Hidden Ball Trick

[goody14]

Someone wrote an entire book on the Hidden Ball Trick.

 

Has anyone read this?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Hidden-Ball-Trick-Baseballs/dp/144224433X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427472646&sr=1-1

 

It is pretty expensive - wondering if it is worth the dough.

[johnnyg08]

Yikes...very expensive.  

 

I can't imagine the stories being too riveting.  

 

 

"He stepped off of the base and was tagged!"    

[Cav]

Just maybe after the book is purchased, the consumer might discover that the "trick" was on him.

[Radie 88]

To be fair... It kind of sounds interesting. I mean,  check out this one (of two) review: (emphasis mine)

 

"Author Bill Deane tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the hidden ball trick in this thoroughly researched book.

The hidden ball trick (HBT) is almost as old as baseball itself. The first recorded incident was on May 20, 1872. Deane has documented 264 cases of HBT. As Deane shows, the HBT can be pulled almost any time, and it isn't just rookies who are the victims. Veterans and future Hall of Famers have found themselves on the wrong end of the embarrassing HBT.

Some players consider the HBT as "bush league," and from time to time, there has been talk of banning the play.

Connie Ryan, who played in the majors from 1942 to 1954, said the HBT is a "perfectly legitimate maneuver. A runner and his coach have an obligation to be on their toes to prevent it from happening."

Details of the individual HBT range from just a couple sentences to 200-300 words. To Deane's credit, he offers multiple newspaper accounts of the play, if they're available. He even corresponded decades later with some of the players involved to get their version.

Deane enhances the book with chapters "Tricks Gone Awry," "Unsubstantiated Possibilities," "Odds and Ends," footnotes, a bibliography, an appendix listing all 264 HBTs and an index.

Deane offers a variety of interesting tidbits, such as the HBT was successful three times on May 26, 1914, throughout the book.

Although this isn't a book for the casual baseball fan, those with an interest in research and baseball history will find it well worth their time. Few subjects in baseball have been as thoroughly covered and documented by a single author."

 

At least I find this interesting... Not $44 interesting, but interesting nonetheless.