This was a nice little read but I'd be lying if I wasn't hoping for some deeper meaning and/or victory at the end. The thing is though that while manyThis was a nice little read but I'd be lying if I wasn't hoping for some deeper meaning and/or victory at the end. The thing is though that while many baseball statheads have thoughts on how to run a baseball team it's really about how to run an organization with the ultimate goal of feeding a big league team. In the Independent leagues you can actually be a victim of your own success if you find the best players they'll get called up to higher leagues to follow their dream and also make more money. There were plenty of interesting moments in this book but it ultimately left me wanting more and wanting to see Ben and Sam get a shot at higher leagues.
Still a good read though and got me excited for baseball season....more
This was a pretty good little book. It was short enough that I was able to read it in the library (always a plus) and I thought King did a really goodThis was a pretty good little book. It was short enough that I was able to read it in the library (always a plus) and I thought King did a really good job telling a story in such a brief period of time.
It wasn't horribly compelling or complex but it kept moving and was interesting. I enjoyed how King told the entire story from the perspective of an old timer (the 3rd base coach) who was relaying the story to King himself.
It was a neat, enjoyable read and I always enjoy a good baseball story....more
This book is a great read for baseball fans. Interviews with some great players (Spahn, Kiner, Doby, Irvin, and more) about their memories done in a tThis book is a great read for baseball fans. Interviews with some great players (Spahn, Kiner, Doby, Irvin, and more) about their memories done in a truly conversational manner.
It's a very light and easy read yet interesting and really takes you back and makes you feel like you are living through these games and days.
A must read for baseball fans, especially younger fans who may not know the history....more
This was a terrific book especially for anyone who enjoys baseball history.
Considering what sparse records exist about the events and the trials I thiThis was a terrific book especially for anyone who enjoys baseball history.
Considering what sparse records exist about the events and the trials I think Asinof does a masterful job of constructing the story of all the involved parties including multiple gamblers, players, owners, commissioners, judges, etc. The list of people whose point of view is presented honestly in a nuanced and sensitive way is truly astounding. Even more astounding is that the entire account doesn't seem more muddled. Asinof maintains clarity through the entire complex tale.
I'm not sure if Asinof has a vested interest in portraying one side as right (or better) than another but the story definitely comes of with Buck Weaver as a very sympathetic character followed by the rest of the ballplayers except for Chick Gandil, who is portrayed as much of a swindler as he is a ballplayer vs. the portrayal of the rest of the baseball players as athletes first.
Either way I found the story infinitely fascinating with intrigue and suspense packing every page. Truly a great baseball book and the reference book for anyone who wants to know about the 1919 Black Sox scandal....more
This book was ok. I think it will be most useful as a reference tool.
For anyone who reads about baseball statistics and Sabermetrics, whether it be frThis book was ok. I think it will be most useful as a reference tool.
For anyone who reads about baseball statistics and Sabermetrics, whether it be from Bill James, Pete Palmer, Baseball Prospectus or anyone else won't really find any new ideas here but it is a great how-to guide.
Adler basically gives you the steps and the code to create a robust baseball database and gives you shows you some useful things to do with it so that you can go off and use it in any way you would like.
But at the end of the day, it's not a leisure read, it's a programmer's reference tool....more
This is a great piece of history for baseball fans. Vincent does a great job scouting players to interview and has a great balance of players. Some halThis is a great piece of history for baseball fans. Vincent does a great job scouting players to interview and has a great balance of players. Some hall of famers, some not. Some AL, some NL Some from the 50s, some from the 60s Hitters, pitchers, just really well balanced
My only knock is that some players repeat and ramble so it can slow down at times.
One very funny thing I found was that most of the hitters thought present day hitters were better for various reasons (they lift weights, they stay in great shape all year round, live ball, etc.) but most of the pitchers don't think current day pitchers are as good (they don't throw enough in between starts, they don't finish their games, they have more days off).
This really gives an in depth and interesting perspective to 50s and 60s baseball....more
Gutlon showed flashes of brilliance in this book and chose a great topic to address although I think his style and execution wasn't the best.
On a sideGutlon showed flashes of brilliance in this book and chose a great topic to address although I think his style and execution wasn't the best.
On a side note this book should have been titled "Dan Shaughnessy is a big fat idiot: Why there is nothing mystical about a poorly run team failing to win"
Anyway, back to the book. I like that Gutlon goes through the entire history of the organization because there is quite a lot of justification to be done when you don't win for that long and there has to be a reason in any given year, or period of years, that the Red Sox would not be the best.
Gutlon may have spent too much time on early history and funny coincidences like Hall of Fame players almost acquired. But a lot of the pre Babe Ruth stuff did set the stage of Ban Johnson and Harry Frazee very nicely so I guess it was warranted to a degree.
I do think that Gutlon was too detailed in specific game descriptions (especially in the current Epstein ERA). It's nice to know for story arc purposes about trades and GM philosophies but I don't care that Mark Bellhorn won Game 1 of the 2004 world series by hitting a two run homerun.
Other notes: - Gutlon, in my opinion, seemed to not acknowledge anything done right prior to the John Henry ownership period. It's a subtlety and maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion but the Sox did some things right...just like 1000 monkeys with 1000 typewriters could write Shakespeare. - Surprising number of typos (Julio Tavarez, Jay Peyton)...more
as a baseball guy and a math guy, this book was GLORIOUS! The appendix of mathematical techniques used, and some descriptions why, truly puts Tom Tangas a baseball guy and a math guy, this book was GLORIOUS! The appendix of mathematical techniques used, and some descriptions why, truly puts Tom Tango in a class of his own. The stats were used well and when stats were unavailable he used simulations. And the piece de la resistance: Game Theory at the end of the book! He took into account bluffing, strategy, and how they affect the usefulness of various techniques. I could literally not ask for much more.
As a clarifier to the book, this book examines baseball strategy and situations and is not an attempt to rank or project players in any way (a la Bill James).
Absolutely wonderful! Tom Tango is great! An absolute must read for anyone who considers themselves a serious fan!...more
this is an essential to any dedicated fan who loves baseball and statistics. Errors and fielding percentage are from the stone age and now Zone Ratingthis is an essential to any dedicated fan who loves baseball and statistics. Errors and fielding percentage are from the stone age and now Zone Rating and Range Factor are old news because they've been improved upon by John Dewan and Bill James and the new plus/minus system demonstrates even further how far dedicated baseball men are willing to go to understand fielding.
Play by play analysis of every fielding play using 260 vectors on the field and split into three categories of how hard the hit is and 4 types of hits? Yes please!...more
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