Baseball For Dummies

by Joe Morgan, Dick Lally, Richard Lally

"There may not be anyone alive who knows more about baseball than Joe Morgan." — Bob Costas, NBC Sports Broadcaster "Baseball For Dummies brings out the kid in every reader. A terrific book for people of all ages." — Fred Opper, Hall of Fame Baseball Player and Coach, Fordham University "Joe Morgan knows baseball. In fact, he was one of the most intelligent players to ever play the game." — Sparky Anderson, Three-time World Series-Winning Manager More than 100 Illustrations & Play Diagrams Don't Let the Game Throw You a Curve! One of baseball's greatest players takes you out to the ballpark and onto the field with clear explanations and illustrations, and grand-slam advice for getting the most out of this favorite international pastime. From pitching and hitting to the bull pen and batter's box — Baseball For Dummies ® has all the bases covered! Before the Peanuts and Cracker Jacks…

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, Reference

432 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 1998

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a basic knowledge of the game of baseball and really want to delve in deeper to the game, the rules, the strategies and traditions...this book is for you. I found after reading the book, I could keep up with my die hard and very knowledgable baseball fan husband who has been playing, coaching and even managing baseball all his life. You really need to love the game or desire to have more than a basic knowledge of the game though, to enjoy this book.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

gain a better appreciation for baseball

[Glamdring · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2,5 stars*

[Kat V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book would be most useful if you don’t know much about baseball but are hoping to learn more. I learned a lot! Some of it I already knew and some of it was past my understanding but overall it was good. 4 stars

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the 'for Dummies' series.
they are quick witted and very direct and to the point.
This book was no exception- very detailed, and fun to read.

Love it!

[Thomas Bonar]

Not just for dummies, this is a GREAT baseball book!

[Pushon Bhattacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got what I wanted from this book e.g. an explanation of the rules of baseball and the history of the sport. However, there was a lot I could have done without e.g. why is there a chapter on fantasy league?

[Graeme Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for those who need a primer of the game and don't know Joe Morgan, who can prattle on about nothing, and that's coming from a man who loves to listen to people talk about baseball.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice reference if you want to enjoy the game a little bit more.

[Mark Kinver · Rating 4 out of 5]

All lovely and some nuggets in there... all I wanted to know was how to read a scorecard!

[James K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for little leaguers. Probably good for their coaches too

[Seb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instructive 🙃 Nice reference I'll often come back to!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good review of all of baseball. Easy to skip around and find what one wants.

[Beth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview! Even more in-depth than I would have guessed originally.

[Leew49 · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you grip the ball differently when throwing a curve vs a fastball? Where does the 2nd baseman position himself with a runner on 1st and a left-handed batter at the plate? What pitcher won the most games? Who holds the highest slugging percentage of all time, and how do you calculate a slugging percentage? How do the major league ballparks differ? How so you keep a scorecard? What rules and historic events have changed the game over the years?

Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan has answers to these and many other questions in this highly readable and entertaining baseball history, how-to manual, and reference book. Though a little out of date (Derek Jeter was a young and promising player when it was published), I found it very informative and plan to keep it close at hand as a reference as my home team moves further into the 2016 season.

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite my objections to the whole “... for Dummies” concept, I got lured into reading this one by the promise of baseball great Joe Morgan’s thoughts on our national pastime. For the most part, my curiosity was rewarded. Some of the text is a little too basic, though I suppose if one really knew nothing about the game that one might find some benefit even there. But the real high points can primarily be found in the insights into the strategy of the game, explanations for why managers make the decisions that they do, where players are supposed to go during particular kinds of plays, and the like. The history and top ten lists aren’t too bad, either.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for reading about throwing, fielding and batting mechanics (nothing replaces practice!)

While it is now dated, there was some cool facts and stats that are still relevant about old players, evaluating players, league rules etc that were useful.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

John, you should really read this.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright read. Not as engaging as the football version, but still learned quite a bit.