Sign-In
Cart
Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old STATS That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think about Baseball
Paperback
Business GeneralBaseball & Softball
Publisher Price: $17.99
ISBN13: 9780062490230
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Published: Mar 13 2018
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.50
Height: 0.80 Width: 5.30 Depth: 7.90
Language: English
Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.
For decades, statistics such as batting average, saves recorded, and pitching won-lost records have been used to measure individual players' and teams' potential and success. But in the past fifteen years, a revolutionary new standard of measurement--sabermetrics--has been embraced by front offices in Major League Baseball and among fantasy baseball enthusiasts. But while sabermetrics is recognized as being smarter and more accurate, traditionalists, including journalists, fans, and managers, stubbornly believe that the old way--a combination of outdated numbers and gut instinct--is still the best way. Baseball, they argue, should be run by people, not by numbers.?
In this informative and provocative book, teh renowned ESPN analyst and senior baseball writer demolishes a century's worth of accepted wisdom, making the definitive case against the long-established view. Armed with concrete examples from different eras of baseball history, logic, a little math, and lively commentary, he shows how the allegiance to these numbers--dating back to the beginning of the professional game--is firmly rooted not in accuracy or success, but in baseball's irrational adherence to tradition.
While Law gores sacred cows, from clutch performers to RBIs to the infamous save rule, he also demystifies sabermetrics, explaining what these new numbers really are and why they're vital. He also considers the game's future, examining how teams are using Data--from PhDs to sophisticated statistical databases--to build future rosters; changes that will transform baseball and all of professional sports.
Also in
Baseball & Softball
Dick Bremer: Game Used: My Life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins
Bruton, Jim
Bremer, Dick
Hardcover
The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball's Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses
Baird, Addy
Hardcover
The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner
Vaccaro, Mike
Hardcover
Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience
Cole, Jesse
Paperback
Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks, and Innovators Engineered Baseball's New Era of Pitching Dominance
Friedman, Rob
Hardcover
The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball
Miller, John W.
Hardcover
True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It
Delsohn, Steve
Paperback
It's a Numbers Game! Baseball: The Math Behind the Perfect Pitch, the Game-Winning Grand Slam, and So Much More!
Buckley
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Royal Treatment: Jackie Robinson, Montreal, and the Breaking of Baseball's Color Barrier
McLaughlin, Sean J.
Hardcover
Brain Games - To Go - Facts & Fun: Baseball: Info, Stats, Puzzles, Quizzes & More
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II
Keene, Anne R.
Paperback
Fenway Punk: How a Boston Indie Label Scored Big on Baseball's Greatest Rivalry
Wrenn, Chris
Hardcover
Out of This World: How the Los Angeles Dodgers Captured Back-To-Back World Series Championships
Los Angeles Daily News
Paperback
The Chosen City, The Owner, the Players, and the New Hampshire City that Integrated Baseball in the United States
Ranauro, Bill
Paperback
The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black
Pavlovic, Alex
Paperback
In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball
Fitts, Robert K.
Hardcover
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
O'Brien, Keith
Paperback
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
Ballard, Chris
Paperback
Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant
Guerrieri, Vince
Paperback
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
Mahler, Jonathan
Paperback
The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality
Pearlman, Jeff
Paperback
L.A. Story: Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a Season for the Ages
Plunkett, Bill
Hardcover
Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game
Sexton, John
Oliphant, Thomas
Schwartz, Peter J.
Paperback
We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech Republic's Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes
Clair, Michael
Hardcover
A Year of Playing Catch: What a Simple Daily Experiment Taught Me about Life
Bryan, Ethan D.
Paperback
America's Ballparks: A Trip Across the Country to Visit Baseball's Playing Fields, Old and New
Hajeski, Nancy J.
Hardcover
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection: Celebrating the Game's Greatest Players
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
Legendary Ballparks: Moments and Memories from America's Most Storied Stadiums
Enders, Eric
Hardcover
America's Classic Ballparks - Revised Edition: Celebrating Parks Past and Present
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
Coaching with Purpose: The Game Plan That Helps Coaches Build Winners on and Off the Field
Madison, Keith
Paperback
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
Murphy, Cait N.
Paperback
The Last Best League, 10th Anniversary Edition: One Summer, One Season, One Dream
Collins, Jim
Paperback
They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History
Coffey, Wayne
Paperback
Summer of the Cheap Wieners: What the 1941 Phillies Were Up to While Joe Dimaggio Was Making History
Klugh, Justin
Paperback
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness
Olney, Buster
Paperback
Slider: A baseball story that throws love, murder, drugs and corruption into the game.
Alderman, Peter
Paperback
Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
Hamilton, Tom
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
The Complete Book of Baseball Trivia: Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions
Chandler, Matt
Paperback
Back When We Were Colored, Helping Black Athletes During Segregation, and Being Helped By Some 'Decent White Men' Along the Way
Woolfolk, Virgal Tyrone
Paperback
Tenacious and True: Coastal Carolina's 2016 Championship and the Rise of a Baseball Power
Pleasant, Scott
Hardcover
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's
Turbow, Jason
Paperback
The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It
Ritter, Lawrence S.
Paperback
Ron Shandler's 2026 Baseball Forecaster: And Encyclopedia of Fanalytics
Murphy, Ray
Hershey, Brent
Kruse, Brandon
Paperback
Brain Games - Baseball Goats (Greatest of All Time) Word Search: Players, Managers, Games, Mascots, & More!
Brain Games
Publications International Ltd
Paperback
The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Challenge: Over 600 Quiz Questions for Die-Hard Baseball Fans
Patton, Hank
Paperback
Hot Foot: My Hijinks and Upside-Down Life with the World Champion New York Mets
McDowell, Roger
Feldmann, Doug
Hardcover
Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball
Epplin, Luke
Paperback
Baseball in Paradise: A Century of Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida
Carlucci, Pasquale A.
Hardcover
Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Early, Gerald
Hardcover
So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin' True Story of the New York Mets--The Best Worst Team in Sports
Gordon, Devin
Hardcover
Baseball as It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything
Ferling, John E.
Hardcover
The Texas Rangers and Me: A Baseball Writer's Thirty-Two Years in Arlington
Sullivan, T. R.
Hardcover
Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark
Tannenbaum, Seth S.
Paperback
Second to None: A Coach's Message of Love & Selflessness Propels Tiny El Segundo to a Dramatic Little League World Title
Boehle, Danny Joseph
Coonan
Paperback