In Baseball's Best Excuses, author Joshua Shifrin takes a witty approach in helping baseball players make sense of their worst days on the diamond. The next time a player leads his or her team in defeat, he or she can always explain the woeful performance with "The guy batting after me is terrible." Or after a bad pitching outing, players might try to explain the mishap with, "I couldn't control my fastball."

Shifrin has crafted loads of funny--but all-too-real--excuses for pros and amateurs alike. Examples include:

• The pitcher was taking too much time between pitches.
• The fans behind home plate were distracting.
• I'm not used to the dimensions in this park.
• The manager had me playing out of position.
• And many more!