GROWING UP AT BAT: 50 Years of Little League Baseball

From prolific baseball writer Frommer (Primitive Baseball, 1988; Baseball's Greatest Rivalry, 1982; etc.), a profusely illustrated celebration of Little League baseball on its 50th anniversary. Frommer touches all the proper bases here, offering: a capsule history (from Little League's 1939 founding by Carl Stotz, an employee of a Williamsport, Penn., sandpaper plant, through the inclusion of girl players in 1974 and up to today's colossus, with more than 2.5 million participants in 7000 leagues worldwide); an in-depth look at the Little League World Series; a glance at Little League's tireless volunteers; and a winsome scrapbook of memories from a host of celebrities, most professional ballplayers (Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Gary Carter, etc.) but not all (Tom Selleck and Kurt Russell played Little League ball, too). A nicely done nostalgic tribute.