Joe Gergen - The Everything Kids Baseball Book: A Guide to Todays Stars, All-Time Greats, and Legendary Teams—With Tips on Playing Like a Pro

Includes all-new updates on your favorite players and teams!

Everything you want in a kids book

Associated Press

The Everything Kids Baseball Book

12th Edition

A guide to todays stars, all-time greats, and legendary teamswith tips on playing like a pro

Joe Gergen

Adams Media

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

100 Technology Center Drive

Stoughton, Massachusetts 02072

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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An Everything Series Book.

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This Adams Media trade paperback edition March 2022

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Interior layout by Colleen Cunningham and Alaya Howard

Illustrations by Jim Steck

Puzzles by Beth L. Blair and Jim Steck

Cover design by Erin Alexander

ISBN 978-1-5072-1806-8

ISBN 978-1-5072-1807-5 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

For Judy Dowling Wolf, a cousin who raised two major leaguerspitcher Randy and umpire Jim.

Do you remember the feeling you had when you got your first glove? The excitement of catching a ball for the very first time? How about watching your favorite player hit a walk-off home run? People around the world have been playing, watching, and arguing about baseball for 150 yearsand why not? Baseball is Americas pastime!

Whether youre a super fan or completely new to the sport, this book has something to offer you:

• If youre new to the game or are looking for new ways to play, check out Chapter 1 . There youll find all the rules of play, along with tips for developing your hitting and defensive skills.
• Learn about the origins of the game and the original stars of baseball in Chapter 2 , with a look at the history and evolution of the sport from the 1800s to today.
• Chapters 3 and 4 cover the National and American Leagues and the legendary players from each team. Baseball and softball players outside the major leagues are featured in Chapter 8 .
• Todays greatest players and the Baseball Hall of Fame are the focus of Chapter 5 .
• Do you love to keep track of player and team statistics, record holders, and league standings? Youll find all that and more in Chapter 7 .
• Chapter 9 is your guide to being a super fan. Youll get advice on drafting your own fantasy baseball team and creating a baseball card collection. And if youve always wanted to learn how to score a game, theres a step-by-step guide to filling out an official scorecard.

The EverythingKids Baseball Book, 12th Edition can be your guide to baseball past and baseball present. Its certainly fun to read straight through, but it can also be a useful reference. Are your grandparents always talking about the 1975 World Series? Read about what they saw in the list of notable Series games. Is your sister always checking the box scores in the newspaper or online? Use this book to find out what those columns of numbers mean. Do you want to become a better player? Try some of the skill-building exercises or learn a new game like Off the Wall or Punchball. And throughout the book youll find fun puzzles and activities to keep you occupied when you cant get outside to play.

Ready to get started? Step up to the plate and

Play Ball!

B aseball is a great game, one that is played and enjoyed by tens of millions of people. Many of those who appreciate the game grew up playing and watching baseball. Few get good enough to be major leaguers, but everyone can learn how to play, and everyone can, with practice, become a better player. This chapter covers the fundamentals of baseball: the rules, the necessary skills, the positions of the players, and some ways to play baseball even if you dont have two teams of nine players available.

Baseball, at its heart, is a very simple game. A batter hits the ball, then tries to make it to first base (or farther!) without getting called out. Someone who gets all the way around the bases scores a run; whichever team scores the most runs during the game wins.

Teams take turns at bat. A team keeps batting until they make three outs; then they pitch to the other team until they make three outs. After each team has had nine turns, the game is over.

Here are the most common ways for the batter to make an out:

words to know inning

A period of play in which each team has a turn at bat. A professional or college baseball game lasts for nine innings. High school and Little League games are usually shorterfive, six, or seven innings.

• Strikeout. A batter gets a strike if he swings and misses, or if he doesnt swing at a good pitch. Three strikes and the batter is out.
• Flyout. If a fielder catches a batted ball before it hits the ground, the batter is out.
• Groundout. If a fielder throws the ball to first base before the batter gets there, the batter is out.
• Tagged out. If a runner is not touching a base and is tagged with the ball, the runner is out.

Theres much, much more to the rules of baseball, but you learn by playing and watching the game. Even professional players are still learning about the game. Thats part of what makes baseball such a wonderful sport!