The Little White Book of Baseball Law is well worth the price. The authors, John H. Minan and Kevin Cole, have blended 248 pages of fascinating legal disputes from baseball's history with an examination of some of the more arcane rules in baseball. This lawyer/reader, as an 11 year old Cleveland Indians fan, without a television, began my love of baseball around the time I "heard" Willie Mays' famous over the head catch in the 1954 World Series. The Little White Book of Baseball Law more than satisfied my 55 year quest to understand everything worthy that America's pastime could brings to our culture. The depth and breadth of The Little White Book of Baseball Law is commendable. The eighteen chapter subjects range from Sammy Sosa's corked bat incident in 2003, to the perjury allegations against Barry Bonds derived from his Grand Jury testimony. There is an explanation of when, why, and if, Media corporations televising Major League Baseball can preempt Major League Baseball games. Virtually every page has a tidbit of information that even the most dedicated fan will appreciate. Perhaps the most interesting literary device in the Book is the "Umpire's Ruling" segment that follows each chapter explaining a pertinent legal issue of the game in concise lay person's terms. What happens when a pitched ball is stuck in the catcher's mask? What are the rules for "balks"? When is a catch a legal "catch"? Who is liable for injuries on and off the field, and on the way to the hospital? What are the merits of metal bats versus wooden bats? The reader will discover that a ball hit by a metal bat will travel at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour (mph) over 40% of time and arrive at the pitcher’s mound in less than .4 of a second, a shade faster than the average ball hit by a wooden bat, therefore reducing the reaction time of a pitcher finishing up his pitch. The most interesting chapter for me was the concise explanation of the positive impact of Curt Flood's unsuccessful legal battle on the reserve clause in the Federal Courts, which ultimately became the catalyst for the "Curt Flood Act" in which Congress included major league baseball players' "employment" contracts within the protections of the antitrust laws, but did not provide minor league players with the same protection in order to preserve the Minor League farm system. As Tip O'Neil once said "Everything is political". Apparently, even in Baseball. This is a good read! Howard L. Graham ______________________________________________________________________________ A home run! Professor Mina’s The Little White Book of Baseball Law is a highly entertaining and informative book about our favorite sport. Prof. Minan cleverly weaves together the law, some American history, and some interesting anecdotal and background stories to explain how the law around baseball developed or, more accurately stated how the general principles of law have been applied to baseball. Prof. Minan also covers the human dimension, the people behind the legal issues at stake, as he discusses how various legal principles, e.g., anti-trust (The Supreme Court "Balks" at Changing the Anti-Trust Exemption); contracts (To Breach or Not to Breach), and labor law (Umps Reverse their Employment Call), have been applied in the context of baseball. In the end, the reader has not only gained a solid understanding of the law of baseball but also of the law, generally. It is easy to imagine this book being used as the text of a "History of American Law" course. Lawyers, baseball fans, history lovers, and non-fiction readers will love this book. Judy Zeprun Kalman
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