SPORTS ON VIDEO : A NEW BALLGAME FOR BASEBALL FANS

Take me out to the ballgame. Or, when that isn’t possible, take me in for one. That’s pretty easy to do these days: Besides all the games on TV, there are plenty of baseball videos. Most of them fall into two categories: historical and instructional. Here are some of this summer’s releases. Tapes are available in VHS or Beta unless otherwise noted.

HISTORICAL “The History of Baseball” (3M/Magnetic Media, $29.95; VHS only). And what a history--more than 100 years of it. This critically praised documentary, put together by Major League Baseball Productions, crams many of the most memorable players, managers and highlights into 120 minutes--with an emphasis on World Series games and record-breaking performances.

Also available from this company: “Dodger Stadium: The First 25 Years” (a 73-minute look at the Los Angeles Dodgers, from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela), “A Giants History: The Tale of Two Cities,” “The New York Mets: An Amazin’ Era,” “75 Years of Red Sox Baseball,” “Chicago and the Cubs,” and tapes on the Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox (hosted by Jean Shepherd), the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies, all at $19.95 each. Information: (800) 328-5727.

“The New York Yankees: The Movie” (Forum, $29.95). A 100-minute compilation of vintage film about the Bronx Bombers of yester-yore, with an emphasis on the great moments and players from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield. The less glorious years, however, are glossed over or omitted. Information: (203) 353-1025.

INSTRUCTIONAL “Steve Garvey’s Hitting System” (Lorimar, $29.95). The way so many formerly powerless major leaguers are slamming home runs this season (rumors are the baseball is “juiced up”) may tempt you to give the game a try. Or, more realistically, you might have a Little Leaguer in the family who needs to get his batting average up to satisfy those parental pressures. Even though it’s not very practical to take a VCR out on the field, watching a video at home is still a good way to learn some basics. In this 45-minute lesson, the ex-Dodger and current San Diego Padre first baseman discusses the techniques and mechanics of getting wood on the old ball. Information: (714) 474-0355.

“Baseball the Yankee Way” (Rhino, $19.95). This one goes back a bit; it was filmed just after the Yanks won the ’64 American League pennant. Forty-five minutes of pitching pointers, slugging secrets and infield tips from Mantle, Maris, Ford and other New York Yankee heroes. Information: (213) 450-6323.

“Play Ball! With Mickey Mantle” (CBS/Fox, $19.98). This recently taped 60-minute video, which also features Gary Carter and Tom Seaver, shows the famous Yankee slugger’s methods for handling the bat, bunting, catching and more. Also available from this company is last year’s release, “Mickey Mantle’s Baseball Tips for Kids of all Ages.” Information: (212) 819-3200.

“George Brett’s Secrets of Baseball, Volume 1: Hitting” (LCA, $14.95). The Kansas City Royal star reveals some of the reasons why he’s been a two-time AL batting champ, covering basics such as stance, swing and weight-shifting. Unlike the above tapes, which are currently available, this 35-minute video won’t be released until July 21. Information: (818) 784-4941.

Two other instructional tapes have been in release longer, yet remain best sellers: “Pete Rose: Winning Baseball” (Embassy, $19.95) and “Little League’s Official How-to-Play Baseball by Video” (Mastervision, $19.95).

DUFFERS’ DELIGHT: Baseball, however, isn’t the most popular sport among videocassette purchasers. That honor belongs to golf.

Two golf videos have dominated Billboard’s recreational-sports video charts for several months: “Golf My Way with Jack Nicklaus” (Worldvision, $84.95) and Bob Mann’s “Automatic Golf” (Video Reel, $14.95). They were still number one and two respectively on the most recent list.

There were five other golf videos in the top 20: “Ben Crenshaw: the Art of Putting” (HPG, $49.95), “Jan Stephenson’s How to Golf” (Lorimar, $29.95), “Golf Lessons From Sam Snead” (Star, $49.95), “The Rules of Golf Explained” (Caravatt, $39.95) and “Golf With Al Geiberger” (Sybervision, $69.95).

Coming golf-video releases include “Exercise Fitness for Golf” (Morris, $29.95, July 16), “Total Golf With Bruce Crampton” (United, $49.95, Aug. 5) and, most intriguing, “How I Play Golf,” a collection of Warner Bros. shorts filmed between 1931 and 1933 and featuring the legendary Bobby Jones (Turner/Sybervision; no price or date announced).

EIGHT-MILLIMETER: Regarding the Home Tech article on new camcorders (Calendar, June 23), Joseph A. Denker of Studio City wrote in with some comments and one correction.

The article implied that owners of 8mm camcorders and VHS-format VCRs would have to dub the 8mm tape to VHS before they could watch it. Denker points out that it’s usually possible to connect the camcorder directly to a television for playback and says he is very happy with the picture and sound quality of the format.

“On the debit side,” he adds, “there seems to be more tape dropout than is necessary--and during its most recent usage, my camera developed noise problems (tape flutter and snow). To clear up this problem, the camcorder is into its 13th working day of being serviced at Sony, which is a little long.” However, he explains, “my amateur video-maker wife used the camera on a monthlong rugged Everest trek in Nepal, followed six months later by another month in Tibet. Amazing footage with good color and clarity, but the flutter and noise developed (in) Tibet. I imagine camcorders are a bit delicate.”

Denker had a further thought: “I’m a little surprised that Sony isn’t more defensive of the 8mm format. It would seem to me that the miniaturization of tapes (one-fourth the size of half-inch) would be a boon to Music Plus-type operations, because only a quarter of the expensive floor space would be needed to display tapes. On the other hand, maybe the smaller tapes would be harder to browse and more easily shoplifted.”