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Baseball: the definitive autobiography of Ted Williams and 7 other noteworthy books

Here are excerpts from 7 noteworthy new books about baseball.

7. "Throwback: A Big-League Catcher Tells How the Game Is Really Played"

  • By Ross Atkin

By Jason Kendall and Lee Judge

St. Martin's Press

292 pages

(Jason Kendall spent more than 15 years in the major leagues, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and is one of only five catchers in history to catch more than 2,000 games.)

"Because we keep staring straight ahead – because we follow that unwritten rule – most people don't realize that throughout the game the catcher and the umpire are talking nonstop:

" ' Where was that pitch? That's a good pitch right there, Bob, whad'ya think?'

" 'I got it a little out.'

" 'It's not out Bob. He's gonna be there all night. If he was wild, I could see it.'

"All this talking goes on, but the catcher never turns his head around. If a fan pays attention, he might see our heads bobbing up and down; then he knows things are getting animated. But you never want to show up anybody on a baseball field. If you do turn around – if you let the crowd know you're disagreeing with the umpire – somebody's getting ejected."

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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