Baseball book a grand slam with 1 error

HOME RUN: The Definitive History of Baseball's Ultimate Weapon. By David Vincent. Potomac Books. 304 pages. $24.95.

David Vincent hits it out of the park with "Home Run." But he must be charged with an error.

With the summer spotlight on Barry Bonds' controversial chase to break the all-time home run record, only two pages of the book deal with the steroid issue and its possible effect on home-run production.

Even then, Vincent backs into the subject. Although he lists in no particular order reasons for the recent home-run surge, he lists 16 other factors, varying from the strike zone to over-the-counter supplements, before delving into steroids.

Other than that, the book is full of what makes baseball America's pastime great: anecdotes and statistics.

Vincent touches all the bases with the Deadball Era and rule changes in the 1920s that made more home runs possible.

He has even dedicated a chapter to the Bambino, Babe Ruth. Too bad he couldn't dedicate a chapter to Hank Aaron, who broke the Babe's record in 1974 and seemed unapproachable until Bonds.

Vincent also writes about how expansion, integration, the designated hitter and the world wars affected home-run production.