{"product_id":"infinite-baseball-notes-from-a-philosopher-at-the-ballpark-9780190928186","title":"Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher at the Ballpark","description":"\u003cp\u003eBaseball is a strange sport: it consists of long periods in which little seems to be happening  punctuated by high energy outbursts of rapid fire activity. Because of this  despite ever greater profits  Major League Baseball is bent on finding ways to shorten games  and to tailor baseball to todays shorter attention spans. But for the true fan  baseball is always compelling to watch and intellectually fascinating. Its superficially slow pace is an opportunity to participate in the distinctive thinking practice that defines the game. If baseball is boring  its boring the way philosophy is boring: not because there isnt a lot going on  but because the challenge baseball poses is making sense of it all.  In this deeply entertaining book  philosopher and baseball fan Alva No explores the many unexpected ways in which baseball is truly a philosophical kind of game. For example  he ponders how observers of baseball are less interested in what happens  than in who is responsible for what happens; every action receives praise or blame. To put it another way  in baseball as in the law we decide what happened based on who is responsible for what happened. Noe also explains the curious activity of keeping score: a score card is not merely a record of the game  like a video recording; it is an account of the game. Baseball requires that true fans try to tell the story of the game  in real time  as it unfolds  and thus actively participate in its creation.  Some argue that baseball is fundamentally a game about numbers. Noes wide ranging  thoughtful observations show that  to the contrary  baseball is not only a window on language  culture  and the nature of human action  but is intertwined with deep and fundamental human truths. The book ranges from the nature of umpiring and the role of instant replay  to the nature of the strike zone  from the rampant use of surgery to controversy surrounding performance enhancing drugs. Throughout  Noes observations are surprising and provocative.  Infinite Baseball is a book for the true baseball fan.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45665820704821,"sku":"ByrdShop_0190928182","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780190928186.jpg?v=1782408511","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/infinite-baseball-notes-from-a-philosopher-at-the-ballpark-9780190928186","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}