THE AMERICAN DIAMOND

Branch Rickey's benevolent text and Robert Riger's (less good) drawings and (good) photographs combine to form ""A Documentary of the Game of Baseball."" In assorted short pieces, Rickey taps sixteen immortals for his own hall of fame; picks an all-time team of thirty, and ""sportsmanship, exemplary character and great desire"" are among the criteria; spends a good deal of time with Little League installations, at a tryout camp, in spring training; and discusses the game itself from the mound to the bullpen. Riger's photographs include action shots and human interest stoppers-- the boy with the bubblegum spitball, the dispirited major league reject, etc. This is a companion volume to Riger's earlier The Pros-- football-- and it's a gift book with a joint Father and Son appeal.