PLAYING HARD BALL is a unique sports book, a cultural comparison of two national games - cricket, English in origin and American baseball - written from the viewpoint of a top-class practitioner of both codes. Ed Smith - the young Cambridge University and Kent batsman - has spent the winters since 1998 in Spring Training with the New York Mets baseball team. It has enabled Ed to contrast and compare arguably the two most iconic of sports from the inside. In fact, baseball had a thriving following in Britain until the Great War: Derby County's former stadium was called the Baseball Ground; Tottenham Hotspur was at first a baseball club. Apart from learning two very different techniques, Ed learned that the sports' ultimate heroes, the Babe and the Don - Babe Ruth and Don Bradman - might as well have come from different planets, whilst baseball's pristine Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a far cry from the ramshackle cricket museum at Lord's. Ed Smith's PLAYING HARD BALL draws on these intriguing comparisons to paint a two-sided portrait of sports most illustrous 'hitting games'.
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Review
Original...engrossing...lucid and informative (Christopher Martin-Jenkins, THE TIMES )
Quite simply it is brilliant (THE CRICKETER )
Ed Smith is superb on analysing the different techniques involved in the two activities. He also writes with great insight... excellent on the social and historical contexts of both baseball and cricket. (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
An instructive and entertaining book, full of insights. (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
Quite simply it is brilliant (THE CRICKETER )
Ed Smith is superb on analysing the different techniques involved in the two activities. He also writes with great insight... excellent on the social and historical contexts of both baseball and cricket. (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
An instructive and entertaining book, full of insights. (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
Book Description
* Uniquely informed insider's account of the cultural comparisons between cricket and baseball by a writer who has played at the highest level.
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First Sentence
Cricket and baseball are like parents and their teenage children: they have so much in common and yet remain a total mystery to each other. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Cricket and baseball are like parents and their teenage children: they have so much in common and yet remain a total mystery to each other. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Des Bone
Unfortunately, in this book Ed Smith reveals that he knows very little about the game of baseball. I'm sure the historical stuff he researched was all accurate, but his technical analysis is woeful.
This is even highlighted in the photos where his spring training batting practice show him displaying a complete lack of technique (something which laughably he claims only cricket requires!).
His central theory that the pitcher in baseball is more like a batsmen in cricket is interesting for about a second. And then you realise it is complete nonsense.
I think Smith himself must have realised this too as he offers no counter-argument to his hypothesis.
The similarities between batting and batting(!) and pitching and bowling are so obvious it is really quite painful to read someone trying to tell you otherwise.
Yes, the sparcity of runs in baseball make the pitchers role often one where one mistake could be crucial, and this therefore compares to batting in cricket. But that is about it.
And this is where Smith shows his complete lack of understanding for the game. Because batting averages of .300 are considered excellent, he seems to be believe hitters go up to bat expecting to get out.
He also seems to think the only way a pitcher could get into trouble is by giving up a home-run.
Ultimately, this is just pseudo-intellectual drivel which gets more tedious by the page.
This is even highlighted in the photos where his spring training batting practice show him displaying a complete lack of technique (something which laughably he claims only cricket requires!).
His central theory that the pitcher in baseball is more like a batsmen in cricket is interesting for about a second. And then you realise it is complete nonsense.
I think Smith himself must have realised this too as he offers no counter-argument to his hypothesis.
The similarities between batting and batting(!) and pitching and bowling are so obvious it is really quite painful to read someone trying to tell you otherwise.
Yes, the sparcity of runs in baseball make the pitchers role often one where one mistake could be crucial, and this therefore compares to batting in cricket. But that is about it.
And this is where Smith shows his complete lack of understanding for the game. Because batting averages of .300 are considered excellent, he seems to be believe hitters go up to bat expecting to get out.
He also seems to think the only way a pitcher could get into trouble is by giving up a home-run.
Ultimately, this is just pseudo-intellectual drivel which gets more tedious by the page.
By Sport Nut
A readable account of the differences between cricket and baseball. There is the inevitable discussion of the technical aspects of each game, but this book is at its best where Smith is exploring the cultural and social sides of the two sports. Smith is well-qualified to compare the two - a successful professional cricketer, Smith also spent some time in baseball spring training after becoming an avid New York Mets fan. His description of the hype and scrutiny faced by baseball players is one which most county crickets can only ever imagine, and I suspect that they would prefer the English game - although with the American salaries, no doubt.
By M. Wood
A good read and a very interesting tale about a professional cricketer's foray into professional baseball. An eye-opening experience as to the difference between the two sports and good in-depth historical analysis provided a strong basis for the comparison. I would recommend this to any one who enjoys America's pastime, particularly nascent baseball fans in the UK. It is easy to see why Smith curtailed his cricketing career to pursue a career in writing/journalism as his style of writing is free-flowing and imaginative, making the book very worthwhile.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting account of the author's experiences...
...but that is all it is.
I enjoyed this book but it was not the book I was expecting or hoping for. Read more
I enjoyed this book but it was not the book I was expecting or hoping for. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2005 by John E. Davidson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ed Smith gets it right
Ed Smith's very enjoyable book does a service to both sports - cricket and baseball. As I am a transplanted Yank in England, it helped me understand some of the tactical nuances... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2003 by R. Brotzman
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good intro to the rival for cricket/baseball fans
Cricket enthusiasts who have watched any baseball will already know that the two sports share a lot more characteristics that simply hitting a ball with a stick. Read more
Published on 11 July 2003
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