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A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball
The Game Behind the Scenes continues and concludes Peter Morris's superb encyclopedia of the national pastime. This volume concentrates on ballparks, fans, marketing, statistics, the building of teams, and other related aspects of the game. But this is much more than just a reference guide. Award-winning author Peter Morris explains the context that led each new item to emerge when it did, and chronicles the often surprising responses to these innovations.
664 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 2, 2019
Review title: America's game II
After reading the first volume of The Game of Inches
(The Game on the Field), I added this volume of off-field innovations to my wish list and got it for my 60th birthday. Sadly this wasn't quite as good, but does complete a worthy set of baseball history reference books for the dedicated fan.
Published the same year by the same publisher and continuing the same numbering scheme which seems to pay tribute to the famously deep and arcane MLB rule book, Morris clearly intended this to be of a piece with volume 1. But it feels more rushed and less well-documented, perhaps because the subject matter is more subjective and potentially vast. The table of contents starts with chapter 13 in continuation of the first volume, and covers the business side of building a team: minor leagues, trades, rosters, and scouts. Perhaps it is the qualitative nature of these topics that makes it feel less well-documented than the more quantifiable on-field feats in The Game on the Field. For example, who was the first scout or agent? Many people might have played the role without carrying the business card, and documenting the progression of those roles into the professions they have come would be a book unto itself that wouldn't fit into the 350+ page confines of this one. Morris even uses wording like this to describe some topics.
Other major headings cover ballparks, fans, and marketing. One major heading covers statistics, which might sound like it belongs in the first volume, but here provides the interesting history of how the definition of the common statistics we know today (like ERA and batting average) changed and evolved over time in the scoring and reporting on games. Money--professionalism, contracts, ownership, unionization, negotiations and contracts--forms another major section, as does inclusion (after years of unwritten rules of exclusion) of African and Latin American players. The competition section covers the determination of champions and the checkered growth of playoffs; the objections to playoffs as stated by the old-time conservative baseball men seem both reasonable and anachronistic to our modern way of thinking.
While Morris was very scrupulous in sourcing his evidence in the first book, here he often provides some sources for conflicting points of view about off-the field innovations then resorts to a general statement of his own conclusion about the rightful owner and era of the innovation without attribution for his opinion. As I said above, this may be inevitable given the unquantifable nature of many of these topics and the limitations of size, but I felt like just a bit more time and space put into documenting his conclusions would have been worth the added pages. Morris does provide an extensive bibliography and an index of names here just as in Volume 1.
Still, these are just quibbles. Morris has provided a valuable reference book for fans of the history and growth of the "national pastime" (yes, the origin of the phrase and the idea behind it are covered in the section 25). These two volumes have earned shelf space in the library of any baseball fan.
After reading the first volume of The Game of Inches
(The Game on the Field), I added this volume of off-field innovations to my wish list and got it for my 60th birthday. Sadly this wasn't quite as good, but does complete a worthy set of baseball history reference books for the dedicated fan.
Published the same year by the same publisher and continuing the same numbering scheme which seems to pay tribute to the famously deep and arcane MLB rule book, Morris clearly intended this to be of a piece with volume 1. But it feels more rushed and less well-documented, perhaps because the subject matter is more subjective and potentially vast. The table of contents starts with chapter 13 in continuation of the first volume, and covers the business side of building a team: minor leagues, trades, rosters, and scouts. Perhaps it is the qualitative nature of these topics that makes it feel less well-documented than the more quantifiable on-field feats in The Game on the Field. For example, who was the first scout or agent? Many people might have played the role without carrying the business card, and documenting the progression of those roles into the professions they have come would be a book unto itself that wouldn't fit into the 350+ page confines of this one. Morris even uses wording like this to describe some topics.
Other major headings cover ballparks, fans, and marketing. One major heading covers statistics, which might sound like it belongs in the first volume, but here provides the interesting history of how the definition of the common statistics we know today (like ERA and batting average) changed and evolved over time in the scoring and reporting on games. Money--professionalism, contracts, ownership, unionization, negotiations and contracts--forms another major section, as does inclusion (after years of unwritten rules of exclusion) of African and Latin American players. The competition section covers the determination of champions and the checkered growth of playoffs; the objections to playoffs as stated by the old-time conservative baseball men seem both reasonable and anachronistic to our modern way of thinking.
While Morris was very scrupulous in sourcing his evidence in the first book, here he often provides some sources for conflicting points of view about off-the field innovations then resorts to a general statement of his own conclusion about the rightful owner and era of the innovation without attribution for his opinion. As I said above, this may be inevitable given the unquantifable nature of many of these topics and the limitations of size, but I felt like just a bit more time and space put into documenting his conclusions would have been worth the added pages. Morris does provide an extensive bibliography and an index of names here just as in Volume 1.
Still, these are just quibbles. Morris has provided a valuable reference book for fans of the history and growth of the "national pastime" (yes, the origin of the phrase and the idea behind it are covered in the section 25). These two volumes have earned shelf space in the library of any baseball fan.
March 5, 2017
Taken piece by piece, this book should almost belong in a history course, as one could spend an entire semester (or more) poring over the onerous details. The premise is relatively simple, as author Peter Morris tries to get to the bottom of the "first time" that certain things happened on the baseball field or were introduced to the game. Every imaginable concept (gloves, signs, rules, you name it!) is seemingly covered in the book, and in incredibly researched detail. Though Morris himself admits that many of the areas he researched do not have a definitive "first", this is easily the most cumulative discussion of those areas ever put together.
Yet, besides just the "firsts" aspect that is the true hook of this book, I found its most interesting quality to be the picture it paints of pre-1900s baseball. Even moderate baseball fans (because of the rich history of the sport) can harken back to the days of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, and Christy Mathewson with relative ease, but before that...it's all kind of a blur. This book, though, rather inadvertently, fills in that gap in the history of the sport very admirable. I learned many things about the creation of the game of baseball that I had never known before, and I consider myself to be pretty well-versed on the subject. That knowledge has even changed the way that I evaluate players of that era (and even into the early 1900s), as baseball was played, managed, and run so much differently back then.
That being said, the reason I can't flat-out give this book a five-star rating is because, in all honesty, it is quite boring at times. I am a pretty avid book reader (especially when it comes to baseball history), and I still needed to motivate myself to pick up the large text at times. In no way do I mean to indicate that the book is boring, but (as I mentioned earlier) it is kind of like reading a college history textbook. Sure it's interesting, but it's also no Stephen King, either. I actually got more out of the book as a whole than through some of the individual chapters.
Thus, I recommend this book to truly passionate lovers of the history of baseball only. For that audience, be prepared to learn an awful lot about the early history of the game. However, I am afraid that others will be scared away by the textbook-like approach that Morris takes.
Yet, besides just the "firsts" aspect that is the true hook of this book, I found its most interesting quality to be the picture it paints of pre-1900s baseball. Even moderate baseball fans (because of the rich history of the sport) can harken back to the days of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, and Christy Mathewson with relative ease, but before that...it's all kind of a blur. This book, though, rather inadvertently, fills in that gap in the history of the sport very admirable. I learned many things about the creation of the game of baseball that I had never known before, and I consider myself to be pretty well-versed on the subject. That knowledge has even changed the way that I evaluate players of that era (and even into the early 1900s), as baseball was played, managed, and run so much differently back then.
That being said, the reason I can't flat-out give this book a five-star rating is because, in all honesty, it is quite boring at times. I am a pretty avid book reader (especially when it comes to baseball history), and I still needed to motivate myself to pick up the large text at times. In no way do I mean to indicate that the book is boring, but (as I mentioned earlier) it is kind of like reading a college history textbook. Sure it's interesting, but it's also no Stephen King, either. I actually got more out of the book as a whole than through some of the individual chapters.
Thus, I recommend this book to truly passionate lovers of the history of baseball only. For that audience, be prepared to learn an awful lot about the early history of the game. However, I am afraid that others will be scared away by the textbook-like approach that Morris takes.
June 23, 2024
The second volume in a two-part series, Morris's book focused on the development of baseball off the field -- the business, the ballparks, the management, the labor disputes -- with the same level of meticulous detail he brought to the game on the field. This book, like the first, is essential in any baseball library.
November 22, 2017
Encyclopedic but interesting. Having read his book "Catcher" - which was wonderful - I thought this would more in that style rather than a series of entries describing various aspects of the game. While there is plenty to enjoy here its not a book I sat down and read for long stretches at a time.
November 8, 2015
A fantastic history of all the changes made to the game of baseball since the mid-19th century. Entries are entertaining and informative to read on their own (that is, for pure pleasure) and also to consult for information. One of the many things I love about this book is the quoted material from old (1870s!) newspaper and magazine articles on players and games.
April 28, 2008
This book is a chronicle of how many of the common place rules and practices of baseball first got started. It is very, very dry. I really liked some of the stuff I learned although it is predominantly trivia, and narrative isn't really attempted. It reads like an almanac.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews