Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game

Daniel Okrent examines a single regular-season game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles, played on June 10, 1982. Each chapter follows one inning, moving pitch by pitch while stepping away from the action to explain catchers' signals, the physiology of pitching, and the finances of club ownership. An epilogue follows the Brewers through the rest of the season.

First published in 1985, the book draws on hundreds of interviews with players, coaches, executives, and broadcasters. Okrent deliberately chose an ordinary game to show how professional baseball operates, from the workings of a clubhouse to the business of running a team.