The co-authors—a pediatrician and a sports journalist—take a widely used metaphor to its limits. They use many elements of or situations common to the two related games as opportunities to lecture readers about the virtues of discipline, consistency, respect, making good choices, learning from mistakes, staying positive, and following rules. These are solid principles—but along with being largely expressed as slogans (“Give 110 Percent”) or platitudes, they’re packed into short, numbered entries that for all the boldface titling soon begin to run together. Moreover, the baseball-bromide connection turns tenuous at times: “Switch-Hitting,” for example, cautions against reckless behavior; “The Check Swing” promotes the importance of keeping promises (“The more you check your swing, the more likely you are to strike out with those depending on you”); and “First and Third” includes a warning about online scams. Even if the overall approach is upbeat, these wearyingly earnest pep talks are unlikely to reach base. Although the co-authors directly address readers as “young adults like you,” the tone of the writing is unlikely to appeal to contemporary teens: “The older kids at school may seem cool, but some of their habits and behaviors may be better to avoid than to imitate.”