With Little League right around the corner for my son, baseball is in the air at our house. The Jeter jersey is in wardrobe rotation…the new batting helmet is shiny and ready…and we continue to monitor Panda’s rapid weight-loss…We’re also somewhat obsessed with Sally Cook and James Charlton’s awesome book, Hey Batta Batta Swing!: The Wild Old Days of Baseball – a fabulous step back in time to the beginnings of our nation’s favorite pastime. Complete with fun facts and anecdotes from games of yore, the book also features the vocabulary of old time baseball, including “soaking” which allowed for a runner who was off base to be put out by being beaned with a ball.  Oooh, and a “can of corn”, which referred to a slow-moving fly ball. This book is a fun and informative romp through history and Ross MacDonald’s illustrations of baseball players with handlebar mustaches (and no, it’s not Randy Johnson) make it that much sweeter.