What does it mean to play baseball "by the book?"

Ty Book, the architect of Lancaster Catholic's 2018 PIAA Class 3A baseball championship and current pitching coach at Lampeter-Strasburg (L-S) High School, has noticed a trend over his more than two decades of coaching baseball.

"Players have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, but they haven't gotten better," Book explained.

There's nothing wrong with getting bigger, faster and stronger, but young players also need to learn how to be better - something they can do at the new By the Book Baseball facility at 1103 Ranck Mill Road, Lancaster.

"In general, we're trying to give a little bit more of that attention to detail," Book said. "Still go in the weight room and squat 300 pounds, still see how fast you throw and how hard you hit it with data tracking; just remember it takes all of that to be a great player."

The new facility, which formally opened with a ceremony and open house on Oct. 24, is hoping to become a fixture of America's pastime in Lancaster County. The high-tech facility includes six full batting cages, convertible space for up to 17 hitting stations, three Trackman units - the same technology used by the big leaguers - and an in-house cardio and weight room, among other amenities.

The venture is co-owned by Book; Matt Gerhart, a technology aficionado with Major League Baseball (MLB) data operations experience; and Shane Specht. Austen Hannis, another assistant coach at L-S, and Andrew Lally are also involved.

Book and company got the keys to the building in July, converting what was once an HVAC business into what could become the area's top baseball facility. In recent weeks, some of the area's top players have stopped in to see what it is all about, including Manheim Central alumnus and current Chicago Cubs prospect Colton Book; L-S grad and San Diego Padres prospect Braedon Karpathios; and fellow former Pioneer Jeff Bianchi, who played parts of four big-league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox.

Bianchi operates his own baseball academy, Bianchi Baseball Academy, which will now operate out of Book's facility.

"We've had so many good players come out of this county in the last couple of years," Book said.

Ty Book, an alumnus of Manheim Township High School, spent 11 years as a coach at Lancaster Catholic, including six as the head coach. During those six seasons, the Crusaders won a Lancaster-Lebanon (L-L) League title every year, won the L-L title in 2017, and captured two Class 3A district titles, along with the aforementioned state championship. He is the winningest coach in program history.

During that time, Book began to feel the effects that coaching was having on his young family. The lost season and the COVID-19 pandemic changed his perspective.

"The day after we won the state title, I was making lineup cards (for the next year)," Book said. "It's not sustainable. If you're building your fulfillment in coaching off wins, it makes it really hard to get fulfillment."

A few years later, his kids had grown into grade school, and his schedule opened back up for coaching. He stepped into the role at L-S after responding to Pioneer head coach Jeff Swarr's call for a pitching coach on social media.

Since then, Book has instructed a Pioneer pitching staff that has led the team to back-to-back District 3 titles in 2025 and 2026. But it's not the wins that matter to Book; it's watching his players develop into outstanding players and even finer young men.

"Jeff doesn't always like when I say it, but I just don't care if we win anymore," Book said. "There's nothing cooler than watching a player - I don't care if they're 6 years old or 26 - seeing the light bulb go off when you're working with somebody."

That mission is driving Book as a coach, and his new facility. It will also guide the BattleCats, a new travel baseball program that will be using the facility as a home base next season. More than 100 players are already signed up.

More information about the facility, memberships, the BattleCats and more can be found at http://www.bythebookbaseball.com. Book can be reached on Instagram at @bythebookbaseball.