Rounding Third! Baseball by Rennay Craats

Spring will come. There'll be new grass on the field and the crack (or ping) of the bat against a ball will be heard again in the land.

For baseball beginners just tying up their first cleats, Rennay Craats' Baseball (In the Zone) (Weigl, 2009) is a slim manual which presents the basics in a series of double-page spreads illustrated with full-color photographs.

Throwing out the first pitch ("What Is Baseball?), Craats sketches a brief history of the sport, from way back before the Knickerbocker Rules, and then swings into sections on equipment, the layout of the playing field, positions and rules. She tosses out a discussion of the basics of the sport's organization into major and minor leagues, school, recreational and Little Leagues, and her lineup of chapters also includes "Superstars of the Sport," hitting such greats as Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Manny Ramirez, and Derek Jeter. Craats closes with "Staying Healthy," quick advice for the young player on nutrition and keeping muscles and joints loose for those "quick stops and starts" required by baseball.

The author backstops her text with a brief appendix which includes quick questions and answers ("Baseball Brain Teasers"), a glossary of baseball terms, and a brief index. For a quick scrimmage on the sport of baseball,
Baseball (In the Zone) is a quick and easy read to get the youngest players on deck for spring training.

Other books in Weigl's In the Zone series include Basketball (In the Zone), Skateboarding (In the Zone), Football (In the Zone), Hockey (In the Zone), and Soccer (In the Zone).