Going, going, gone!! Kiss that baby goodbye!(WHAT'S NEW?) (ESPN Books' "Dingers! A Short History of the Long Ball" and "2006 Baseball Encyclopedia")

"No one can understand what it really is unless you have felt it in your own hands and body. It is different from seeing it or trying to describe it. There is nothing I know quite like meeting a ball in exactly the right spot. As the ball makes its high, long arc beyond the playing field, the diamond and the stands suddenly belong to one man. In that brief, brief time, you are free of all demands and complications. There is no one behind you, no obstruction ahead, as you follow this clear path all around the bases."

So said Sadaharu Oh, Japan's all-time leading home run hitter. That quote, and many other wonderful stories, tidbits, and little-known facts about the home run (or four-bagger, or dinger, or dialing , or going deep, or touching them all, or going downtown, or watching Dr. Longball make a housecall, or ...) can be found in Peter Keating's Dingers! A Short History of the Long Ball ($16.95) from ESPN Books. The trivia, sidebars, and tall tales--apparently, recounting stories about home runs is similar to fishing lore, with each retelling, the catch grows larger and the distance the ball traveled longer--are fascinating and endless. So, here's to Home Run Baker of the old Philadelphia Athletics and all...