Little Things Win Big Games: Baseball Fundamentals and Fine Points

A chapter for every position and skill set with many pictures and illustrations, Little Things Win Big Games is an exceptionally comprehensive book for a baseball fan, player, parent, or coach. If you already know the game (or think you do), this book will be an excellent refresher and may just remind you of things you had forgotten (or never knew!). If you’re new to the game, this book will get you started on the right foot by showing you how the game should be played.Larry Gabe has been a baseball player and fan since early grade school, learning from some of the best coaches and baseball minds in the country. He played for a Iowa Hall of Fame high School baseball Coach, as well as a NCAA Hall of Fame Baseball College Coach. Plus, played Semi Pro Baseball with 4 other Iowa Hall of Fame Coaches. He excelled at summer baseball and at the high school, college, and semi-pro levels, but abandoned his professional aspirations for a more predictable career. In Little Things Win Big Games Gabe shares all the knowledge he’s accumulated in 60+ years of playing and watching the game. In this copiously illustrated book (149 pictures and diagrams), you’ll learn all the basics and advanced techniques that will help you improve your game, no matter what your position on defense or spot in the batting order. Even the most advanced player will pick up things he isn’t doing properly, while the young player will learn the right way to play the game and how to be mentally prepared, giving him a competitive edge over his opponents. Among the many laudatory comments about Little Things Win Big Games, Kirkus Reviews said the following: "This is as well-crafted an introduction to baseball as one is likely to find in print, an excellent primer on the basics of the great American pastime. Gabe walks readers through the various components of the game, discussing the basic aspects of every position, and then provides insights into other key elements, such as sliding and bunting. The book accompanies each lesson with helpful pictures, which are particularly indispensable when teaching such things as proper hitting stance. It’s impressively comprehensive, covering everything from proper infielder footwork to the mechanics of pitching.” Little Things Analytics is a new concept and it appears in this book for the first time anywhere. The underlying math will explain why teams who do the little things best win the games. Everyone knows that errors and misplays hurt a team’s odds of winning a game. In this expanded edition of LTWBG, you’ll see mathematically how those odds tend to affect a game and how those odds inflate as the game progresses. As a player, you’ll learn to bear down harder in later innings. As a coach, LTWBG will tell you how to get your players to focus harder to keep a game from getting away. As a fan, this book will improve your knowledge of the game and enhance your viewing enjoyment.LTWBG is used as a teaching text for baseball and softball at the Universities of Clemson and Northern Iowa. The book is endorsed by former Major Leaguer players Jake Gibbs (Yankees, later head coach at University of Mississippi) and Ed Watt (Orioles, Cubs, Phillies, later 30-year Triple-A pitching coach), as well as many other coaches.If you're playing the game and want to improve, want to learn the fine points to improve your coaching, or are trying to get a better grasp the fine points in order to enjoy spectating to a higher degree, Little Things Win Big Games covers every position, situation, and skill. This book is detailed enough for the most knowledgeable reader, yet simple enough for sub-teens to comprehend.

Larry Gabe (GAH-bee) was born and raised in rural Iowa in the small farming community of Powersville where he attended a one-room elementary school. He attended high school in nearby Greene, 225 students in four grades. He played baseball and fastpitch softball in the summers. As a yougster 10-12 years old, he frequently rode his bike nine miles on gravel roads to get to summer baseball practice. During his high school years he played football, lettered three years; basketball, lettered three years; and baseball, lettered four years. He also competed in track, lettering two years. As a senior he was named All Conference in three sports. During summers while in high school and college, Gabe played semi-pro baseball with the Allison Cats winning the 1963 Iowa State Championship. He attended Luther College for one year lettering in baseball and basketball, and was a starting outfielder on the baseball team. Gabe then transferred to State College of Iowa, (now the University of Northern Iowa, UNI) where he again played baseball, ending with a career batting average of .312 and was selected as an all North Central Conference first baseman his senior year. Following high school Gabe had tryouts with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. He had been followed in college by scouts for the Phillies and Baltimore Orioles. However, he made a decision to pursue a more certain career in the pharmaceutical industry. Gabe worked for a division of Johnson and Johnson, Fisher Stevens, IMS America, Dun and Bradstreet, and finally the Hay Group. During his spare time Gabe played on several world-class fastpitch softball teams, The Valpo Kings ( Valparaiso, Indiana), Cobra Industries (Mishawauka, Indiana), and Cataldi's (Hammond, Indiana). Over the course of six-seven years he played a average of 75-80 games per season against such teams as the World Champion Aurora Seal Masters, The King and His Court, and the Queen and Her Maids. Of the six contests with Eddie Feigner (The King), Gabe's teams won five. Along with the outfield Gabe played some third base but considers his strongest defensive position to be first base. Gabe learned the footwork and other nuances of playing first from a Phillies coach who in turn learned directly from Gil Hodges while playing with him on the Brooklyn Dodgers. Gabe and his wife Jane are retired and live in Salem, SC, near Clemson University, where they have become avid Tiger fans. They lead an active life at Keowee Key.