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Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357
EAN: 9780375753404
ISBN: 0375753400
Label: Villard
Manufacturer: Villard
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: March 16, 1999
Publisher: Villard
Release Date: March 16, 1999
Studio: Villard
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Editorial Review:
On the surface, baseball looks like such an easy game--you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball, and you run around the bases--but there are so many beautiful and hidden facets to the diamond. If anyone knows the game's on-field secrets, it's Tim McCarver. He caught in the Majors for 21 seasons, handling such Hall of Fame hurlers as Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. Since hanging up his spikes almost two decades ago, he's been one of the game's most visible, thoughtful, and instructive analysts.
McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons is just that: a packed, at times densely penned, manual for smart and inquisitive fans, written up to their hunger for good, solid, challenging insight into the game's tactics, strategies, and maneuverings. McCarver goes into impressively thorough detail, which is his ultimate strength and occasional weakness; he assumes you've already got at least a baseball B.A. If you don't know a cut fastball from a four-seamer, you might consider applying elsewhere until you do, but if you are indeed up to the demands of a provocative graduate seminar, McCarver's quite a professor. He's an engaging storyteller, he never hides his biases, and while he's naturally strong on his perceptions into the game's most primal relationship of pitcher and catcher, he's never less than major league everywhere else around the diamond.
"I started McCarver's book because I was sure he would teach me something. I finished it as Casey Stengel."--The Cincinnati EnquirerTim McCarver, baseball's preeminent analyst, has set down all that he knows about how the game should be played and watched. With his trademark wit and style, McCarver explains the fundamentals and proper mechanics at the level necessary for success in the major leagues.
Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans is a gold mine for all fans, brain surgeons or otherwise, and anyone learning how to play or coach the game. (Even major leaguers will pick up some pointers.) After the wonderful 1998 season, America's pastime has never been more popular, and with the deeper knowledge and understanding of baseball that Brain Surgeons provides, any fan will be able to watch it like a pro.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Everything you need to know about the battery
When I first bought this book I thought the title was just a gimmick and that this would just be another half hearted attempt to explain baseball to wives and girlfriends everywhere. Well I was wrong. The info in this book even I at times find hard to follow. The only problem I have is that Mccarver spends 3/4 of the book explaining pitches and hitting counts. Balls are good for hitter, strikes good for pitcher. Its not that hard to figure out. I thought he would explain baserunning and outfielding ... Read More
Rating: - the best book I've ever read about baseball
McCarver having been a catcher, this book contains a treasure trove of knowledge concerning what goes on in the showdown between the batter vs. the pitcher and catcher at every single pitch (and that showdown accounts for 90% of the action in any given baseball game). I have never watched a baseball game the same way since then; thanks to McCarver I understand the game and love watching it more than I ever have. I re-read this book often... it's the definitive field-guide to my favorite sport.
Rating:  - You Could Do Much Worse
There have been quite a few reviews posted already, and strangely enough, I agree with almost all of them.
A few years ago, I found this book at a library sale and purchased it for about $2. It's definitely worth $2. I question whether it's worth $20.
STRENGTHS
- To my knowledge, no other single baseball book has ever tackled this many topics at once. Most tactical situations that could ever arise in MLB are covered.
- Fans of Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton will ... Read More
Rating:  - Must read for the hard core fan
If you love the ins and out of baseball and want to know more about the tactics and stratigies...this is your book. You should have a good grasp of baseball before reading this however. I look at baseball different now.....I appreciate the nuances more.....
Cav
Rating: - For Serious Fans Only
Let me begin by saying that I like so many baseball fans have two thoughts regarding McCarver. 1) I appreciate this former Major League catcher's immense understanding of the game and 2) I get tired during broadcasts of listening to his endless (and seemingly self-serving and self-inflating) ramblings about what is going on in the heads of players and coaches. That said, the only problem I really had when reading this book was getting McCarver's voice out of my head.
Once I did that I found the material ... Read More
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