The Art of Fielding Themes

The Art of Fielding Themes

Men & Masculinity

We have to wonder if Chad Harbach ever considered The Sperm Squeezers as an alternate title for this book. No, we're not being crass. (Us, crass? Never!) There are actually two books-within-a-book...

Competition

Remember that time you went to the bathroom during the seventh inning, or you forgot to wear your team's cap on game day and they lost? Or maybe you had a blanket you spilled your drink on during t...

Inertia

Without physics, baseball wouldn't be possible. But you don't need to understand the intricate ins and outs of Newton's Laws of Motion to comprehend The Art of Fielding. (Although if you're itching...

Jealousy

What's the leading cause of steroid use in sports, besides being a baseball player or an Olympic figure skater? It's being a jealous baseball player. At least that was Barry Bonds's excuse for why...

Admiration

Baseball is a sport that earns its players great admiration. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Derek Jeter—these people aren't just star players in some circles, but true sports heroes. Something about...

Community

What makes a community? Some of the factors include having a clear set of goals, being flexible, and being a reliable support group. They forgot snazzy uniforms, but no list is perfect. A baseball...

Drugs and Alcohol

Jose Canseco. Mark McGwire. Barry Bonds. A-Rod. With so many baseball players using steroids, we think it would be impossible to have a baseball book that doesn't involve someone juicing—and we d...

Literature and Writing

No offense to Big Papi, but we don't associate baseball with literature any more than he probably associates hockey with tap-dancing. Sure, he may have a book of his own, but it doesn't exactly loo...