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Little League's Official How-to-Play Baseball Book
Demonstrates the basics of baseball, including how to throw, bat, and play each position. Includes an abridged version of the official Little League rules.
- GenresBaseball
210 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 19, 2026
This book explains how to play each position in baseball. It details how each body movement is made and has illustrations to support the text. It also talks about strategy.
After each of the fielding positions, there is a quiz that presents a situation, and asks what you would do. Answers are provided that explain the strategic reason for one choice over another (e.g. throwing to first base versus third base). The end of the book includes the official rules for little league.
There is a lot of terminology in baseball. A lot of terms are defined in a section at the back of this book. Still, there are plenty of terms not defined. Some of the writing was so deep in baseball jargon that I had to re-read sections multiple times to follow what was being explained, such as an explanation of a particular play. Here's an example of something I had to re-read to follow:
"The pitcher uncorks a wild pitch, but the catcher blocks it. You're covering second and the throw beats the runner from first by a country mile. You have the runner trapped in a rundown." P. 91
'Rundown' and 'Wild pitch' are among the defined terms, but uncork and country mile are the author's jargon. The verbs: block, cover, beat, and trap are also jargon.
The final chapter of the book talks about how baseball seems like an individual sport since positions are played individually, but it only comes together with teamwork. Here's a couple good quotes:
"Part of teamwork is realizing that no matter how good you are at what you do, you wouldn't be half so good if it weren't for other people." Intro section
"On every play your success is in some way dependent on the support of your teammates, and their success depends on you." P. 156
After each of the fielding positions, there is a quiz that presents a situation, and asks what you would do. Answers are provided that explain the strategic reason for one choice over another (e.g. throwing to first base versus third base). The end of the book includes the official rules for little league.
There is a lot of terminology in baseball. A lot of terms are defined in a section at the back of this book. Still, there are plenty of terms not defined. Some of the writing was so deep in baseball jargon that I had to re-read sections multiple times to follow what was being explained, such as an explanation of a particular play. Here's an example of something I had to re-read to follow:
"The pitcher uncorks a wild pitch, but the catcher blocks it. You're covering second and the throw beats the runner from first by a country mile. You have the runner trapped in a rundown." P. 91
'Rundown' and 'Wild pitch' are among the defined terms, but uncork and country mile are the author's jargon. The verbs: block, cover, beat, and trap are also jargon.
The final chapter of the book talks about how baseball seems like an individual sport since positions are played individually, but it only comes together with teamwork. Here's a couple good quotes:
"Part of teamwork is realizing that no matter how good you are at what you do, you wouldn't be half so good if it weren't for other people." Intro section
"On every play your success is in some way dependent on the support of your teammates, and their success depends on you." P. 156
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review