Nine Innings

Daniel Okrent, the author of The Ultimate Baseball Book, has written not just another windy paean to the national pastime, full of labored metaphors and recollections of demolished stadiums, but a detailed, digressive breakdown of a single early-season game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles on June 10, 1982. Along the way the reader learns about the history of the slider, the building of the Orioles by their famed manager, Earl Weaver, how batters' swings reveal their personality, and even which brand of vitamin C can be found in a certain player's locker. It's a labor of love, but an enthralling one that reveals the complexities at the heart of this most complex and maddening game.