Baseballogy

the long version

Behind the game lies a wealth of science, folklore, mathematics, psychology and a very colorful past. Whether they are die-hard fans or casual spectators, readers will be captivated by this collection of fascinating, little-known facts. For example did you know that the yarn in a single baseball is long enough to reach from the street to nearly the top of the Empire State Building or that in the old days playoff tickets were sold for people to stand in the outfield: fans might move to help the home team but not budge an inch for opposing players. With lots of humorous, colorful illustrations, charts, and graphs, Baseballogy explores such diverse topics as the materials used to make the balls (including fish eyes, once used for the core!), freak injuries (one player was stabbed by a bat!), and the chances of making it to "the show" (1 in about 14,000 baseball-playing kids will get to the big leagues).