- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1 edition (April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312265565
- ISBN-13: 978-0312265564
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.7 x 2.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,114,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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27 reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
nice at debunking of baseball myths
7 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover
This book reviews a lot of baseball myths and debates and sheds new light on ones the experts thought were settled. As a Yankee fan from the 1950s and 1960s I was particularly interested in the chapters on Ruth and DiMaggio and questions about Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Barra address questions such as: Was Mays really a better all-around player than Mantle? Should Joe Jackson be in the Hall of Fame? Should Roger Maris be in the Hall of Fame? Was the asterisk on Maris' home run record a myth? Would Jackie Robinson have made the Hall of Fame if he were not black? Was Juan Marichal slighted when compared with Koufax and Gibson? How great was Mike Schmidt? Barra address these and many other issues with sometimes startling but always convincing agruments and statistics to back up his points.
Many of the debates have been clouded by emotion and Barra tries to take a very dispassionate and objective approach to the issues. The result is some new and refreshing ideas that provoke thought and controversy!
Many of the debates have been clouded by emotion and Barra tries to take a very dispassionate and objective approach to the issues. The result is some new and refreshing ideas that provoke thought and controversy!
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Disappointing
21 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
This book has a great premise, which is to use statistics to question some of the "great" debates of baseball and generally shed some new light on the subject. It is a fascinating idea. However to me it feels rather poorly executed.
The chapters seem to go from statistics to anecdotes, to statistics, to anecdotes with no clear path. The problem with this approach is that Barra never even settles on one or another as being his criteria for settling his dabates. On this level this book is highly unsatisfying. For example in comparing Ted Williams to Joe DiMaggio he "proves" that one batter was clearly the statistically only to decide that he would choose the inferior player for intangible reasons if he could go back in time. Considering that in other chapters he uses numbers almost exclusively, to argue that the 1919 Black Sox shouldn't have been favorites no matter takes away the necessary bias. Essentially the author uses numbers that prove his point, but often only presents the data he puts forth in his argument.
In the chapter I found most unsettling the author examined the legacy of the 1986 New York Mets. He does nothing less than insult Sid Fernandez for his weight problems and dismisses Dwight Gooden's career tail off as solely due to drug and alcohol problems. He compares Gooden's early career to that of Roger Clemens and rightly points out that Gooden was the better pitcher at the end of 1986 based on statistics and essentially relates his subsequent pitching performances to his personal demons. However if the reader were presented with career statistics they would see that Gooden pitched approximately 500 innings in his first 2 seasons. The man led the National League in innings pitched in his second season with 276. Add to that Gooden's high strike out totals and high complete game figures and one could argue that Gooden suffered from arm abuse as well as drug problems. To fail to mention such data seriously hinders the credibility of the author's arguments. It makes me curious as to what pertinent information is left out of his other analyses. As such I cannot place much weight on the particular merits of the authors arguments as they present very skewed statistics.
I know statistics can say whatever you want them too. It's even easier when you don't get to see all the numbers. A nice idea but poorly executed. It may present the greatest baseball debates, but it does not end them.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Clearing the Bases
30 April 2002
Format:Hardcover
The book's jacket makes it sound like some revolutionary tome that uses completely original thinking to slaughter baseball's sacred cows. But a quick flip through the text reveals a collection of ideas that Bill James was bandying about back in the 1980s. Tim Raines was a great player? Mike Schmidt was one of the greatest of all time? Statistical analysis favors a peak Mantle over a peak Mays? Babe Ruth wasn't as much of a God and savior as many believe? Valid points all, but these ideas, each the subject of a Barra chapter, can all be found in James's Abstract work. So this book seems oddly stale to me, and will feel the same, I think, for many well-read baseball fans.
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