Baseball FAQ

Was Abner Doubleday the architect of baseball? What exactly did it mean to be a "professional" baseball player in the 1870s? What goes on in the front office? What exactly is the Eephus pitch? What are "the tools of ignorance"? Readers will find the answers to these questions - and many others - in the pages of this remarkable baseball reference that's essential reading for fans of the game.
Part history book, part instructional guide, and part reference manual, Baseball FAQ covers all the bases - from the rules of the game to the ballparks of yesterday and today, from the minors to the major league, from the stats to the food. This engaging, compulsively readable tome offers baseball fans of all ages a wealth of fun facts and anecdotes on America's favorite pastime, including sections on the All-American Girls Professional Ball League, the Negro Leagues, the basic skills of baseball, baseball in the movies, the scandals, and the Hall of Famers.

Tom DeMichael (Chicago, Illinois) holds a degree in U.S. history and has published numerous books and magazine articles in subjects as diverse as American film, American firefighting, collectible toys, and television's greatest game shows. This is his third book in the FAQ series, following James Bond FAQ and Modern Sci-Fi Films FAQ. As a lifelong fan of baseball, DeMichael has seen major and minor-league games all over the country. He is a member of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research) and once legged a triple into a double during a Cubs fantasy camp game at Wrigley Field.