The Hurlers: Pitching Power and Precision

Kevin Kerrane's "The Hurlers" begins a look at the National League Playoff game on October 8, 1986 between the Mets and Astros that pitted Dwight Gooden against Mike Scott, in which Glenn Davis' 2nd inning homer turned out to be the only run. With this celebrated pitching duel setting the stage, "The Hurlers" looks at the science of pitching. The great hurlers of the game are profiled throughout the book in four-page (e.g., Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove and Warren Spahn), two-page (e.g., Rube Waddell, Satchel Paige, and Bob Feller) and one-column sections (e.g., Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robin Roberts, and Jim Palmer). Individual chapters focus on owning the plate, the complete arsenal of pitches, catchers, and pitchers being able to help themselves by fielding and hitting. There are dozens of color photographs, a chart dealing with changes in the hill over the history of baseball, and pictures of the evolution of the baseball. As with all of the volumes in the World of Baseball series, there are profiles of a couple of ballparks, old baseball cards, and other gems throughout the pages. There is not a lot of depth to this book, but it covers a lot of ground with style.

The World Of Baseball series published by Redefninition presents the baseball fan with historical facts and anecdotes involving the grand old game. I highly recommend the series for baseball fans of all ages.