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I couldn't wait until the podcast became available. In fact, I purchased the book before I listened to Zack Hamble's interview. I've been a Mets fan since the mid-late 70s. I learned the game by observation. However, years later I realized that I was a passive observer. Now, I pay a lot more attention to the finer points, but feel that I'm still learning. I actually prefer watching the game on tv as opposed to going to the ballpark because I see so much more. In fact, once a ball is hit I can usually tell where it will land. Which is why I don't usually understand why some fans in the stadium react as if a pop up, foul ball, or some fly balls, are playable?

Anyway, the interview was quite informative. I know I'll learn more about the game after reading Mr. Hamble's book.

Here is the question that has bugged me forever--what are the dirt circles next to the 1st base and 3rd base side, which you still see at some stadium? They can't possibly be the on-deck circles, since they are literally 2-3 feet from the baselines.

There is an easy way to shorten the length of games and at the same time increase the number of complete games pitched: shorten games to seven innings.