Why Is the Foul Pole Fair?: Answers to 101 of the Most Perplexing Baseball Questions

By far one of the best baseball books I've ever read. Staten truly captures the spirit and love of the game of baseball. Its almost mandatory for any die hard baseball fan to read

This book is very well written in that it is not just a bunch of facts being rattled off. It is written in such a way that you don't even realize that you are learning. I now have the answers to some of those off the wall questions that my nephews ask me about baseball. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Great book for any baseball fan. A very quick read. Gives insight on many things baseball that even the most ardent fan never knew.

If you want a book that iterates an enumerable amount of baseball obscurity, skip this one. That's what I was looking for when I saw the title. This is a book about a father taking his son to a baseball game in the early 2000's and talking about almost everything that's not baseball. From urinals to turnstiles to food preparation to leather. Occasionally the author mentions something interesting about baseball. FYI, the author answers the title question on page 223. I won't reveal the answer. Other than that there is little baseball in this book. I kept writing over the pages: "What's this have to do with baseball." For instance he talks about line management, stadium construction, tipping, the width of seats, the formula for figuring out sight lines (page 50), the price of broken bats, owners of baseball teams, the type of grass in the outfield, lights, comparing Willie McGee to the alien E.T., basketball, promotions, promoting steroids, souvenirs, programs (the kind they sell at the ballpark), sportswriters and the press box, the popularity of food items, the Pilgrims, the Civil War, more basketball, keeping score, scoreboards, his early fantasy experiences, long division, retiring numbers, no-shows at the ballpark, the Oakland Raiders, and Neanderthals. When did does write about baseball, he gets a lot wrong. For example on page 37 he writes: "It [Shibe Park] was literally a bandbox." Not literally. A bandbox is a box with a band around it. On page 53 he states about broken bats of non-stars: "the bat will arrive at the city dump, discarded. Firewood at best." Nope, it cost $500 at your local team-mall store. See page 104: "I ask myself: Why wouldn't a major-league ballplayer take steroids? There's no penalty, but there are huge rewards and, moreover, steroids work." Well, it's illegal, it can kill you, it's a crime, it's immoral and it's cheating. How about those reasons? See page 105: "Even with all those steroids, the players had to work very hard and they had to be able to hit a curveball." Really? Al Capone had to work really hard to rob all those banks, and murder people. What an idiot! On page 179 he states: "His Kansas City Athletics modeled uniforms of "wedding white, Kelly green , and Fort Knox gold."" The A's white is polar bear white, not wedding white. On page 186: "This singing of 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' is a recent development, and I blame cable television." FYI, I sang "Take Me Out to The Ballgame," at every baseball game I have attended since the 1960's. Cable television has nothing to do with it, because cable television is in a commercial break when it is sung. This is a bad book.

Book was recommended by my brother. What a great read....all kinds of 'stuff' that will make baseball even more enjoyable. One 'short coming' is that on a few occasions he 'whipped a dead horse' a little TOO much information. Over all a really fun/enjoyable read...would recommend it.