-23
By: John Rosengren
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The Baseball Codes
- By: Jason Turbow, Michael Duca
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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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).
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A bit dry, both in content and narration...
- By Everett on 09-17-10
By: Jason Turbow, and others
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Rock Concert
- An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There
- By: Marc Myers
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine, Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Decades after the rise of rock music in the 1950s, the rock concert retains its allure and its power as a unifying experience - and as an influential multibillion-dollar industry. In Rock Concert, acclaimed interviewer Marc Myers sets out to uncover the history of this compelling phenomenon, weaving together groundbreaking accounts from the people who were there. Rock Concert provides a fascinating, immediate look at the evolution of rock 'n' roll through the lens of live performances.
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Very fun
- By Kathy Neal on 10-13-24
By: Marc Myers
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Rickey
- The Life and Legend of an American Original
- By: Howard Bryant
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.
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An All Time Grewt
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-23
By: Howard Bryant
What listeners say about Watching Baseball Smarter
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Shay hilton
- 07-06-23
basic baseball
What a great book for basic baseball knowledge. great for levels of all types
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- CCM
- 06-11-19
I'd rather read the text
There's nothing that wrong with this book or the enthusiastic reading of it; it's just that it turned out to be the kind of nonfiction book I'd rather dip into at my own pace; this one is filled with facts and moves very fast. I'm learning that for me, baseball audiobooks probably work better as journalistic stories (such as, talking of baseball, the fine "Where Nobody Knows Your Name," about life in the Minor Leagues). I'll continue looking for good baseball books as it's a fascinating subject to me and I have so much to learn, but I'm reluctantly returning this one and will probably buy it in a print format instead. The audiobook might work very well for other listeners, though.
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- JD Berryman
- 04-05-18
good book!
lots of stuff I didn't know about the game and subtle nuances I never realized
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- Kirk D
- 12-12-17
Needs updates
I read the book years ago when it came out. It is a great overview of the game and really does make the reader baseball smarter. But, baseball evolves and this book needs some minor updates to maintain relevancy. Overall, I was still happy to listen - a very easy and quick and enjoyable time!
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1 person found this helpful
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- amarkstone
- 12-15-17
No New Information
This is an overview of rules and statistics that is already well known to baseball fans. I would only recommend to new baseball fans.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Tim
- 06-04-19
Not For Experts or Serious Geeks
Too many rules simply explained. Very basic. Beginners may enjoy it. Lots of facts, stats and figures.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Michael W.
- 09-09-19
Disappointing
I enjoy Zack Hample's youtube videos as a ball hawk. I thought this would be a lot more of that. The in's and out's of not just watching the game, but a look at the best ways to collect game day memorabilia. I'm not interested in doing this, but am entertained by his videos and thought he would give more detail to the crazy lengths he goes for his collection of 11,000 baseballs.
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- Donald
- 09-19-18
NOT FOR BASEBALL GEEKS
I know Baseball very well, with one or two exceptions this book didn't teach me anything I didn't already know. If you're just starting to watch the game it's probably well worth your while, otherwise look for something else. For an actual Baseball Geek (like this book implies it would be good for), look to Brian Kenny's "Ahead Of The Curve", a great book for fans to learn about Sabermetrics and the new way that baseball is done.
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1 person found this helpful