Product Description

A brilliant analysis of the game of baseball from two women who think everyone should be a baseball fan.

For years, Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney figured that men simply knew more about baseball than they did. They tried to reconcile their love of baseball with their second-class fan status, but they finally realized that not getting in a tizzy over the 1952 World Series didn't mean that they weren't "real" fans. As loyal—but not insane or stat-obsessed—spectators, they simply had a different perspective. In It Takes More Than Balls they share their brand of baseball passion with lifelong fans and the "baseball curious" of either gender. Offering anecdotes and gossip from the ballpark, the book also explains the nuances of today's game that will help readers enjoy their next (or first) baseball outing. 20 b/w illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58357 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 265 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Freelance writer Silva, and Koney, who directs youth programs for Seattle's YMCA, teamed up to write a book about baseball, which they both love, even though they've never played the game. Before they even describe the basic mechanics of the game, they launch into a chatty chapter on baseball history. They follow this with a digression on the role of managers before arriving at the heart of their book, a discussion of various game positions and how they're played. They continue with chapters on pitchers, theories of the lineup and instructions on how to score a game, all interspersed with sidebars from females, identified by first name and age, making enthusiastic comments about what a great game baseball is. Surprisingly, basic information—how the diamond is organized, the responsibilities of each position, game mechanics—is never laid out consistently. In the end, apart from the subtitle and the sidebars, there's little here for savvy girls. (Apr.)
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MLB.com
A fun, easy-to-read and staggeringly informative reference material for women interested in learning more about baseball.

Cal Ripken, Jr.
"A unique and fun book that lends a whole new perspective on our national pastime. Congratulations to Deidre and Jackie for presenting the game in such a wonderful and informative way. This book is a great tool and a good read for all baseball fans of any age."

Customer Reviews

For novices and baseball data freaks alike
Reading Deirdre Silva & Jackie Koney's "It Takes More Than Balls" is like sitting down at an evening barbeque and having a great conversation with two new friends. Oh, and we are all drinking gimlets.
Deirdre and Jackie have a wonderful loving relationship with baseball that comes through loud and clear in their witty, well written, and more than occasionally acerbic prose. (I did say that we were drinking gimlets...) But the sarcasm doesn't detract from the lovingly presented history of baseball that is full of anecdotes and insider information.
Bottom line: there is just enough data to keep the information collector baseball fans in your house happy, but plenty of great stories about baseball's many characters to keep the rest of us fair weather fans reading this fantastic book late into the night.

An outstanding introduction to baseball
"It Takes More Than Balls" is a great introduction to baseball. And if you are a seasoned veteran of the game, it's still a lot of fun because it will give you a whole new slant on what's happening on the field. It was written to help women learn about and enjoy baseball, but it's loaded with wry humor and off-beat anecdotes that will appeal to any fan. Here's an example: some hitters have the knack of fouling off pitch after pitch to wear the pitcher down. Luke Appling of the Chicago White Sox fouled off an incredible number of pitches because he was unhappy with the team's owner who had to pay to replace each ball hit into the stands. Stories like this come from thorough research (writing the book was a four-year project). It is strong on facts, yet it presents them in a unique, playful way. I stronly recommend "It Takes More Than Balls" to anyone looking to have fun with baseball.

it takes more than balls
I loved it! It provides a great mix of history, humor and stats. It is a quick read and would be interesting to both hard core fans and novices.