Understanding Baseball

The study of baseball history and culture shows the national pastime to be a forum of debate where issues of sport, labor, race, character and the ethics of work and play are decided. An understanding of baseball calls for consideration of different perspectives. This very readable textbook offers insights into baseball history as a subject worthy of scholarly attention. Each chapter introduces a specific disciplinary approach—history, economics, media, law and fiction—and poses representative questions scholars from these fields would consider.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Trey Strecker is an assistant professor of English and sports studies at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He is the editor of the scholarly journal NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture and has published two anthologies.

Steven P. Gietschier is an associate professor of history at Lindenwood University. He managed the research center of The Sporting News from 1986 until 2008, wrote the annual “Year in Review” essay in The Baseball Guide, and edited The Complete Baseball Record Book for five years.

Mitchell Nathanson is a professor of legal writing in the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova University School of Law.

John A. Fortunato is a professor at New York’s Fordham University in the Gabelli School of Business, Area of Communication and Media Management.  He is the author of five books and has published more than 50 journal articles and book chapters.

David George Surdam is an associate professor of economics at the University of Northern Iowa. He has published books on the economics of the American Civil War and Major League Baseball during the postwar era.

Trey Strecker, Steven P. Gietschier, Mitchell Nathanson, John A. Fortunato and David George Surdam

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: tables, notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7631-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1889-0
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction (Trey Strecker) 1
1—History (Steven P. Gietschier) 3
2—Economics (David George Surdam) 51
3—Media (John A. Fortunato) 96
4—Law (Mitchell Nathanson) 143
5—Fiction (Trey Strecker) 186
About the Authors 207
Index 209

Well written, professional, reliable, excellent bibliographies. It is not surprising that a baseball book described as ‘a textbook’ should appear under the label of McFarland, whose baseball list is unequaled. This is a useful volume for anyone who wishes to embark on a serious examination of what has developed into a serious academic field. Recommended”—Choice.