Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons & Other Fans - Hardcover

McCarver, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375500855 ISBN 13: 9780375500855

Publisher: Villard, 1998

Synopsis

Tim McCarver, major league baseball's premier analyst, has been surprising and delighting viewers for years with his remarkable insight. Fans who once were content to merely watch baseball were stimulated into wanting to think baseball as well. McCarver brings to the booth a combination of twenty-one years of major league service and nearly twenty more in broadcasting. There is nobody better at explaining the game than McCarver, and it is a rare game in which the viewer does not learn something new and unusual. Now he is putting down on paper all he knows about the sport, producing this unique perspective on how America's pastime should be played and watched.
With his unmistakable wit and storytelling verve, McCarver succinctly explains the fundamentals and proper mechanics of baseball at the level necessary for success in the major leagues. Once the skills have been learned, the viewer can devise smart strategies, getting into the heads of the players, coaches, and managers: When should a player or manager be conservative or aggressive; what factors change as the count goes deeper; how do you set up an effective running game, and how can a defense try to sabotage it?
This book is a gold mine for all fans, from brain surgeons and rocket scientists to beginners who want to start with the basics. (Even major leaguers will be able to pick up some pointers.) With a deeper knowledge and understanding of baseball, any fan will be able to watch it like a pro.

About this title

About the Author

About the Authors

Tim McCarver is major league baseball's premier analyst, having provided his trademark blend of provocative and witty commentary to the Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, and postseason play on FOX since 1996, and to New York Mets games on WWOR since 1983. Familiar to all fans who watch baseball's jewel events, he has broadcast eight All-Star Games and nine World Series since 1984. During his twenty-one years (1959-1980) as a major league catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadel-phia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Boston Red Sox, he played in two All-Star Games and appeared in the postseason six times, including on the Cardinals' world championship teams in 1964 and 1967. He lives in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Anne. They have two daughters, Kathy and Kelly.

Danny Peary is an acclaimed sportswriter and film and television critic whose books include Cult Movies; Alternate Oscars; Cult Baseball Players; We Played the Game: 65 Players Remember Baseball's Greatest Era, 1947-1964; and Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives. He lives in New York City and Sag Harbor, New York, with his wife, Suzanne. They have a daughter, Zoë.

From the Back Cover

"Tim McCarver is one of the most intelligent men in America. I only wish more politicians, journalists and educators were in his class. To support my claim, I refer all readers to this simple volume, the most intelligent book ever written about our secular national religion." --Pete Hamill

From the Inside Flap

, major league baseball's premier analyst, has been surprising and delighting viewers for years with his remarkable insight. Fans who once were content to merely watch baseball were stimulated into wanting to think baseball as well. McCarver brings to the booth a combination of twenty-one years of major league service and nearly twenty more in broadcasting. There is nobody better at explaining the game than McCarver, and it is a rare game in which the viewer does not learn something new and unusual. Now he is putting down on paper all he knows about the sport, producing this unique perspective on how America's pastime should be played and watched.<br>With his unmistakable wit and storytelling verve, McCarver succinctly explains the fundamentals and proper mechanics of baseball at the level necessary for success in the major leagues. Once the skills have been learned, the viewer can devise smart strategies, getting into the heads of the players, coaches, and managers: When should a player or manager

Reviews

YA-Although this instructive overview is a bit complex for novices, its entertaining look at the strategies of the game will delight and educate curious readers. There are no diagrams of suggested plays and there is minimal explanation of basic terms. For avid baseball fans, however, McCarver's stories and point of view on strategy are both fun to read and informative. The authors go beyond an explanation of baseball to an interpretation of the game, often play by play. Writing with similar intent but with less emphasis on history than George Will in Bunts: Curt Flood, Camden Yards, Pete Rose and Other Reflections on Baseball, (S & S, 1998), McCarver and Peary use humor and experience as touchstones to their ideas. Together, they present baseball as a game of intellect as well as physical strength and make its plays easier to understand for TV viewers. This is an entertaining commentary that will delight fans eager to learn more about "the inside story" of baseball.
Catherine Charvat, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fox-TV broadcaster and former All-Star player McCarver (Oh, Baby, I Love It!, with Ray Robinson, Villard, 1987) is known for his keen baseball analysis. His coauthor, Peary, compiled a book of baseball interviews, We Played the Game (LJ 2/94). Unlike Jon Miller and Bob Costas, McCarver does not offer any bromides for the problems facing baseball. Instead his is a fan's guide to viewing ball games. In the wrong hands this kind of book could be deadly dull, since some points may seem obvious. But McCarver actually offers a fascinatingly quick-paced, easy-to-read explanation of what goes on during a game. Sections include pitching, hitting and running, defense, and strategy. There are boxed sections with oddities and humorous insights that give the book spice. Both the advanced and the casual fan will enjoy this book. Recommended for most libraries.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375500855
• ISBN 13: 9780375500855
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 344