The Book on The Book: A Landmark Inquiry into Which Strategies in the Modern Game Actually Work
Among the myriad accomplishments of the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox was the elevation of the "stat geek" to near-deity ranking, the Sox having shrewdly hired Zen-master statistician Bill James following the 2002 season. James' higher profile should generate that much more fan interest in volumes like this one,a hard-core, up-to-date statistical analysis of many of baseball's essential elements. Felber, executive editor of theManhattan(KS)Mercuryand a baseball historian for 20 years, number-crunches player value per dollar spent, the (dubious) effectiveness of switch-hitting, the win-loss impact of a general manager (huge) versus a manager (not so huge), pitch counts, when to steal, and much more. Some of his conclusions are self-evident, such as: "It's better to succeed at the hit-and-run than to fail." Yet he reveals some surprises, too, such as the investment value of starting pitching, the self-fulfilling nature of the penny-pinching franchise, and who the true MVPs of a team really are. A good pickup for strong sports collections.Alan MooresCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved