The Baseball Fan's Companion: How to Master the Subtleties of the World's Most Complex Team Sport and Learn to Watch the Game Like an Expert

"More than any other American sport, baseball creates the magnetic, addictive illusion that it can almost be understood." -Tom Boswell I would consider myself an above average baseball fan. By no means am I a fanatic and can name off tons of statistics that are important to the history of the game, but I do appreciate the intricacies of the game. A few years ago I did not like baseball very much, but recently, I went to a few games with some friends who know a lot about baseball and I learned to appreciate the game through them. Now I go to every game that I can. "The Baseball Fan's Companion" really educated me on a lot of topics within the game of baseball. Everything from infield positions based on various situations: two-outs, man on first, two-outs, etc; to pitching strategies; to types of pitches; to player psychology. This book will help any person, no matter how much of a fan they are or not, to at least appreciate the game of baseball. Many people just pass off the game of baseball as boring and not interesting at all. This book, if read by those people, would provide enlightenment about the details of the game that make it less boring. They would understand why baseball fans watch the game away from the ball. These people would at least learn to appreciate the game or at the very least appreciate the reasons why people love the game of baseball. There is something in this book for everyone, including baseball fanatics. I believe that this book is a good compilation of baseball facts, information, and general knowledge. It is witty, clever, and a well-composed book. I recommend this book to anyone. As the quote above says, this game may be impossible to understand, but with this book, you can come a little closer.

The book is out of print.....And copies are hard to come by...I've owned 4..the first 3, I loaned out, and never got back. My 4th? I'm keeping it.Great book, I'm 40, lifelong fan, but this changed the way I looked at the game. MAN, it's a great game! I merely enjoyed the game before, now it's a passion. Now if you want hardcore, see Keith Hernandez' book!

This is a book that badly needed to be written, and written well. Many people who watch the game on a regular basis - even relatively hard-core fans - do not necessarily know everything they think they do. Bakalar's talent lies in expressing complicated and arcane baseball minutiae concisely. For example, most respectable fans know what a balk is. Sort of. We know basically what it entails, and we can slog through the legalese in the rule book to figure it out. Bakalar sums the rule up neatly and advises the reader how to spot a balk for fun and profit. He also advises how to watch players away from the ball, and how they move in certain circumstances, how to watch the coaches and managers and how information flows between players, the dugout and the coaches' boxes.Bakalar also brings an understated dry wit to all of his topics, and covers on-the-field details of how to defend in a possible hit-and-run situation with the same depth and tenacity as the history of Major League labor relations.This book is probably a bit much for an absolute neophyte, but handy for almost everyone else and might even contain a few surprises or revelations for the hoariest old baseball sage.

I am a woman who loves the game of baseball. Nick Bakalar makes it easier with his facts, tidbits, and complete knowledge of the game. His book makes it more fun to watch the game. Without a doubt he is a humorous baseball fan, who must enjoy this sport to the max. His book makes you want to go out and PLAY BALL!!!

This is an excellent summary of virtually all the in's & out's of one of the simplest, yet at the same time, most complex games in the world. No fan, player, coach, or spectator should venture to the ballpark without having read this book. Guaranteed to make you look and sound like an expert in no time -- sure to increase your enjoyment of baseball 100 fold. If you buy only one baseball book, make this the one. Easy to read, it covers virtually every situation in baseball with easy to understand explanations and real-world examples.