Alan Schwarz - The Numbers Game

Great book at least through 109 pages. After that it got mired in the Bill James saga, stat politics, and stathead GMs. I mean it was a good read but I was really fascinated with history (pre-1980) stats and how alot of good stuff was done. Obviously today we are living in a stat driven baseball world with scouts taking a back seat but I was a bit surprised how stats have always been knocking at the door. It isn't just a computer revolution although I believe the ease today of running numbers and simulations certainly has contributed to the stats leading the way. Interesting notes:

- Ferdinand Lane 1915 determined that singles were worth 0.457 runs, doubles 0.786, triples 1.15, homers 1.55, and walks 0.164. These numbers almost matched up with Pete Palmers linear weights done almost 60 years later. Good review here.

- Upon reading this book I realized that everything we think we just discovered as already been proposed at some time in the past. My little exercise on total bases was put to use in 1915 by Travis Hoke, who rated players by counting the number of bases their hits accounted for, not just for themselves but the advancement of any base runner!

- You know that baseball is the only sport without a clock...never really thought about that!

- During research it was found that Lou Proctor, a phantom player, who had a line in The Baseball Encyclopedia was a Western Union telegraph operator who inserted himself into the box score

- Defense Independent Pitching Stats

- The Sinister First Baseman, book of observations telling one is that managers shouldn't play to a gut feeling rather they should stick to a plan. They often allow their judgment to be blown this way and that by each and every short-term run of luck...Like the shrewd and winning player at any game involving odds, the successful baseball manager must discover the optimum long range strategy, grit his teeth, and stick to it, in all situations.

- Often wonder why 100 pitches seems to be the reason to take a starter out? Well Keith Woolner confirmed a correlation between starts above 100 pitches, particulary those above 120, and subsequent slumps and blown out arms.

- Red Sox's secret weapon? Susan Reynolds? She did a study on Boston weather over the last 100 years...hmmm she isn't very noteworthy as googling her really doesn't find much