PDF K A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches eBook Tyler Kepner

Product details File Size 56545 KB Print Length 320 pages Publisher Doubleday (April 2, 2019) Publication Date April 2, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07FC2SHGR

K A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches eBook Tyler Kepner Reviews

• There are many ways to watch a baseball game. The casual viewer simply watches the interplay between pitcher, batter and fielders. Whether the batter gets a hit or not seems simply a matter of chance.
  
  Following the expansion of Rotisserie leagues, analytics has allowed non-athletes another way of viewing the game. Statistics like WHIP or WAR enables one to chart the prowess of each pitcher or batter more accurately. Now the battle between pitcher and batter seems less a matter of chance and more a matter of probabilistic calculation.
  
  But there is a yet another way of watching the game. It is to understand the mechanics of how the pitcher chooses a pitch, grips a ball and the corresponding reaction of the batter.
  
  It is this view that K provides. If you are interested in learning what options are in a pitcher’s repertoire and how the sword fight between pitcher and batter persists pitch by pitch then you will enjoy K.
  
  Of course, all of this is illuminated by anecdotes from the greats of the game both past and present. If you don’t know baseball lore then K will be mostly unreadable. But given how many people still watch baseball and how many people still read books, I suspect most readers will have enough baseball knowledge to appreciate the book.
  
  A delight for baseball aficionados, this is a book for all those who want to watch the game with insight into what is really going on between pitcher and batter. Maybe not a classic but a genuine contribution to understanding a game which seems to have had so many books written about it that nothing more could be said. Highly recommended to fellow fans of the national pastime.
• Three things got me fired up for the new baseball season this week seeing my neighbor and his son play catch, buying a pack of sunflower seeds, and reading this book. K A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches is exactly what I love about the game, the stories. Kepner relays the building of relationships through the teaching of the game. From their origins to the highlights, these ten pitches have been passed down and evolved from one thrower to the next.
  
  Kepler details the purpose of each pitch, the mechanics of throwing, and game strategies of use. All the greats are called on to demonstrate Ryan, Carlton, Paige, Johnson (Randy and Walter), Young (Cy and Curt), Bumgarner, Quisenbury, and many more. The lines are aplenty. i.e. Catfish Hunter could ‘hit a gnat on the ass.’ Through hundreds of interviews and exhaustive research, Kepler dives deep into the lore of the game.
  
  Yes, there a little of this ‘new baseball’ in the book Exit velo. Spin rate. Launch angle. But most importantly, there are the stories. We all know that the game is changing… that the power game has changed the movement game… and thus the complete game. Yet, it is stories, the anecdotes, and the yarns… like the ones in K that keep us coming back.
  
  I’m not going to remember the spin rate of the curveball that struck out the last hitter to win the world series, but I will remember the story of how he learned to throw that pitch.
• Tyler Kepner’s K A veritable time machine
  
  Those of us who have had the good fortune to pitch a baseball in competition at any level should enjoy Tyler Kepner's inside view on the art of pitching. His book, K A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches, covers various kinds of pitches, ball grip and release, finger pressure, and body mechanics, as well as the major-leaguers that mastered the art of delivering each of ten pitches. But that’s not all.
  
  Anecdotes from the great pitchers of the game, both past and present, spice-up the author’s narrative making the book an enjoyable read from start to finish. It was hard to put down as it rekindled fond memories of wins, losses, championships, and friendships of long ago.
  
  I had a baseball in hand as I read this well written book—learning the proper names for pitches I threw from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s without the help of any kind of pitching coach that proliferate in today's game.. For me, the book was a veritable time machine. It literally transported me back to the days of my youth and early adulthood when I had a tryout with the Chicago White Sox in 1950 at age 19. If I only knew then what I know now.
  
  If you love baseball, you will enjoy this book while gaining a deeper understanding of the game and its players, as well as pitching strategy and tactics.
• This book is going to take me awhile to read. I read chapter 1 three times. It’s informative and so much fun. I have learned so much about pitching. So many great stories from the lore of the game. Highly recommend. I finished chapter 2 but may read it again before moving forward. There is so much to enjoy and process in each chapter. Thank you Mr. Kepner!
• If you like baseball, but don't really understand pitching or hitting this is a great book. It's a well written explanation of the ten pitches that have made baseball from the fast ball to the spit ball. If you've wondered what pitches made Warren Spahn or Whitey Ford great, read this book. If you want to know what the great hitters who faced Spahn and Ford thought of their pitches, read this book.
  
  If you wonder why pitchers arms are always in strange positions, read this book, but it would have been nice if there were some pictures devoted to each of the famous pictures. There are pictures of great pitchers which makes up a little.
• As a casual BB fan, I was really ignorant about pitches and their evolution. This book explains them as well as the pitchers that throw them and why. If you want an education and a good read, try this book out.
• Well written but I was interested in illustrations of how different pitches were fingered and released. Spin is discussed but diagrams of movements of pitches would have added clarification. Also, a bit more insight into the art of mixing pitches when facing batters.