A chapter for every position and skill set with many pictures and illustrations, Little Things Win Big Games is an exceptionally comprehensive book for a baseball fan, player, parent, or coach. If you already know the game (or think you do), this book will be an excellent refresher and may just remind you of things you had forgotten (or never knew!). If you’re new to the game, this book will get you started on the right foot by showing you how the game should be played.Larry Gabe has been a baseball player and fan since early grade school, learning from some of the best coaches and baseball minds in the country. He played for a Iowa Hall of Fame high School baseball Coach, as well as a NCAA Hall of Fame Baseball College Coach. Plus, played Semi Pro Baseball with 4 other Iowa Hall of Fame Coaches. He excelled at summer baseball and at the high school, college, and semi-pro levels, but abandoned his professional aspirations for a more predictable career. In Little Things Win Big Games Gabe shares all the knowledge he’s accumulated in 60+ years of playing and watching the game. In this copiously illustrated book (149 pictures and diagrams), you’ll learn all the basics and advanced techniques that will help you improve your game, no matter what your position on defense or spot in the batting order. Even the most advanced player will pick up things he isn’t doing properly, while the young player will learn the right way to play the game and how to be mentally prepared, giving him a competitive edge over his opponents. Among the many laudatory comments about Little Things Win Big Games, Kirkus Reviews said the following: "This is as well-crafted an introduction to baseball as one is likely to find in print, an excellent primer on the basics of the great American pastime. Gabe walks readers through the various components of the game, discussing the basic aspects of every position, and then provides insights into other key elements, such as sliding and bunting. The book accompanies each lesson with helpful pictures, which are particularly indispensable when teaching such things as proper hitting stance. It’s impressively comprehensive, covering everything from proper infielder footwork to the mechanics of pitching.” Little Things Analytics is a new concept and it appears in this book for the first time anywhere. The underlying math will explain why teams who do the little things best win the games. Everyone knows that errors and misplays hurt a team’s odds of winning a game. In this expanded edition of LTWBG, you’ll see mathematically how those odds tend to affect a game and how those odds inflate as the game progresses. As a player, you’ll learn to bear down harder in later innings. As a coach, LTWBG will tell you how to get your players to focus harder to keep a game from getting away. As a fan, this book will improve your knowledge of the game and enhance your viewing enjoyment.LTWBG is used as a teaching text for baseball and softball at the Universities of Clemson and Northern Iowa. The book is endorsed by former Major Leaguer players Jake Gibbs (Yankees, later head coach at University of Mississippi) and Ed Watt (Orioles, Cubs, Phillies, later 30-year Triple-A pitching coach), as well as many other coaches.If you're playing the game and want to improve, want to learn the fine points to improve your coaching, or are trying to get a better grasp the fine points in order to enjoy spectating to a higher degree, Little Things Win Big Games covers every position, situation, and skill. This book is detailed enough for the most knowledgeable reader, yet simple enough for sub-teens to comprehend.
