Download or read book The Theory of Modern Baseball written by Masaru Kanemoto and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-15 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The count is 3-2. Where should the pitcher target his pitch? How close does the pitch have to be for the batter to swing? Should the batter swing at all? Only sabermetrics can provide the answer to these critical strategic questions. But the amount of material on this subject is relatively limited, and until now, players and coaches have been left to guess.The Theory of Modern Baseball addresses this gap in the baseball literature. Using a straightforward sabermetric framework to measure the value of each pitch in each situation, the book presents the theoretically correct approach to each count, based on the skills and tendencies of actual MLB pitchers and hitters.With an understanding of how players approach an at-bat - and how they should - the book then analyzes some of the key strategic elements in modern baseball, including The Shift, The Opener, Hot and Cold Zones, pitch sequencing, platoon effects, weather adjustments, and more.While most of modern baseball strategy is based on sound principles, teams and players are still making massive strategic errors every single game, far worse than an extra sacrifice bunt or intentional walk or two. A dedicated coach or player willing to apply the knowledge contained in The Theory of Modern Baseball is likely to gain a significant edge over the competition.
Download or read book Baseball written by George Vecsey and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the great bards of America's Grand Old Game gives a rousing account ofbaseball, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day.
Download or read book Power Ball written by Rob Neyer and published by Harper. This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Winner of the 2018 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year.” The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades. On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book. Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft. As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.
Download or read book The Modern Baseball Card Investor written by Jeff Hwang and published by . This book was released on 2018-04-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the wake of the great baseball card bubble of the late 1980s and early 1990s - a time period in which new baseball card issues were wildly overproduced - everybody knows that modern baseball cards are worthless, and that valuable cards are strictly a vintage thing. And yet, many of the most valuable cards of the last 40-50 years have been printed in the last five to ten years ... Indeed, the investment profile of the modern baseball card and sports cards in general has improved dramatically over the past 20 years. In The Modern Baseball Card Investor, Jeff Hwang explains why, and shows you how you, too, can get in on the game"--Amazon.com.
Download or read book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract written by Bill James and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 1026 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Bill James published his original Historical Baseball Abstract in 1985, he produced an immediate classic, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the “holy book of baseball.” Now, baseball's beloved “Sultan of Stats” (The Boston Globe) is back with a fully revised and updated edition for the new millennium. Like the original, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract is really several books in one. The Game provides a century's worth of American baseball history, told one decade at a time, with energetic facts and figures about How, Where, and by Whom the game was played. In The Players, you'll find listings of the top 100 players at each position in the major leagues, along with James's signature stats-based ratings method called “Win Shares,” a way of quantifying individual performance and calculating the offensive and defensive contributions of catchers, pitchers, infielders, and outfielders. And there's more: the Reference section covers Win Shares for each season and each player, and even offers a Win Share team comparison. A must-have for baseball fans and historians alike, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract is as essential, entertaining, and enlightening as the sport itself.
Download or read book Modern Baseball Strategy written by Paul Richards and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Mathematician at the Ballpark written by Ken Ross and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-02-27 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Mathematician at the Ballpark, professor Ken Ross reveals the math behind the stats. This lively and accessible book shows baseball fans how to harness the power of made predictions and better understand the game. Using real-world examples from historical and modern-day teams, Ross shows: • Why on-base and slugging percentages are more important than batting averages • How professional odds makers predict the length of a seven-game series • How to use mathematics to make smarter bets A Mathematician at the Ballpark is the perfect guide to the science of probability for the stats-obsessed baseball fans—and, with a detailed new appendix on fantasy baseball, an essential tool for anyone involved in a fantasy league.
Download or read book The Hidden Game of Baseball written by John Thorn and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed classic on the statistical analysis of baseball records in order to evaluate players and win more games. Long before Moneyball became a sensation or Nate Silver turned the knowledge he’d honed on baseball into electoral gold, John Thorn and Pete Palmer were using statistics to shake the foundations of the game. First published in 1984, The Hidden Game of Baseball ushered in the sabermetric revolution by demonstrating that we were thinking about baseball stats—and thus the game itself—all wrong. Instead of praising sluggers for gaudy RBI totals or pitchers for wins, Thorn and Palmer argued in favor of more subtle measurements that correlated much more closely to the ultimate goal: winning baseball games. The new gospel promulgated by Thorn and Palmer opened the door for a flood of new questions, such as how a ballpark’s layout helps or hinders offense or whether a strikeout really is worse than another kind of out. Taking questions like these seriously—and backing up the answers with data—launched a new era, showing fans, journalists, scouts, executives, and even players themselves a new, better way to look at the game. This brand-new edition retains the body of the original, with its rich, accessible analysis rooted in a deep love of baseball, while adding a new introduction by the authors tracing the book’s influence over the years. A foreword by ESPN’s lead baseball analyst, Keith Law, details The Hidden Game’s central role in the transformation of baseball coverage and team management and shows how teams continue to reap the benefits of Thorn and Palmer’s insights today. Thirty years after its original publication, The Hidden Game is still bringing the high heat—a true classic of baseball literature. Praise for The Hidden Game “As grateful as I was for the publication of The Hidden Game of Baseball when it first showed up on my bookshelf, I’m even more grateful now. It’s as insightful today as it was then. And it’s a reminder that we haven’t applauded Thorn and Palmer nearly loudly enough for their incredible contributions to the use and understanding of the awesome numbers of baseball.” —Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer, ESPN.com “Just as one cannot know the great American novel without Twain and Hemingway, one cannot know modern baseball analysis without Thorn and Palmer.” —Rob Neyer, FOX Sports
Download or read book Shift written by Russell Carleton and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2018-04-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its three-hour-long contests, 162-game seasons, and countless measurable variables, baseball is a sport which lends itself to self-reflection and obsessive analysis. It's a thinking game. It's also a shifting game. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike. So what's on the horizon for a game that is constantly evolving? Positioned at the crossroads of sabermetrics and cognitive science, The Shift alters the trajectory of both traditional and analytics-based baseball thought. With a background in clinical psychology as well as experience in major league front offices, Baseball Prospectus' Russell Carleton illuminates advanced statistics and challenges cultural assumptions, demonstrating along the way that data and logic need not be at odds with the human elements of baseball—in fact, they're inextricably intertwined. Covering topics ranging from infield shifts to paradigm shifts, Carleton writes with verve, honesty, and an engaging style, inviting all those who love the game to examine it deeply and maybe a little differently. Data becomes digestible; intangibles are rendered not only accessible, but quantifiable. Casual fans and statheads alike will not want to miss this compelling meditation on what makes baseball tick.
Download or read book Analyzing Baseball Data with R written by Max Marchi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its flexible capabilities and open-source platform, R has become a major tool for analyzing detailed, high-quality baseball data. Analyzing Baseball Data with R provides an introduction to R for sabermetricians, baseball enthusiasts, and students interested in exploring the rich sources of baseball data. It equips readers with the necessary skills and software tools to perform all of the analysis steps, from gathering the datasets and entering them in a convenient format to visualizing the data via graphs to performing a statistical analysis. The authors first present an overview of publicly available baseball datasets and a gentle introduction to the type of data structures and exploratory and data management capabilities of R. They also cover the traditional graphics functions in the base package and introduce more sophisticated graphical displays available through the lattice and ggplot2 packages. Much of the book illustrates the use of R through popular sabermetrics topics, including the Pythagorean formula, runs expectancy, career trajectories, simulation of games and seasons, patterns of streaky behavior of players, and fielding measures. Each chapter contains exercises that encourage readers to perform their own analyses using R. All of the datasets and R code used in the text are available online. This book helps readers answer questions about baseball teams, players, and strategy using large, publically available datasets. It offers detailed instructions on downloading the datasets and putting them into formats that simplify data exploration and analysis. Through the book’s various examples, readers will learn about modern sabermetrics and be able to conduct their own baseball analyses.
Download or read book A Fan s Guide to Baseball Analytics written by Anthony Castrovince and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Broken up into sections (pitching, fielding, hitting), this authoritative yet fun and easy guide will help readers young and old fully understand and comprehend the statistics that are the present and future of our national pastime. We all know what a .300 hitter looks like. The same with a 20-game winner. Those numbers are ingrained in our brains. But do they mean as much as we think? Do we feel the same way when we hear a batter has a .390 wOBA? How about a pitcher with a 1.2 WHIP? These statistics are the future of modern baseball, and no fan should be in the dark about how these metrics apply to the game. In the last twenty years, an avalanche of analytics has taken over the way the game is played, managed, and assessed, but the statistics that drive the sport (metrics like wRC+, FIP, and WAR, just to name a few) read like alphabet soup to a large number of fans who still think batting average, RBIs, and wins are the best barometers for baseball players. In A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics, MLB.com reporter and columnist Anthony Castrovince has taken on the role as explainer to help such fans understand why the old stats don’t always add up. Readers will also learn where these modern stats came from, what they convey, and how to use them to evaluate players of the present, past, and future. For instance, what if we told you that when Joe DiMaggio had his famous 56-game hitting streak in 1941, helping him win the AL MVP, that there was, perhaps, someone more deserving? In fact, the great Ted Williams actually had a higher fWAR, bWAR, wRC+, OPS, OPS+, ISO, RC . . . well, you get the picture. So, streak or no streak, Williams should have been league MVP. An introductory course on sabermetrics, A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics is an easily digestible resource that readers can keep turning back to when they see a modern metric referenced in today’s baseball coverage.
Download or read book The Making of Modern Baseball written by Frank P. Josza and published by Meyer & Meyer Sport. This book was released on 2020-02-01 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Major League Baseball has enjoyed a long period of progress and success. For over 118 years, events, institutions, people, and regulations have transformed it both in the short and long run. The Making of Modern Baseball examines the development of Major League Baseball, including the recruitment, entry, and performance of ballplayers from foreign countries; the competitive balance or degree of parity that exists among teams within and between the American and National League; expansion of new franchises located in the United States and Canada; and the economic realities of the leagues given the demographics, distribution, and wealth of their franchises' markets. Additionally, this book provides answers to such questions as: What types of simple and complex methods exist to measure and analyze performances of players and their teams? What has been the impact of free agency on ballplayers' salaries? How different are the gate receipts, total revenues, and valuations of large, midsized, and small market teams? The Making of Modern Baseball takes the reader deep into Major League Baseball, making it a must-have for every fan and follower of the sport.
Download or read book Baseball Unraveled written by Clifton Neeley and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-12-21 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball Unraveled is a must have in the Coaching of Baseball library. It is a textbook that will make a terrific difference in the future of sports. While most books focus on what has happened in baseball, this book helps every team and player as it identifies why it happened. Statistics and performance vary from player to player and from team to team, yet each year there are teams that continually rise to the top and others that constantly remain unsatisfied. A huge amount of speculation occurs in MLB when a player changes teams and (amazingly) his production changes dramatically. All of the statistical analysis goes haywire, and even "Moneyball" has no answer for what a player goes through, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. This book provides answers and methodologies to overcome. Baseball Unraveled defines the visual memory of the baseball hitter as he prepares to hammer a round wooden bat into the very center of the flying object. Though he draws upon previous experience, he continues to be disadvantaged in favor of the pitcher by a margin greater than 60%. It explores why, in 1941, Ted Williams achieved a greater margin than anyone since--against pitchers in Major League Baseball for an entire season. It explains why it is highly unlikely anyone will ever again hit above .400 for a full season. This book identifies the difficulty for pitchers, both when at home and at other venues and gauges ball movement on the "Neeley Scale." Exploring many arenas that are affected by hot and cold weather in various baseball venues, it reveals an often overlooked aspect, identified as: "The Phantom of Baseball." Written in a readable style by a former college baseball and high-level men's fast-pitch softball participant, the book is both scientifically factual and baseball savvy. It is geared to professional players, owners, managers, fans, and college and high school coaches alike. It's an indispensable tool for anyone from anywhere in the world who needs to coach, manage or perform in baseball or softball or to make better predictions about players and teams in competitive sports.
Download or read book Legal Decisions That Shaped Modern Baseball written by Patrick K. Thornton and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work takes a look at the cases that have had a significant influence on the game of baseball, such as Flood v. Kuhn and Garvey v. MLB, which either made it to the U.S. Supreme Court or brought up major legal issues in baseball. Also included are cases that explore legal issues in baseball but are not as well known and cases that appear in most sports law books. For each case, the historical and legal significance of the decision is discussed.
Download or read book The Making of Modern Baseball written by Frank P. Jozsa and published by Meyer & Meyer Media. This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Major League Baseball has enjoyed a long period of progress and success. For over 118 years, events, institutions, people, and regulations, transformed it both in the short and long run. The Making of Modern Baseball examines the development of Major League Baseball, including the recruitment, entry, and performance of ballplayers from foreign countries; the competitive balance or degree of parity that exists among teams within and between the American and National League; expansion of new franchises located in the United States and Canada; and the economic realities of the leagues given the demographics, distribution, and wealth of their franchises' markets. Additionally, this book provides answers to such questions as: What types of simple and complex methods exist to measure and analyze performances of players and their teams? What has been the impact of free agency on ballplayers' salaries? How different are the gate receipts, total revenues, and valuations of large, midsized, and small market teams? The Making of Modern Baseball takes the reader deep into Major League Baseball, making it a must-have for every fan and follower of the sport.
Download or read book The Battle that Forged Modern Baseball written by Daniel R. Levitt and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicles the 1913-1915 battle between baseball's newly-formed Federal League versus the established National and American leagues, and discusses the short- and long-term impact on the game.
Download or read book The Jersey Game written by James M. Diclerico and published by . This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1970s and 1980s Jewish cartoonists such as Will Eisner were some of the first artists to use the graphic novel as a way to explore their ethnicity. Although similar to their pop culture counterpart, the comic book, graphic novels presented weightier subject matter in more expensive packaging, which appealed to an adult audience and gained them credibility as a genre. The Jewish Graphic Novel is a lively, interdisciplinary collection of essays that addresses critically acclaimed works in this subgenre of Jewish literary and artistic culture. Featuring insightful discussions of notable figures in the industry--such as Will Eisner, Art Spiegelman, and Joann Sfar--the essays focus on the how graphic novels are increasingly being used in Holocaust memoir and fiction, and to portray Jewish identity in America and abroad. Featuring more than 85 illustrations, this collection is a compelling representation of a major postmodern ethnic and artistic achievement.
