The Baseball Codes by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca

[Gulfbird44]

A much better read than my last review (see Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons) and my second read on baseball's "codes" (see Ross Bernstein's, The Code). There may be some overlap between the two books (Bernstein and Turbow/Duca) but this one in my opinion had a better flow to it.

Subjects such as mound conference etiquette, retaliation, cheating and brawls on the field are covered well with interesting ancidotes from players and coaches. I especially liked the story about Rex Hudler (who briefly played for the O's) and his final at bat playing for the Buffalo Bisons under Jeff Datz. A nice way to sum up what the "code" meant to some players.

The book is fairly new, so copies may still be found in your local book store but if not, here is the Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Codes-Beanballs-Bench-Clearing-Unwritten/dp/0375424695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274539005&sr=1-1

[BaltimoreTerp]

Requested at the library. Thanks for the heads' up.

[Can_of_corn]

They also have a website:

http://thebaseballcodes.com/

[24fps]

A much better read than my last review (see Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons) and my second read on baseball's "codes" (see Ross Bernstein's, The Code). There may be some overlap between the two books (Bernstein and Turbow/Duca) but this one in my opinion had a better flow to it.

Subjects such as mound conference etiquette, retaliation, cheating and brawls on the field are covered well with interesting ancidotes from players and coaches. I especially liked the story about Rex Hudler (who briefly played for the O's) and his final at bat playing for the Buffalo Bisons under Jeff Datz. A nice way to sum up what the "code" meant to some players.

The book is fairly new, so copies may still be found in your local book store but if not, here is the Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Codes-Beanballs-Bench-Clearing-Unwritten/dp/0375424695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274539005&sr=1-1

Reading it now. Just got to the Cheating section. Entertaining and informative. It's scary how many of the names I recognize at this point...

[24fps]

I finished the book yesterday and can recommend it. I read the last chapter in a restaurant during lunch and ended up getting some strange looks due to my almost but not quite stifled laughter. No matter...

One criticism, and it's a big one. A major theme throughout the book is the idea that cheating (by well-defined definitions) is part of the very fabric of the game. Fair enough, but the authors sidestepped the steroids/PED aspect of the cheating issue. I mean completely sidestepped. There is literally one mention on page 5 - a vague reference to the "steroid era" and that's it.

There was no obligation to go too deeply into the subject, certainly not to the extent that the book's entertainment value was compromised. Even so, I thought the omission was glaring.