Moody Library and Student Athletes: Baseball

"... a smart and energetic collection of essays on baseball statistics. Curve Ball doesn't play misty-eyed homage to baseball's traditions and conventional wisdoms.... This is great stuff.... Curve Ball makes clear how pleasurable [stats] can be, and arguably how important, to view the great American game with real precision." -- The Wall Street Journal"Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Must own!" -- Baseballnotebook.com" In [Curve Ball] Albert & Bennett explain the game in ways the conventional press - even titans such as Bill James - cannot." -- Baseball America "[The book] illustrates how statistical reasoning can be useful in teasing out the role of chance from performance in baseball to better assess ability.... Curve Ball represents another advance in the genre of baseball and statistics books." -- Journal of the American Statistical Association. There is a fascination among baseball fans and the media to collect data on every imaginable event during a baseball game and to use these data to try to understand characteristics of the game. But patterns in baseball data are difficult to detect due to the inherent chance variation that is present. This book addresses a number of questions that are of interest to many baseball fans - including how to rate players, predict the outcome of a game or the attainment of an attainment, make sense of situational data, and decide the most valuable players in the World Series. Curve Ball is directed to a general audience and does not assume that the reader has any prior background in probability or statistics, although knowledge of high school algebra will be helpful.

Coach Bennett's best selling book Pitching from the Ground Up returns in an improved 2nd edition. This comprehensive book covers virtually every aspect of pitching, including: the pitching delivery, stretch position, a system of teaching pitching mechanics, pitching drills, dry-run pitching, developing pitches, velocity, and control. Also addresses care and conditioning of the arm, physical conditioning for the pitcher, teaching tools, closed-eyes training drills, and much more.

This is available for regular checkout.

Videocassette release of the by PBS television series by the Baseball Film Project, Inc., Florentine Films and WETA-TV. Originally aired Sept. 19-28, 1994.

Inning 1. Our game : the 1840's-1900 (115 min.) -- Inning 3. The faith of fifty million people : 1910-1920 (120 min.) -- Inning 4. A national heirloom : 1920-1930 (117 min.) -- Inning 5. Shadow ball : 1930-1940 (126 min.) -- Inning 6. The national pastime : 1940-1950 (151 min.) -- Inning 7. The capital of baseball : 1950-1960 (134 min.) -- Inning 8. A whole new ballgame : 1960-1970 (116 min.) -- Inning 9. Home : 1970-present (148 min.).

"Baseball: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture" looks at American society through the prism of its favorite pastime, discussing not only the game itself but a variety of topics with significance beyond the diamond. Its 269 entries, which vary in length from two hundred to twenty-five hundred words, explore the game's intersection with race, gender, art, drug abuse, entertainment, business, gambling, movies, and the shift from rural to urban society. Filled with larger-than-life characters, baseball legends, sports facts and firsts, important milestones, and observations about daily life and popular culture, this encyclopedia is not only an excellent reference source but also an enjoyable book to browse.

REview from "Library Journal." Editor Riley is an accomplished writer and a recognized authority on the Negro leagues, having published numerous books on the subject (e.g., Too Dark for the Hall , T.K. Pubs., 1991). His comprehensive reference book documents the careers of 4000 players on teams of major league caliber between 1872 and 1950. Notable Hall of Famers included are Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks, and Jackie Robinson. Arranged alphabetically, the citations contain a variety of biographical and statistical information. This valuable compilation also provides illustrations, team histories, an appendix on players, plus an exhaustive bibliography detailing books, periodicals, booklets, and newpaper articles. Public libraries should purchase where demand warrants. L.R. Little, Penticton P.L., British Columbia, Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Arranged according to teams in volumes on the National and American Leagues, this encyclopedia prepared by Riess (American history, Northeastern Illinois U.) brings together 30 essays on teams from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals. Essays give historical accounts and list achievements, records, managers, and postseason appearances. Contributors are mostly historians or work in American studies in the US; some are authors of books on baseball. Appendices provide information on season standings, attendance, profit and loss, salaries, and ballparks. The index is only supplied in the second volume. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This video is available for general checkout at the circulation desk.

Pitching (Baseball), Human mechanics, Human locomotion, Physical therapy