Historical Dictionary of Baseball

This general history of baseball opens with a chronology from the eighteenth century to the 2012 season, and then moves to an introductory essay for an in-depth overview. The dictionary portion features more than 900 cross-referenced entries covering people (players, managers, coaches, umpires); teams (the author notes that any team that has ever had major-league status is included as well as prominent teams from the Negro Leagues); and places (stadiums and ballparks). Twelve appendixes cover various statistics, and an extensive bibliography rounds out the work. This is a good (albeit plain) book for anyone wanting to know more about baseball and is recommended for circulating collections as well. Booklist For the past three decades, Spatz (chairman, Soc. for American Baseball Research Records Committee) has written prolifically on a variety of baseball topics. In this volume of 900 cross-referenced entries, he emphasizes the American major leagues but also includes several citations to the minor leagues, Negro Leagues, women's baseball, college baseball, baseball in other countries, and other non-major-league-related topics. He covers the subjects he feels are most important, such as Hall of Fame members, others not in the Hall who had a significant impact on the game, teams, stadiums, rules, awards, fielding positions, and major statistical categories. Entries range in length from a few sentences to more than a page. Other features are an explanatory listing of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, an introductory essay, and 12 appendixes of statistical lists. The book concludes with an extensive (46-page) bibliography. Although the work differs in approach and scope from other well-regarded publications on the sport, such as The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Encyclopedia of Baseball Statistics, and The Baseball Encyclopedia, it contains an abundance of information on a broad range of topics and deftly fills the need for a single-volume general overview of the nation's pastime and its history. VERDICT An informative resource for students, beginning researchers, and anyone wanting a basic introduction to baseball in the United States and elsewhere. Library Journal This excellent reference work by independent scholar Spatz is focused on, though not limited to, Major League baseball. It covers players, off-the-field personnel, ballparks, leagues, teams, organizations, terminology, rules, awards, and baseball-playing countries. Biographical entries, the largest category, are limited to members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, plus a few probable Hall of Famers and other significant contributors to the game. Also included are a brief introductory essay, a chronology (1791-2012), and an extensive bibliography. Twelve short appendixes list the results of the World Series (1903-2012), College World Series winners (1947-2012), and career leaders in selected statistical categories (e.g., batting average, runs scored, and games pitched). Other more specialized resources offer broader coverage of baseball topics, e.g., Paul Dickson's The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, edited by Skip McAfee (3rd ed., CH, Aug'09, 46-6531), on terminology; Donald Dewey and Nicholas Acocella's The Biographical History of Baseball (CH, Dec'02, 40-1880) for biographical information; and Baseball-reference.com (CH, Apr'03, 40-4671) for regularly updated statistics. Nevertheless, Spatz's detailed dictionary provides easy access to a wealth of information, and will be of value to anyone interested in baseball's rich history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. CHOICE