Great Baseball Instruction Sources

Where do you go to learn how to about baseball? Well, the obvious first answer is to watch the pros on television. Another way to learn is to join a league or organize a sandlot game. But don't be surprised that the best source of baseball information is available as baseball ebooks.

Baseball ebooks offer immediate access to different baseball topics at an affordable price. For example, you can learn about baseball tips and strategies or learn about the technique called rotational hitting.

Are you concerned about your rotator cuff or looking for shoulder exercises? Yet other books focus on bat speed and even the mental side of baseball.

One of the newest baseball ebooks out is a tutorial on how to score a baseball game. It includes a clever new technique that records the pitch in every conceivable way. It really will help in your game decisions.

Finally are also videos do a good job in explaining baseball instruction. Here's one that focuses on being a better catcher.

Baseball ebooks are a quick cheap way to learn about baseball!

The Squeeze Play

Are you a fan of the squeeze play in baseball?

The squeeze play is a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third and usually less than 2 outs. The batter bunts the ball hoping that the runner from third will score and that he will be thrown out at first base.

In a safety squeeze, the runner at third does not take off until the batter makes contact, waiting for more certainty that the ball will go to a location from which it will be difficult for the fielding team to make a play at the plate. In a suicide squeeze, the runner takes off during the pitch, even before the pitcher has released the ball.


A Very Dangerous Play

As the name implies, the Suicide Squeeze is a very dangerous play because the runner on third base runs full speed toward home plate as the pitcher starts his windup. If the batter fails to bunt and swings the bat, the runner can be hit by the bat as he's swinging or get hit by the ball being struck off the bat. In order to make this play less dangerous it is a good idea for the batter to signal that he has received the suicide squeeze. Usually a hand on the top of the helmet or grabbing a fistful of dirt is enough to signal the third base coach that the batter has confirmed the squeeze play is on.

Cudos To RBI Baseball

2008 is the 20th anniversary of the unbelievably successful Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. This program, sponsored by KPMG, with the support of Major League Baseball has grown from a local kids baseball program for boys in South Central Los Angeles to an international campaign that includes more than 200 cities. More than 120,000 young kids participants each year.

This program ws the brainchild of former Major League Baseball player and scout, John Young. His idea was to provide disadvantaged youth an opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of baseball. John grew up ins South Central LA at a time when the area developed many professional baseball players. However, by the late 1970s, John noted a remarkable decrease in the number of skilled athletes coming from his childhood area.

Young made the decision to take on the task of reviving baseball in South Central LA. He introduced a comprehensive youth baseball program for 13 to 16 year olds.

Major League Baseball endorsed the RBI concept and financial support came from MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles. While the youth of Los Angeles were initially a little skeptical -- only 11 showed up for the first tryout -- they gradually began to embrace RBI, and 180 kids participated the first season. It is now an international phenomenon.

The rest of the story is history. Cudos go out to John, Major League Baseball and KPMG for continuing to provide young people with a positive, team-oriented activity that would keep them off the streets and challenge them mon while challenging them mentally and physically.