Baseball Brain Teasers: Major League Puzzlers (Paperback)

~ (Author), Sandy Hoffman (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9 Baseball, as one of the very few team sports without a clock, is among the slowest of games. This leaves time for statistics, anecdotes, and trivia such as this collection of odd incidents connected with the myriad of rules that control the game. Is a ball that bounces off a player's head and into the center field stands a double or a homer? Can a batter switch his hitting stance from right to left while he's at the plate? All of the strange events are based upon actual incidents, and names, time, and place are provided. Black-and-white cartoon drawings decorate the text. Good for browsing (and arguing), this type of book belongs in every sports collection. Robert Unsworth, Scarsdale Jr . High School , N.Y.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Baseball expert challenges you to make the call on recent and classic bizarre major-league plays that really happened. For example, how would you handle a ball that bounced off a fielder's head? "Enjoyable and informative for all ages. Recommended."--Book Report. "Belongs in every sports collection."--School Library Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; Illustrated. edition (March 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806962844
• ISBN-13: 978-0806962849
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #465,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast, fun read., June 1, 1999

By A Customer

If you love unusual plays and scenarios, this is a great little book. It ties many of them to actual occurrences. It contains lessons for players and fans alike. A quick read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So, do you have the baseball rule book memorized yet?, July 13, 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Baseball Brain Teasers: Major League Puzzles" are not really traditional brain teasers, because instead of requiring fast or deep thinking all you need to answer these questions is to have the baseball rule book memorized. Author Dom Forker does and he comes up with dozens of plays, many from actual major league baseball games, that will provide fans with a better appreciation for the finer points of the game, and we are talking ultra fine points as well (many rising to the glorified level of nit-picking).

For example, Forker asks: Can two pitchers be in the same team's lineup at the same time? Can there ever be four outs in a half-inning? Did a runner ever steal first base? Can a runner be safe though hit by a batted all? It is a home run if a batted ball hits an outfielder on the head and bounces into the stands? Can an umpire's call be reversed by another arbiter? Can a player be fined for letting himself be tagged out? Was there ever a ground-rule triple? Can a game continue with eight players on the field? Now, the answers to all of these questions is "yes," but that is hardly the point because you have to know WHY the answer is "yes" (and you have to show your work in providing the answer).

For each situation Forker provides the details and then asks the key question. The answers are provided immediately, along with an explanation of why this is the case, and then usually you will find the time, place, and players involved in an actual baseball game where this happened. "Baseball Brain Teasers" is divided into seven sections: (1) Is That All There is to Bease Running?' (2) Off the Fence; (3) Tricky Tactics; (4) Fair is Fair; (5) The Umpire Rules Supreme; (6) Watch Your Step as You Leave; and (7) Let Them Laugh. If the titles not enough to remind you as to wich story is which, then you can check out the index in the back where everything is categorized in alphabetical order from "Appeal to umpire" to "Wayward ball."

If you have been a long time baseball fan then you should actually recognize many of these situations or have actually seem more recent versions (the book talks about a home run bouncing off of outfielder Rick Monday's head, while I remember seeing it happen to Jose Canseco). Just remember that the purpose of this little volume is not only to inform and entertain, but to intrigue. The book includes cartoon drawings by Sandy Hoffman, but there is also a classic photograph of a St. Louis Cardinal having made a tag play on a runner at second base and looking up to see one umpire on the left punching the runner out and another umpire on the right signaling safe.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK for umps, or serious players, January 28, 2002

By	Shmuel Goldstein (Revava, D.N. Lev HaShomron Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has a plethora of examples of quirky situations all of which can be solved by someone well versed in the rules. Therefore, it's good for umpiring tests, or to test the rules knowledge of serious coaches, players, or fans.

If you are not one of the above or a "rules freak", then this book is not for you.