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The Baseball: Stunts, Scandals, and Secrets Beneath the Stitches
by
Zack Hample
The holy grail, the fountain of youth, the golden fleece, and the baseball: rarely do objects inspire such madness. The Baseball is a salute to the ball, filled with insider trivia, anecdotes, and generations of ball-induced insanity.
Which Hall of Famer once caught a ball dropped from an airplane?
Why do balls get stamped with invisible ink?
What’s the best ticket to buy fo...more
Which Hall of Famer once caught a ball dropped from an airplane?
Why do balls get stamped with invisible ink?
What’s the best ticket to buy fo...more
Paperback, 356 pages
Published
March 8th 2011
by Anchor
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Not a book about baseball; a book about THE BASEBALL. Ok, so it necessarily is about baseball, too, but this is really a homage to the ball itself. So, you can learn here how the ball is made, how the ball has changed, whether it is or was ever 'juiced' or not, who was killed by a baseball, does a curveball really curve, who is believed to have thrown the fastest pitch, who killed a bird as it coincidentally swooped in front of a batter and why players don't try to catch baseballs dropped from a...more
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My brain is officially full of wacky baseball crap.
Like what's in a baseball (rubber, cork, lots of yarn)
Where it's made (Costa Rica, baseball sewers can do as many as 200 a week)
How to snag baseballs (turns out "please" is effective)
Honestly, at times this book was ridiculously uninteresting. At times, I was thinking if I dropped my ereader, then I wouldn't have to finish this book. Honestly, don't give a hoot about the top ten ballhawks (people who snag baseballs at games). And wow, that histo...more
Like what's in a baseball (rubber, cork, lots of yarn)
Where it's made (Costa Rica, baseball sewers can do as many as 200 a week)
How to snag baseballs (turns out "please" is effective)
Honestly, at times this book was ridiculously uninteresting. At times, I was thinking if I dropped my ereader, then I wouldn't have to finish this book. Honestly, don't give a hoot about the top ten ballhawks (people who snag baseballs at games). And wow, that histo...more
The newest offering from my favorite baseball geek, Zack Hample. Lots of interesting stories about baseball (not the game, the actual ball) scandals, legends, injuries, etc. Fun, obscure stuff like a rule that indicates how expensive and valuable a baseball in the 1870s was---if the ball couldn't be found, or landed somehwere inconvenient, play stopped and all the players started hunting. If it couldn't be found after 5 minutes, the ump called for a new one. A far cry from the MLB balls today wh...more
one would think, perhaps, with all the many thousands of books written about baseball over the decades (now centuries?), there would be little to add in the way of novelty or insight regarding the greatest game ever devised by man. zack hample's new book, the baseball: stunts, scandals, and secrets beneath the stitches, however, would prove one were mistaken in such a presumption. behind the history, the rivalries, and the legends of the game is the often overlooked object that makes it all poss...more
A book that's sure to be entertaining for some, though I felt it was terribly uneven. If you're a "ballhawk," or an aspiring one, this book, on the whole, is for you. If you're interested in how baseballs--the physical objects themselves--and how they figure in popular culture, then the opening pages, the first section, are for you. If you're like me, a baseball history nerd, then the middle section is your cup of tea. The chapters about how the baseball is made (an incredible process!!) and how...more
I like to think that I know a lot about Baseball and I do. But I don't know everything. The history of the game is well over 100 years old and is next to impossible to know everything out there about the game. This is the reason why I gave The Baseball a chance. It seemed like it was going to open up a Pandora's box of more never-before-heard-of tidbits about the game.
Well, there were quite a few things that I had never heard of till I read this book. But there were also plenty of things that we...more
Well, there were quite a few things that I had never heard of till I read this book. But there were also plenty of things that we...more
Raise your hand if you've ever been sucked in by a cover. C'mon now, admit it.
Well, the cover on this one is fantastic - a bit dramatic, very direct, and with a nudge that says "imagine the stories this baseball could tell".
At which point, I was a goner.
The book failed to live up to the cover, as happens so often in these cases. The first two parts, dealing with the history and production (modern and otherwise) of the baseball - the actual, hold-it-in-your-hands baseball, rather than the sport -...more
Well, the cover on this one is fantastic - a bit dramatic, very direct, and with a nudge that says "imagine the stories this baseball could tell".
At which point, I was a goner.
The book failed to live up to the cover, as happens so often in these cases. The first two parts, dealing with the history and production (modern and otherwise) of the baseball - the actual, hold-it-in-your-hands baseball, rather than the sport -...more
I would dearly love to give this book two reviews, in large part because it is two different books poorly smashed together.
The first two parts (or, the first 200 pages) are a historical look at the baseball - the object itself, rather than the sport that it shares a name with. Sure, you can't separate the two, but at the same time, the importance of the physical baseball can be easily overlooked. Going back to the days when baseballs were valuable enough that it was written into the league rules...more
The first two parts (or, the first 200 pages) are a historical look at the baseball - the object itself, rather than the sport that it shares a name with. Sure, you can't separate the two, but at the same time, the importance of the physical baseball can be easily overlooked. Going back to the days when baseballs were valuable enough that it was written into the league rules...more
2 likes · like · see review
This book is, essentially, a documentary about the baseball itself. It covers the history of the ball, along with the many variations on the orb. The most interesting piece to me is the middle section, detailing a visit to the secret Rawlings baseball factory. (Yes, it really is a secret.)
The author is a collector of balls. He's a ball-hawk, roaming the ballpark with his glove in the hopes of snagging yet another foul ball or home run. So, to him, the final third of the book, full of tips and tr...more
The author is a collector of balls. He's a ball-hawk, roaming the ballpark with his glove in the hopes of snagging yet another foul ball or home run. So, to him, the final third of the book, full of tips and tr...more
Definitely a fun read, especially if you are a fan of the sport and go to games for more than just the beer (even though the social aspect is part of the experience). Some middle parts were definitely dry, but the book after all is about the actual base ball. No, not the game - the ball.
The book goes into depth about the ball's life, changes, ups and downs. It was enjoyable, and I liked it a lot more than the other Hample book I read. The most enjoyable part of the story was the last half that t...more
The book goes into depth about the ball's life, changes, ups and downs. It was enjoyable, and I liked it a lot more than the other Hample book I read. The most enjoyable part of the story was the last half that t...more
Found this one while searching for a book about Sandy Kofaux.
Turned out to be a cute piece about the actual baseball.
the first half is a bunch of short anicdotes of info on the making of the ball and all the changes that it went through over the years.
The second half is about how to get baseballs at games.
I found the first half to be much more interesting then the second half.
A nice distraction if you are a true fan of the game.
Turned out to be a cute piece about the actual baseball.
the first half is a bunch of short anicdotes of info on the making of the ball and all the changes that it went through over the years.
The second half is about how to get baseballs at games.
I found the first half to be much more interesting then the second half.
A nice distraction if you are a true fan of the game.
This was probably the hardest book I have ever had to review. Overall, I gave it 3 stars because of the new and innovative content. Interestingly enough, I did not give the book a total of 4 stars because I feel like there was a LOT of repeat story in the last 1/2 of the book. Possibly the feeling of repetition is because I have followed Zack Hample's blog and I was able to read live as he did his research.
The other complaint comes in the 'baseball' section. After awhile I was so bored with who...more
The other complaint comes in the 'baseball' section. After awhile I was so bored with who...more
I wouldn't call this a great book, but I did thoroughly enjoy reading it. I would have enjoyed it even more if more of the information presented had been new to me. The author's style is fairly encyclopedic regarding the baseball itself before transitioning to a basic technical style to instruct the reader in ball-hawking. The book is well researched so there is a lot of fascinating trivia. Unfortunately the book lacked any literary appeal for me. I don't intend this to be overly harsh as I am g...more
Although I read it cover to cover, I would recommend jumping around to different sections to gleen the most enjoyment, and information, from the book. It is very thorough which makes it dry at times. Some chapters were exceedingly trivial and others seemed to sound like the author patting himself on the back. It is a fun book to have around though.
I get the feeling that Mr. Hample's editor kept telling him the book was too short and he needed to increase the page count. That's the only reason I can see for a year-by-year history of what company was making the official Major Leagues' balls and whether critics thought they were too lively or too dead. Seriously: year by year. Starting in what, 1847? and going to the present day. Excruciating. And then he spends a third of the book re-hashing his previous book on how to snag baseballs, and i...more
An all about me book basically. The first section is some interesting information about making and using baseballs, but the rest is about how to get a ball from a player and strategies used by him. A lot of name dropping. I found the author to be very impressed with himself.
Not much real baseball information.
Not much real baseball information.
Everything you want to know about the actual ball, filled with anecdotes reaching back to the beginning's of the sport. If you want to know how to snag baseballs before, during and after games, this is the book for you!
It's not as bad as my rating might make you think, but I'm not sure the book is much higher. Poorly written, obsessive about the weirdest things (like a comprehensive list of TV shows that have featured someone getting hit with a batted ball at a game), and never really lets the reader in to what makes the author's hobby fun. Why are people compelled to collect thousands of baseballs, most of which were never used in meaningful play? It's a mystery.
If you didn’t know what a juiced baseball was before reading this book, you sure will by the time you finish it. Famous ballhawk Zack Hample recounts loads of fun facts and figures about the baseball. Here is an excerpt from my review:
Another interesting story he recounts is about baseball mud — actual mud that is collected and rubbed onto every major league baseball, to make the ball’s surface better for pitchers, have less glare and provide better contact for batters … mud from some undisclose...more
Another interesting story he recounts is about baseball mud — actual mud that is collected and rubbed onto every major league baseball, to make the ball’s surface better for pitchers, have less glare and provide better contact for batters … mud from some undisclose...more
This was a fun quick read. The first half of the book is literally an history of the baseball. I mean the ball itself: how it's made, how it used to be made, what it's made out of, etc. The second half of the book is about how to get yourself one of these balls free at a major league ballpark. "Ballhawks" are fans who go to parks with the intention not necessarily of seeing a game but for the purpose of collecting baseballs. The author is a self-proclaimed ballhawk with a collection of over 4000...more
Great read, lots of factual information that I didn't know, and great tips for catching balls!
Some fun anecdotes and information in the first half of the book but I found the ball hawking advice of the second half much less interesting
I like to read books about baseball--this was a book about the BALL--a little too much information about the old pill.
Today I am reading is tilted the baseball. I am on page 210 I am reading about how the people at Rawlings baseball gloves place in Dallas Texas
I was very uncertain about this book at first. I am an avid baseball fan and was on a baseball book kick when I picked this one up. My uncertainty went away completely when I started reading. Zack Hample combines interesting facts with a great sense of humor while discussing America's favorite past time. Definitely not the greatest baseball book ever written (That award goes to "Three Nights in August" in my opinion) but definitely a book worth checking out for any baseball fan.
Jun 01, 2011
David
added it
Great book....
The first half of the book was full of interesting tidbits of interest to casual and serious fans alike. The second half was largely about catching balls at major league parks, which ran way long and was also fairly mercenary in its attitude.
Apr 15, 2011
Greg
added it
history of balls. first half was great, second part all about catching fouls and home runs could have been 86% more concise.
You can catch my full review here: http://avomnia.wordpress.com/2011/03/...
This book is OK at best. The part about how Rawlings makes baseballs was really interesting, but the rest of the book reads like one giants Wikipedia article.
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