Beautifully produced book. Over 240 photographs and Illustrations. The Spitball Knuckleball Book
Here you will find:
* How the spitball was discovered.
* Photographs showing how it was taught by the master spitballers.
* Why the spitball was outlawed in 1920 --it had little to do with safety and everything to do with attendance.
* The 23 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the spitball for the 1920 season and finally allowed to throw it until they retired.
* The ten best illegal spitballers.
* The dry spitter--the perfectly legal pitch that breaks just like a spitball.
* The ten successful Major Leaguers who threw the dry spitter.
* Photographs and descriptions of how the dry spitter was gripped and thrown.
* How a young spitballer not put on the exempt list for 1920 learned the fingertip knuckleball from his plumber friend and took it to the Majors, where it is still used today.
* The often bumpy careers of more than two dozen knuckleballers with photographs of most of their grips.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too many facts to be tabbed a coffee-table book,
By
This review is from: The Spitball Knuckleball Book (Hardcover)
In his first two non-fiction books, historian Tom E. Mahl wrote about espionage. His third dealt with covert operations of a different sort - baseball's "trick pitches."
"The Spitball/Knuckleball Book: How They are Thrown, Those Who Threw Them" (Elyria, Ohio: Trick Pitch Press) has the shape and typography of a coffee-table book. However, it is jammed with so much information it qualifies as a serious history of the men who threw the spitball, knuckleball and its many variants - and shows how they did it. Mahl, who earned a doctorate in diplomatic history from Kent State and teaches at Lorain County (Ohio) Community College, presents dozens of mini-biographies of trick-pitch practitioners, including Red Faber, about whom this author wrote a full biography. Faber was one of 17 major leaguers grandfathered into the 1920 rule otherwise banning the spitter and trick pitches (such as the emery ball, grease ball and the like). When Faber retired after the 1933 season, he the last American League regular to legally throw the spitball in the majors. Mahl hit a couple of bumps in the Faber chapter, falling prey to an error first published in the 1930s regarding Red's middle name (it is Clarence) and stating that the White Sox star had three 20-win seasons (he had four, not three). Still, those bobbles hardly detract from a nicely paced, compelling volume. An interesting feature of the book is that it goes beyond WHO threw trick pitches, but shows HOW they threw them. Several pages of illustrations and diagrams show the techniques pitchers used to cause the ball to flutter and dive away from frustrated batters' furious swings. Readers who love baseball history, with a particular interest in pitching, will enjoy Mahl's book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spitball Knuckleball History,
This review is from: The Spitball Knuckleball Book (Hardcover)
Review of The Spitball/Knuckleball Book
Author-Tom E. Mahl Elyria OH, Trick Pitch Press, October 2008 This book covers the subject of the spitball and its successor pitch the knuckleball. The history of the origin and use of the spitball and its importance in the Deadball Era has been thoroughly researched. The story in the book pivots around the banning of trick pitches (including the spitball) before the 1920 season. It was this decision by the major leagues along with the new practice of using a clean ball throughout the game that led to the Lively Ball Era and the game as we know it today. The most interesting historical point made in the book was that the spitball was banned not so much on its merits, but because the use of the spitball made it impossible for umpires to detect and eliminate the use of other illegal trick pitches. The situation before the 1920 season was that many pitchers threw illegal pitches (the emery ball and the shine ball where the ball was defaced). Umpires could not determine when the illegal pitches were being thrown. The illegal pitches broke in unpredictable fashion the same as the spitball. Pitchers throwing the illegal pitches would fake preparing a spitball by holding their gloves in front of their face and pretending to load up the ball with spit. When the spitball became illegal, home plate umpire seeing an unusual breaking pitch cross the plate now knew it was an illegal pitch and could eject the pitcher. This nicely organized book reveals to the reader the plans for the banning of the spitball as a means to increase hitting and therefore attendance. When the spitball was banned before the start of the 1920 season an exception was made for limited number of major league spitball pitchers. This exception was to end after the season. However, in the 1920 season some of exempted spitball pitchers were among the top major league pitchers. The owners did not want to lose these valuable players and the exempted spitball pitchers were allowed to continue throwing the spitball for the rest of their careers. The book details the careers of the legal spitball pitchers and in addition examines the role of the illegal spitball pitchers (Gaylord Perry being the best known) in the post WWII period. The end of the spitball, except for its occasional illegal usage, led to the development of the knuckleball. A fascinating final chapter shows how these pitches (both the spitball and the knuckleball) were thrown and how they work. This chapter draws upon contemporary scientific studies as to what makes a breaking ball break. Included throughout the book are more than 100 photos as well as a number of very rare illustrations showing how the ball is gripped to throw these unusual pitches. Overall this book is a nice treatment of a little-known aspect of pitching and its part in baseball history. The Spitball/Knuckleball Book wi1l be a welcome addition to one's baseball library. Review by Ron Selter author of Ballparks of the Deadball Era; December 17, 2008
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Be Fooled...,
This review is from: The Spitball Knuckleball Book (Hardcover)
When I first saw this book my first thought was "coffee table book".
Then I opened it up. True, there are a bunch of great pictures that you would normally find in that style of book. What makes this book stand out is the content which, as others have already mentioned, is superbly detailed, informative, and downright interesting. The author has put together a unique collection of facts and expertly blends the stories and anecdotes of a good biography with the "how-to" instruction of a cookbook. Quite simply, this is a fun read--I highly recommend it.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
