The Baseball: Stunts, Scandals, and Secrets Beneath the Stitches (Vintage) [Paperback]

Zack Hample (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 8, 2011 | Series: Vintage

The holy grail, the fountain of youth, the golden fleece, and the baseball: rarely do objects inspire such madness. The Baseball is a salute to the ball, filled with insider trivia, anecdotes, and generations of ball-induced insanity.  
 
Which Hall of Famer once caught a ball dropped from an airplane?
Why do balls get stamped with invisible ink?
What’s the best ticket to buy for catching a foul ball?
Which part of the ball once came from dog food companies?
How could a 10,000-year-old glacier help a pitcher grip the ball?
 
In this enlightening, entertaining, and often wildly funny book, Zack Hample shares ballpark legends and lore, details the evolution of the ball, and offers up his secret methods for snagging your own from major league games.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is the stuff baseball fans eat up like snack food, only it’s way more nourishing. . . . The stories are marvelous, and throughout Hample maintains jaunty good humor and even class; for instance, he thanks, by name, every one of the 1,167 Major League players and coaches who have given him baseballs over the years (an interesting list in itself). Lots of fascinating illustrations, too.” —Booklist
 
“Brings a whole new dimension to the term ‘inside baseball.’ . . . Hample . . . provides plenty of revelations to even the most passionate follower of the game.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Hample is not simply an articulate and accessible baseball writer, he’s a zealous collector of game balls. . . . His advice on how to catch a ball at the stadium shows how meticulously he hones his hobby. Along the way there are lots of personalities and top-ten lists at the end for every active fan. All ball buffs should try to catch this one.” —Library Journal

Praise for Zack Hample's Watching Baseball Smarter:

"Insightful, engaging and funny—a treat for anyone who loves the game." —Keith Hernandez

"Hample calls himself an obsessed fan—obsessed in a good way—and the product of his torment is a funny and informative guide for all levels of fams." —Yankees Magazine

"Engaging. . . . Hample's book is both deceptive in its simplicity . . . and surprising in its range." —Fortune

"A browser's delight of a book. . . . Hample unloads a zany collection of baseball trivia, insights and 'random stuff'. . . in breezy guidebook style." —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"This isn't the first book to take on the challenge of explaining baseball intricacies, but I've never seen it done better." —Craig Smith, The Seattle Times

"Armed at neophytes and know-it-alls alike, this baseball geekfest tells you which positions are never played by lefties, why it's easier to hit when bases are loaded, which rules are the weirdest, and other arcana." —Maxim

About the Author

Zack Hample is the bestselling author of Watching Baseball Smarter. He has snagged more than 4,600 baseballs from 48 different major league stadiums and has appeared on dozens of TV and radio shows.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (March 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030747545X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307475459
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thats the way the baseball bounces June 4, 2011

By M. A. Filippelli VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Have you ever wondered what's inside a baseball? Perhaps you cut one in half as a kid for show and tell at school. Good news we get to find out what's in the baseball and how it has changed over the years. What Author Zach Hample has produced her is a multi faceted look at the ball it's effect on the game and the fans who chase these balls down.

The Baseball stunts, scandals, and secrets beneath the stitches starts back in the 1840's when the first baseball was developed basically by wrapping yarn into a ball and then covering it with hide. These days exacting measurements are used to make a baseball.

As it turns out what's inside a baseball has changed many times over the last 170 years. Author Zach Hample walks the reader through the history of the baseball, the effect the changing baseball has had on the game. Moving from the dead ball era to the live ball era undoubtedly was the most dramatic change in the game. When baseball started getting lively baseball parks started getting bigger.

It was interesting to see how the structure of the game changed. In the early days teams only had one ball per game. If that ball went into the stands it had to be retrieved before the game could continue. These days as many as 70 get used per game and fans chasing them down get to keep them.

Another interesting part of the book is the allegations that the baseball was juiced in the late 90's and early 2000's. Major league baseball did a lot of testing of the baseball and couldn't find much difference between new ball and ones produced a few years earlier. It turns out the it was the baseball players that were juiced though Hample doesn't talk about that.

Hample described in detail how the ball is made and tested before it gets into a game....
One of the most interesting sections of of the book is were Hample talks about how to prepare your self to go to the ball park and be successful at getting batting practice balls, game balls, how to position yourself in the stands based on the hitter at the plate the best stadiums to do this. This is called ball hawking. Included in the are people that are ball hawks. They talk about the most valuable ball they got, how many balls they have gotten over the years their appearances on radio and tv. Hample also talks about some the the most famous balls and the legal battles that have ensued over ownership and the right to sell them.

Very well written, informative and interesting. There is some anecdotal stuff here but basically Hample does a good job of sticking to the subject of the baseball. Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The" Baseball May 5, 2011

By Danny B. Wood

Format:Paperback

I've been a baseball fan for over 50 years. I've played since I was 6 years old, I played in high school and college and Over 50 baseball. I've umpired and I've collected all types of baseballs including over 3,000 autographed balls and another 2,000 logo type balls. I literally learned something NEW on every page of the first half of the book that I never knew. The research that went in to this book has never been done or at least published before. Anyone that is able to actually visit the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica certainly has my respect. It is the most incredible book I have ever read about "the ball". Thanks, Zack!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very unique book May 4, 2011

By Jeremy Frank

Format:Paperback

A reporter is meant to be our eyes and ears on a subject for which we read and learn from. Zack Hample has entered the inner sanctum of the makings of the baseball - in Costa Rica. We learn every stage of how a baseball is created, the pill, the cork, the stitching, how exacting it is, and how the ball and MLB's attitude toward it has changed- along with ballhawking, snagging baseballs. There is a treasure trove of facts here, a fascinating read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! April 23, 2011

By Bibby

Format:Paperback

I'm not a baseball fan nor do I have any real interest in any other sports (I'm a girly girl), but I am a fan of good writing, funny/fascinating stories, and passion. This book has all of that. I loved reading the interviews with the top ten ballhawks of all time. There are some awesome/hilarious stories there. And then there's the "Foul Balls in Pop Culture" section that includes a breakdown of a "Sex in The City" scene and even a "Sesame Street" scene. Awesome. The author made me actually care about baseball and that's quite a feat. And to give you a better idea of what my tastes are: I'm into Hip Hop, David Sedaris, Woody Allen, pretty flowers, fashion, dancing, vegetarianism and...no sports (did I mention that?). So when I say this book on baseballs is good, believe it. I get the feeling that the author could make a book on the history of the placemat fascinating.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU TOO can be a baseball collector April 1, 2011

By D. ENGLISH

Format:Paperback

a fun book to read, no, a FASCINATING look at the baseball from every angle, even INSIDE...you too can become a ballhawk-collecting baseballs from every park, just like ZACK HAMPLE, and here is all you need to know...and listen to my interview with ZACK HAMPLE on [...]..a wonderful, fascinating and helpful book on BASEBALLS, from someone who knows all about it..

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting March 20, 2012

By Jamie

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my Fiance, who loves baseball. This book is actually about base balls not baseball. It's an entire book about base balls themselves.

3.0 out of 5 stars If you read Wikipedia, you'll love this book March 8, 2012

By NYC Reader

Format:Kindle Edition

This book is OK at best. The part about how Rawlings makes baseballs was really interesting, but the rest of the book reads like one giants Wikipedia article. If you check out the author's blog, you can pretty much read most of the book there.

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside Baseball's Mystique February 17, 2012

By Larry Underwood

Format:Paperback

The game of baseball has been our National Pastime long before the Chicago Cubs won their last World Series (1908). Much of our fascination revolves around that wonderful little stitched ball that is the center of attention in the game itself. The great pitchers throughout baseball history have amazed us with their ability to throw that little ball with so much speed and/or movement to make opposing batters look foolish. Then there are the game's great hitters who always seem to get the big hit when the game is on the line; who can send that ball sailing out of the park, or hit vicious line drives in the gap to score a runner from first base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

Zack Hample has compiled this fascinating perspective of the baseball - and why it has become such a sought after commodity - especially ones that have historic significance. When foul balls - or home run balls - wind up in the seats, the mad scramble for that souvenir can turn into a wild free-for-all. Normally civilized individuals often turn hostile as they fight for sole possession of that little round treasure. For the typical fan, the thrill of catching a foul ball during a game is unparalleled in their life's accomplishments. The author even devotes a section of the book on the fine art of "ball hawking" - something he has done with remarkable proficiency over the past twenty years or so. In fact, if there was a "ball hawking" Hall of Fame, Hample would be a first ballot inductee.

If you love the game of baseball, Hample's engaging historical perspective will be a great addition to your "baseball library". I highly recommend it!