Baseball For Dummies

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Started with Baseball 5

Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Baseball 7

Chapter 2: Suiting Up: Equipment 17

Chapter 3: Tackling the Rules of Baseball. 33

Part 2: Taking Your Swings — Playing Offense 49

Chapter 4: Preparing to Swing the Lumber: Life in the Batter’s Box 51

Chapter 5: Hitting Like a Major Leaguer 67

Chapter 6: The Science of Baserunning 89

Part 3: The Ball in Play — Playing Defense 113

Chapter 7: Knowing the Players and Plays 115

Chapter 8: Winning the Arms’ Race: Pitching Like a Major Leaguer 131

Chapter 9: Behind the Plate: The Catcher 155

Chapter 10: Playing Infield 169

Chapter 11: Playing the Outfield: Where Fly Balls Go to Die 193

Part 4: From Little League to the Major Leagues — Organized Baseball 203

Chapter 12: T-Ball to College Baseball and Everything in Between 205

Chapter 13: The Majors, the Minors, and Other Leagues 215

Chapter 14: The Rest of the Field: Managers and Coaches 231

Chapter 15: Identifying the Rest of the Cast of Characters in the Ballpark 241

Chapter 16: Measuring Performance: Calculating Baseball’s Statistics 251

Chapter 17: Going All the Way: MLB Postseason Play and the World Series 259

Part 5: The View from the Stands — A Spectator’s Guide 267

Chapter 18: Following the Bouncing Baseball 269

Chapter 19: Baseball Bans: Don’t Do the Crime If You Can’t Do the Time 293

Chapter 20: Keeping Up Online, on the Air, and on the Newsstand 303

Chapter 21: Playing Fantasy Baseball 313

Part 6: The Part of Tens 323

Chapter 22: Joe Morgan’s Top Ten Toughest Pitchers He Batted Against 325

Chapter 23: Joe Morgan’s Ten Smartest Players 333

Appendix: Baseball Speak: A Glossary 339

Index 361