Tom Carlson (tomcarlson) - , reviewed on 10/17/2009 + 25 more book reviews

So, my mother-in-law decided she wanted to start watching baseball. (To try and form some sort of common interest with her daughter. You've never met two more dissimilar people in your life.) But, she really knows absolutely nothing about the game. So we went looking for a guide. This book wasn't it. We bought her something simpler. But I thought, being a decently informed baseball fan, I would get this for myself.

It's not a bad read. But it doesn't really deliver on what it promises, either. It's billed as a guide to watching baseball like a professional commentator like McCarver. What it actually is is McCarver's view as to how the game ought to be played, complete with examples of players and coaches that either do it right or wrong. Plus, it adds a little behind-the-scenes info.

From that, you can indeed glean some insight into how to watch the game. But you need to tease it out. It's really not presented that way.

Also, while the broad organization of the book is fine, within chapters, it all basically falls apart. It's just dense paragraph after dense paragraph. Again, you can tease out the insight, but it takes awhile.

Taken as it is, it's an enjoyable read. Taken as it's billed, it's a challenge.

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