Preface xiii
The Basics
The Dream
3(2)
The Draft
5(2)
The Road to the Major Leagues
7(1)
Leagues, Divisions, and Teams
8(2)
Spring Training
10(1)
The Regular Season
11(1)
The Postseason
11(3)
Pitchers and Catchers
Wait for Your Pitch!
14(8)
Signs
22(3)
Pitch Sequence
25(2)
Location, Location, Location
27(1)
The Count
28(1)
``Balk!''
29(3)
``Off'' Days
32(1)
Charts and Videotape
32(2)
Staying in Shape
34(1)
Going the Distance
35(2)
What Do They Talk About on the Mound?
37(2)
Tommy John
39(1)
The Cy Young Award
40(2)
Hitting
The Lineup
42(3)
The On-Deck Circle
45(1)
Fundamentals
45(2)
Bunting
47(3)
Funny Stances
50(1)
Switch-Hitting
50(1)
Hitting with Two Strikes
51(1)
Run Factory
52(1)
Ouch!
52(1)
Broken and Flying Bats
53(1)
151 Ways to Hit the Ball
54(2)
Baserunning
The Rules
56(3)
Strategies
59(5)
Signs
64(2)
The Value of Speed
66(1)
Base-Stealing
67(4)
Hit-and-Run
71(2)
Squeeze
73(1)
Hustle
74(1)
Fielding
Defensive Alignment
75(2)
Righties and Lefties
77(1)
How Many Outs?
78(1)
Back That Base Up
79(1)
It Is Polite to Point
79(1)
``I Got It! I Got It! You Take It!''
80(1)
The Infield Fly Rule
80(1)
Defensive Indifference
81(1)
Appeal
82(1)
Playing Outfield
82(3)
Playing Infield
85(1)
The Pitcher
86(2)
The Catcher
88(3)
The First Baseman
91(3)
The Second Baseman
94(3)
The Third Baseman
97(1)
The Shortstop
98(2)
The Gold Glove Award
100(2)
Stadiums
Unique Fields
102(5)
Groundskeepers
107(2)
AstroTurf
109(1)
The Sun
110(1)
Welcome to [Insert Ugly Name Here] Field
111(1)
Ballpark Diagrams
112(1)
Umpires
Tough Job
113(3)
The Fair Ball Quiz
116(1)
The Strike Zone
117(1)
``Yer Outta Here!''
118(3)
Borderline Calls
121(1)
Arguing
122(1)
Random Ump Stuff
123(4)
Answers to the Fair Ball Quiz
127(2)
Statistics
The Numbers Game
129(1)
Stat History
130(4)
Math Is Fun
134(3)
Batting Average
137(2)
The ``Me! Me! Me!'' of Batting Average
139(1)
Batting Average Reference Guide
140(1)
Earned Run Average
140(1)
Earned Run Average Reference Guide
141(1)
You Stink . . . I Think
142(1)
R-O-L-A-I-D-S Spells Relief
143(1)
The Official Scorer
144(3)
How to Keep Scorer
147(2)
How to Read a Box Score
149(4)
Leading the League
153(1)
Incredible Feats
154(6)
Random Stuff to Know
Grab This
160(1)
``K''
161(1)
Unwritten Rules
161(2)
Cities and Names
163(1)
The Rookie of the Year Award
164(1)
The Most Valuable Player Award
165(1)
The All-Star Game
166(1)
The Hall of Fame
166(2)
Uniform Numbers
168(2)
Cheating
170(2)
Attendance
172(1)
Let It Rain
172(1)
The Seventh-Inning Stretch
173(1)
Superstitions
174(1)
Double Switch
175(1)
The Magic Number
175(1)
Rosters, Transactions, and Contracts
176(3)
Free at Last
179(1)
Controversial Issues
180(7)
Random Stuff to Notice
Always Chewing
187(1)
Read My Lips
187(1)
Get Dirty
188(1)
The Music
189(1)
The Sounds of the Game
189(1)
The Announcers
190(1)
Around the Horn
190(1)
Staying Informed
191(1)
Caps
192(1)
IBB
192(1)
Warm-up Pitches
193(1)
The First Baseman's Ball
194(1)
New Ball
194(1)
Alert Fans
194(1)
Blinkers
195(1)
Reverse Angle
195(1)
Mute Button
195(1)
Glossary: Baseball Slang 196(42)
Appendix A: More Statistics 238(8)
Appendix B: Uniform Numbers 246