Rating:  - The best book for beginners
Baseball is a confusing game for beginners and it is not that easy to spot th rules once you start watching it. This book is perfect, as it says, for "dummies", people who have no coach or father, explaining rules to them, or even friends playing it. Th book itself is atreasure, and anybody who appreciates sports will be pleased reading it. It is written in easy-to-understand way, like all "4 Dummies" series' books, so even a beginning Minor Leaguer will have no problem understanding this exciting guide to the world of baseball.
Rating: - The premier introduction to professional baseball
Now in a significantly updated and expanded third edition, Baseball For Dummies by Baseball Hall of Fame player and ESPN analyst Joe Morgan in collaboration with sportswriter Richard Lally continues to be the premier introduction to the sport of professional baseball. Readers will learn how to improve their hitting, pitching, and fielding; find a team to play with from Little League on up; knowledgeably evaluate games stats, players, and records; coach or umpire effectively; and simply get more fun out of a trip the ballpark. With this latest edition covering new star players, new stadiums, and new game milestones, no dedicated fan or aspiring player can afford not to have their own personal copy of Baseball For Dummies!
Rating:  - Tries to cover too many bases
This book is fun to read and very well written. However, it seemed to try too hard to suit all audiences. The danger in that, of course, is that it doesn't do a great job for any one type of reader. I got this book for the basic baseball knowledge it contains--I recently got "hooked" on baseball, and wanted to know more about the rules, how to keep score, how statistics are computed and what they mean. And there is some of that in this book. However, a great deal more of the book is aimed at little leaguers--how to pick out equipment, how to practice, and so on. Then there are the sections on great players. I think the readers who pick up this book are going to want more in-depth information on the particular area they are interested in. So, this book may be your first book on baseball, but it won't be your last! Just whets the appetite, so to speak.
The book tries to do too much, and would have better served the reader by concentrating on one area. Nonetheless, Joe Morgan comes across as very knowledgeable and a great guy!
Rating: - What is the target audience for this book?
Baseball for Dummies covers many different subjects, from great players to practice drills to how to set up a league. It may range over too many subjects - the beginning fan doesn't need to know about practice drills, and a Little Leaguer doesn't need to know about the great players. I think this book is better for novice players than for novice fans.
Rating:  - Good Baseball Starter
This is a good baseball starter book. It is not "great" as some of the other Dummies books that I have used. Some of it is more involved than I would expect, yet some of the more detailed sections skip important details that should have been included. Still, it is probably one of the better buys in this genre.
I have played ball over several decades and I even learned a couple things from this book. The coverage was fairly good and the strategies for the different positions and analysis of their requirements and difficulties was something that only a true professional could provide with conviction.
This list of "records that are least likely to be broken" were entertaining and convincing -- some things that I probably would not have thought of.
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