The Unwritten Rules of Baseball: The Etiquette, Conventional Wisdom, and Axiomatic Codes of Our National Pastime [Hardcover]

Paul Dickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

From beanballs to basebrawls, the most important rules governing the game of baseball have never been officially written down—until now.

They have no sanction from the Commissioner, appear nowhere in any official publication, and are generally not posted on any clubhouse wall. They represent a set of time-honored customs, rituals, and good manners that show a respect for the game, one's teammates, and one's opponents. Sometimes they contradict the official rulebook. The fans generally only hear about them when one is bent or broken, and it becomes news for a few days.

Now, for the first time ever, Paul Dickson has put these unwritten rules down on paper, covering every situation, whether on the field or in the clubhouse, press box, or stands. Along with entertaining baseball axioms, quotations, and rules of thumb, this essential volume contains the collected wisdom of dozens of players, managers, and reporters on the secret rules that you break at your own risk, such as:

1.7.1. In a Fight, Everyone Must Leave the Bench and the Bullpen Has to Join In

1.13.3. In a Blowout Game, Never Swing as Hard as You Can at a 3-0 Pitch

5.1.0. In Areas That Have Two Baseball Teams, Any Given Fan Can Only Really Root For One of Them

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Dickson has written eight bat and ball books (one on softball, seven on baseball) and is working on the third edition of his Dickson Baseball Dictionary, as well as a new work, The Unwritten Rules of Baseball. He also writes narrative 20th century American history and compiles word books. He lives in Garrett Park, Maryland, with his wife, Nancy.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061561053
• ISBN-13: 978-0061561054
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Dickson is the author of more than 45 nonfiction books and hundreds of magazine articles. Although he has written on a variety of subjects from ice cream to kite flying to electronic warfare, he now concentrates on writing about the American language, baseball and 20th century history. His most recent titles include Drunk: The Definitive Drinker's Dictionary, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century and Slang: A Topical Dictionary of Americanisms.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why is There No Crying in Baseball?, June 1, 2009

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Unwritten Rules of Baseball: The Etiquette, Conventional Wisdom, and Axiomatic Codes of Our National Pastime (Hardcover)

I belong to the church of baseball, along with Annie Savoy. If you don't know this comment, and even if you do, this book is for you. The dean of baseball lexicographers and a superb writer overall, Paul Dickson, has given us in "The Unwritten Rules of Baseball" a wonderful meditation on all of the rules that are not written down anywhere but are just as real and inviolate as any in the official baseball rule book. Why does the team not speak to a pitcher in the middle of a no-hitter? Why does a player on one team get hit by a pitcher after one of the pitcher's teammates had been hit by a pitch? Why do both benches empty whenever there is a brawl between two players on the field? Why is there no crying in baseball? Dickson's thoroughly enjoyable account will answer all of these questions and many more.

As he works through these unwritten rules, divided up as rules for players, rules for managing, rules for umpires, rules for official scorers, and rules for fans, Dickson offers insightful and sometimes humorous anecdotes about the application of these unwritten rules. Most of them, of course, are common sense, such as fans not throwing anything on the field except opposing team home run balls. Some of them are based on superstition and custom such as rule "1.4.2. Ballplayers have routines that are to be honored and not interrupted" (p. 37). Others are nothing more than good manners: "1.1.1. A player's locker is off limits to everyone save for the man whose name appears on it" (p. 27). Still others are recent additions based on nostalgia as in "7.2.0. New ballparks: Baseball should be played outside on real grass in a stadium designed strictly for baseball" (p. 148). I find this last unwritten rule especially germane after suffering baseball games for more than two decades in saucer-shaped, multi-purpose, astroturfed stadiums that did not suit the game well. I am so glad that the advent of Camden Yards and other single-purpose baseball fields have replaced the likes of RFK, the Vet, Riverfront, Three Rivers, and other cookie-cutter stadiums.

A second part of "The Unwritten Rules of Baseball" captures in one place a series of axioms and adages that many have heard but never seen discussed in any depth. Some of these are stupendous. I especially liked "Alston's Truest Axiom." He said in 1975, "Perhaps the truest axiom in baseball is that the toughest thing to do is repeat. The tendency is to relax without knowing it, the feeling being, `we did it last year, so we can do it again'" (p. 157). There is also Charley Lau's conclusion: "There are two theories on hitting the knuckleball. Unfortunately, neither of them work" (p. 191). George Plimpton also captured this truism about sports journalism: "There exists an inverse correlation between the size of the ball and the quality of the writing about the game in which it is used" (p. 207). And finally this one from Bill Veeck, "I try not to break the rules, but merely to test their elasticity" (p. 221).

In many instances Dickson tells us a lot about the origins and development of the unwritten rules and how they have been applied or violated over the years. This is a superb work, witty and charming, funny and smart. You will love it, running into the next room to tell your spouse, partner, or kids key phrases from it. Enjoy!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE TOP THREE UNWRITTEN REASONS WHY I LOVE THIS BOOK, May 17, 2009

By 

A. Wirkmaa "Gentleman & Scholar" (Wyckoff, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Unwritten Rules of Baseball: The Etiquette, Conventional Wisdom, and Axiomatic Codes of Our National Pastime (Hardcover)

1). It's fun.

Dickson's latest foray into the national pastime looks at baseball's conventions and traditions (many of which are decidedly quirky) and its "culture" (far from straight and sober in so many ways), and in doing so reveals the underlying charm and seductiveness of baseball.

At the same time,

2). It's full of the wisdom that can only come from experience.

Dickson doesn't just string a bunch of bon mots you might overhear hanging around a sports bar and call it a book: far from it. Rather, he has exhaustively researched and gathered a staggering amount of insights and acumen from a virtual army of individuals with immeasurable experience in and understanding of baseball (from Yogi Berra to Don Zimmer, and all points in between).

Furthermore,

3). It's sharp, energetic and witty.

Some have said that a good sense of humor is a sign of intelligence. If that's so, Dickson is one smart guy, and he shows it with this book. Moreover, it's also obvious that many - if not most - of the players, coaches, managers and assorted baseball people quoted in the book have something more than air between their ears as well.

In short, no one who buys and reads this book will ever feel any remorse or regret in having made the investment of money and time to do so. It delivers what the title promises, in spades, and - like all the many other books that Dickson has penned over his long and prolific career - it's altogether sound, rock solid in its execution, and simply delightful in every respect.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I swallowed this wonderful book in one gulp, April 13, 2009

By 

William B. Mead (Bethesda, Md. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Unwritten Rules of Baseball: The Etiquette, Conventional Wisdom, and Axiomatic Codes of Our National Pastime (Hardcover)

Wonder why noone mentions the term "no hitter" while one is underway? What determines who-sits-where in the dugout? What an umpire is supposed to never do, and what a player can and cannot say to an ump? How Ty Cobb still influences baseball conduct? Dickson's delightful book answers these questions and hundreds more, with anecdotes and quotes to keep you learning and laughing. Perfect read, perfect gift.