Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed and some of which only a minority of players are aware of. In The Baseball Codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the games most hallowed, and least known, traditions. For learned and casual baseball fans alike, the result is illuminating and wholly entertaining. At the heart of this book are incredible, often hilarious stories involving national heroes, like Mickey Mantle, and notorious headhunters, like Bob Gibson, in a century-long series of confrontations over respect, honor, and the soul of the game. Here we see for the first time the game through the eyes of the players on the field.