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The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, And Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules Of America's Pastime (2010)

by Jason Turbow(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0375424695 (ISBN13: 9780375424694)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pantheon Books

review 1: This will be listed as one of the best baseball books I have ever read. Jason Turbow and Michael Duca have certainly done their research and homework. And the list of people that they interviewed for this book spans at least two solid pages in the back of the book. Any true baseball fan knows that there are dozens, if not hundreds of these "unwritten rules" in the game of baseball. Some are not actually covered in this book, such as not running on the pitcher's mound while running across the field after being put out on a base opposite your dugout. But many of these unwritten rules are covered in this book, and they have interviews from players and managers to back them up. I laughed out loud many times. I gasped in amazement at some of the stories. I even forced my wonder... moreful wife to listen to me read some of them out loud to her. Did you know that teams have gone so far as to position people in the stands with binoculars to steal signs from the visiting team's catcher? Signals from the bullpen were often used to let the batter know what kind of pitch was coming. It's accepted. It happens. But if you get caught, you're supposed to stop. One of the funnier stories involves a pitcher who marched up to the guy from the other team, standing on second base and told him, "Tell him this next pitch is coming right at him!" After which, he proceeded to drill the batter right between the numbers. As the batter was taking his base, the pitcher looked at the runner on second and said, "Did you tell him?? Did you??" I learned a lot in this book about players that I am well-familiar with, one of the most famous of my generation being Nolan Ryan. Turns out, you didn't want to mess with him while he was pitching. He was old-school, and followed the "codes" to the letter.There are stories in this book of bench-clearing brawls that were so intense that riot squads had to be called. But the sad thing was, for me, the way the book closed out. The finished pages literally almost brought tears to my eyes as I realized that these codes are fading. They are fading because baseball is going the way of the players who only look out for themselves instead of the team; because of players who wouldn't recognize names of the greats in the past, who don't know the history of the game that we know and love. Perhaps there will be enough players left, though, who will continue to teach the rookies the ways of the game. Perhaps.If you love baseball, this book is a must read.
review 2: Found this to be an interesting read as a baseball fan. The unwritten rules seem to be the way the players sort of police themselves and protect the integrity of the game. There are many aspects to them that the casual fan may never have thought of. Now when watching a game in the future and seeing a player moved off the plate or taking out an infielder with an aggressive slide, I can maybe discern the bigger picture of what is going on. less

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