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Foreword - The combination of baseball knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching it is an ideal foundation for an instruction book.

Mickey McConnell possesses such a foundation and to a degree sufficient to make this volume a valuable addition to the library of both coach and player.

Preface - This is the official Little League book of instruction for boys beginning to play baseball, and particularly for the adults who supervise and coach them. Its purpose is to demonstrate the correct techniques of play and to outline methods of motivation and practice procedures, which have proved to be constructive and successful.

01. Leadership - This is a book for managers, coaches, players, and parents. While it is written primarily for the beginner in baseball—the Little Leaguer—the reader will discover that the same fundamentals work in all branches of baseball. The right way to execute a play and the right attitude get the same results in the major leagues as in the Little Leagues, and the wrong way is just as inimical to good results.

02. Safety First - The safety factor is an important one at all levels of baseball, but it is particularly necessary with beginners. It should not be overlooked at any stage of Little League activity, whether in spring training, tryouts, practice sessions, or games. Coaches and managers might like to post the following list of precautions in a dugout, clubhouse, or dressing room:

03. Spring Tryouts - Several important contributions can be made to your league through a good tryout program in the spring. In the first place, there is little doubt that even the most talented and experienced baseball scout can be mistaken about the ability of a player when he fails to use a stop watch to check running speed or a tape measure to check the distance of a hit. Judgment remains an important factor, but the less guessing you have to do, the more likely you are to be correct in your evaluation of playing skills .

04. Team Building - In building a team, the pioneers of modern baseball discovered patterns which are essential to success on the field. John McGraw always wanted strength down the middle when he managed championship teams for the New York Giants. He wanted topnotch defensive players in center field, at shortstop and second base, and behind the bat. In checking the strength of the Chicago White Sox, 1959 American League champions, you will find it in those positions—Landis in center field, Fox at second base, Aparicio at shortstop, and Lollar doing the catching.

05. Running - Few baseball players realize the importance of running or of improving their ability to run in the over-all development of playing skills. While the player bats on offense and fields and throws on defense, he runs on both offense and defense. Branch Rickey always stressed speed in building his great teams because running ability is the most valuable asset a player can bring to baseball.

06. Batting - In The Beginning, Bunt!

To most players, batting is the most enjoyable part of baseball if they are able to hit with some degree of regularity. It is no fun to bat if you strike out every time. A player should enjoy batting if he can be taught to meet the ball with his bat frequently. A boy who hits a two-bouncer to the pitcher and is thrown out at first can always believe that he would have had a base hit if t he ball had gone two feet to one side or the other of the fielder.

07. Batting Order - There are several theories about building a batting order. One school of thought believes that the generally accepted pattern is wrong. The theory of this group is that since a team should bring its best hitter to bat as frequently as possible, he should be the lead-off man. If you accept this theory, it would be logical to have your second best hitter bat second, third best hitter bat third, etc.

08. Infield Play - Baseball is played by teams and no team can succeed if the nine individual players fail to cooperate. Inevitably certain players will make outstanding plays during the course of a game or a season, but it is the ability of the athletes to play together which gets the best results.

09. Outfield Play - Some young players and some not-so-young have the idea that outfielders can take a vacation while watching their teammates perform during much of the time involved in playing most games. Although it is true that outfielders seldom get involved in as much action as most infielders, Lefty Gomez was close to the truth when he stated that he owed his success to good physical condition and "a fast outfield."

10. Catching - The catcher should be the most intelligent player on the team because he has more decisions to make and is responsible for calling more plays on the field. Adding interest to his assignment is the fact that he is involved in more action than is any other player.

11. Pitching - What are the attributes of a good pitcher? Students of the game seem to agree that control comes first on the list. You can have a pitcher with "all of the stuff in the world," but his career will be brief if he fails to control it.

Normally, a pitcher can come to a consistency of pitching in a relatively short period of time. If he grips the ball the same way every time he throws it, and throws with the same motion, he should be able to throw to the same place with regularity.

12. Fielding Drills - In conducting a fielding drill, the practice should come as close as possible to actual game conditions. A pitcher, for instance, cannot learn to participate in defensive maneuvers which involve him with other members of his team unless he practices with them in executing these plays. The reason a pitcher neglects to back up third base on a throw from the outfield, or fails to cover first base when the first baseman fields a ground ball to his right, or fails to field a bunt and throw accurately to second base in a force play or double-play situation is that the pitcher has no opportunity to practice these plays with most teams.

13. Coaching - It is important to direct traffic on a baseball diamond, just as it is to do so on a city street if you want to get the proper results. The first- and third-base coaches are the "traffic cops" in a baseball game, and both the players and the coaches must know the signals if the traffic is to be handled properly.

14. Training Aids - The time to teach sliding is when a boy begins to play baseball. He is closer to the ground and eager to learn. Let the grass grow 6 or 8 inches high in foul territory at the end of a bullpen or outside the outfield fence. This is all the cushion the player needs.

If you can't grow grass in the area, spade up a pit 6 feet wide by 12 feet long and fill it with sand. This doesn't provide the same realism in movement as the grass, but will serve the purpose.

15. Fitness - There is no substitute for daily exercise in building a strong, healthy body. Locomotive sports and activities such as walking, running, climbing, rowing, swimming, wrestling, and bicycling are valuable in keeping fit, and most experts agree that normal people should participate in this kind of exercise an hour each day.

16. Education Helps - Some boys who give their school work the "once over lightly" treatment might change their attitudes if they realized that every school is a school for athletes. That there are many boys with athletic aptitudes who don't "bear down" in the schoolroom seems to indicate that additional or different motivation might be helpful in keeping these lads interested in the learning process.

17. An Example - Hero worship seems to be inherent in the human race, and a particularly strong factor in determining the behavior of young people, who pattern their actions after those of their heroes. For this reason the physical prowess of Biblical heroes like King David and Peter, the big fisherman, has captured the imagination of people, as have ancient Greeks like Ulysses and Hercules, or Richard the Lionhearted of England who wielded a two-handed sword with one hand. Similarly the mental, moral, and physical strength of such American heroes as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln continues to set an example.

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