Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure

by Craig Robinson, Rob Neyer (Introduction)

How many miles does a baseball team travel in one season?
How tall would A-Rod's annual salary be in pennies?
What does Nolan Ryan have to do with the Supremes and Mariah Carey?
You might never have asked yourself any of these questions, but Craig Robinson's Flip Flop Fly Ball will make you glad to know the answers.
Baseball, almost from the first moment Robinson saw it, was more than a sport. It was history, a nearly infinite ocean of information that begged to be organized. He realized that understanding the game, which he fell in love with as an adult, would never be possible just through watching games and reading articles. He turned his obsession into a dizzyingly entertaining collection of graphics that turned into an Internet sensation.
Out of Robinson's Web site, www.flipflopflyball.com, grew this book, full of all-new, never-before-seen graphics. Flip Flop Fly Ball dives into the game's history, its rivalries and absurdities, its cities and ballparks, and brings them to life through 120 full-color graphics. Statistics-the sport's lingua franca-have never been more fun.
(By the way, the answers: about 26,000 miles, at least if the team in question is the 2008 Kansas City Royals; 3,178 miles; they were the artists atop the Billboard Hot 100 when Ryan first and last appeared in MLB games.)
Craig Robinson is, among other things, an Englishman and a New York Yankees fan with a soft spot for the Colorado Rockies and a man-crush on Ichiro. Last season he played outfield for the Prenzlauer Berg Piranhas in the Berlin Mixed Softball League (.452/.548/.575). His previous books include Atlas, Schmatlas: A Superior Atlas of the World and Fun Fun Fun.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Reference, Design

160 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2011

Reviews

[Drebbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike many Americans who grow up either playing baseball or watching it or both, as a child, Craig Robinson, who grew up in England, didn’t even know what baseball was. When he finally discovered baseball he fell in love with the sport. Because he didn’t grow up with the sport, he tends to look at it a bit differently than many Americans who at times take it for granted. In “Flip Flop Fly Ball” Robinson looks at baseball in a way that most people probably never thought of.

“Flip Flop Fly Ball” is an interesting, often quirky look at baseball facts and stats. At times Robinson looks at straightforward baseball facts such as when each team broke the color line; the last player to wear the number 42 for each team; retired numbers for each team; 2009 MLB ticket prices; perfect games (he includes Armando Galarraga with an asterisk); teams with the biggest payrolls and how they did in the World Series; longest championship droughts; the Molina brothers; minor league baseball teams and locations. Other times he has a quirkier take on baseball such as: ball caps seen in Europe; how many miles Barry Bonds’ walks totaled; Green Monster height comparisons; which major league ball parks allow smoking; the total number of pitches thrown by all MLB pitchers in 2006; how much it would cost if players actually stole bases; the most common surnames in baseball; which MLB player was born on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; how high a stack of pennies equaling A-Rod’s 2010 salary would be; and much more.

Robinson uses a wide variety of ways to show the facts and stats. He uses photos; illustrations; shadow drawings; maps; bar graphs; almost blank pages; Venn diagrams; and many other things. Interspersed with all of this are essays by Robinson discussing how he came to love baseball; his visits to different ball parks; and his watching many games in Toronto. There is also a very funny essay “written” by the dove that Randy Johnson killed during a Spring Training game. In fact, throughout the book Robinson deftly mixes in humor with the stats. Much in the book is informative – my one complaint is that the choice of colors and small print make portions of the book hard for me to read without a magnifying glass.

“Flip Flop Fly Ball” will have you thinking about baseball in ways you never have before.

[molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Sure, some of the graphs/charts/whatever were interesting but so many were just plain dumb. Also, I couldn't read half of them! It appears the author closed his eyes and randomly chose colors for the text, damned whether the background was black and the color chosen was a deep red or what have you. Another problem I have with this book is no page numbers, so if I did want to tell you about a cool chart I'd have to say something like: it's sort in the middle towards the end. This book is good for a quick browse through if you come across it at a store or library but that's about it.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most perfect book ever. It's charts and baseball.

[Danielle Mintzlaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun book, but the font size and colors he used made it hard to read.

[Asa McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

One week ago today Derek Jeter had his number retired as a New York Yankee. Whether Jeter deserves it or not, it's obvious the Yanks LOVE retiring jersey numbers! Between 1969 (when Mickey Mantle had his #7 retired) and 2003, the Yankees retired a number every 2.62 years. At that pace, according to Craig Robinson author of Flip Flop Fly Ball, a Yankees player or coach will need to wear a triple-digit jersey by the year 2100. I'll roll over and laugh in my grave when that happens! By then the font of the numbers will be minimized to fit a myriad of corporate logos! But I digress, it's nuggets of obscure information like this in color graphs and charts that keep the pages in this book turning. For instance, did you know that 43% of baseball books have a baseball on the cover? Now you do!

Born in England, Craig Robinson's first recollection of baseball was watching the movie A League of their Own in the cinema. As an adult, he took a business trip to NYC and was turned onto baseball (and unfortunately by circumstance became a Yankees fan). But it doesn't matter who he roots for; Robinson hits a triple down the line that rolls around on the warning track with this book. The only reason it's not a home run to me is because it lacks the flow of a typical baseball novel. But this book is for people who crave something different, something that will definitely make you scratch your head and offer a few good chuckles as well. Some of my favorites from this book include: the distance of Barry Bonds walks in miles (2,558 walks = 43.6 miles), the Green Monster height comparison chart, the Ichiro is awesome graphic, and the story about Randy Johnson and the dove he killed with a pitch from the dove's perspective.

One quirky thing Robinson tries to do when visiting a new stadium is to sit for an inning in the seat farthest from home plate (usually the top corner see in the upper deck) where baseball seems so far away it only enhances the shapes of the game. I think I'll try to do this in his honor at some point this season. Who's with me?

[Paul Mashack · Rating 5 out of 5]

You had me at data visualations.

While any data expert will tell you it's important to keep your visualizations simple and easy to read. There were many that were a bit overwhelming with data, but that's ok. The purpose of this book is not meant to be super serious for the academic world. No, it is to be fun in examining some of the absurdities and random facts in baseball. It is 15 years old, so some data/info may be a bit dated, but that shouldn't diminish any of the entertainment value.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimately, this is a book by a baseball nerd for other baseball nerds. A love of intricate data sets expressed graphically, as well as an appreciation for the game's absurd minutiae will make this a more enjoyable read. Are you in that demographic? Well if you think that a visualization of the rise and fall of powder blue road jerseys in the MLB would be neat, then this book is for you.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely more of a library book rental than to buy. Doesn't take too long to read and not really something I would go back too. The charts and graphs are mostly fun, is but too many of them are either hard to read, confusing or the print is small. Also the authors baseball stories are kind of bland and hack, as well as the weird child like drawings and made up stories.

[Marshaferz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that's just a delightful book. Too slight to give 5 stars to (and too much emphasis on a single point in time, which feels strange when you're reading it several years later), but such fun to read and something I'll go back to. My kids are really enjoying it too.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly delightful.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

We each have a unique relationship with the National Pastime. Some of us can't get our fill of sabermetrics, deriving meaning from intricate formulas that crack open the sports mysteries. Others soak in the tradition of Fenway or Wrigley, imagining the ghosts of the greats who performed on the same dirt generations earlier. We may get lost in the acrobatic beauty of a skillfully turned double play or a sweet, smooth swing.

While most fans find both left- and right-brain appeal in the sport, few are better at wedding them than Craig Robinson, who joins baseball and infographics on his quirky Flip Flop Fly Ball website (www.flipflopflyball.com). Through his unique graphics, Robinson draws meaning out of a world of numbers and provides context for a boundless range of matters, many of which you never realized you were curious about-at least until you saw it sketched out in full color.

Bloomsbury has released a hardbound collection of Robinson's vibrant creations, entitled Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure. The book presents a variety of visuals, from graphs measuring each team's use of starting pitchers and illuminating the decline of the complete game to maps sketching out how far Barry Bonds walked in his career (43.6 miles on 2,558 free passes) or how far around the world a baseball would travel if you added up every pitch thrown over the course of a major league season (8,318.5 miles for the 2006 campaign).

If some of these sound a little out of the mainstream, welcome to Robinson's world. An Englishman who found baseball later in life, he views the game from a different vantage point than the rest of us. As Rob Neyer puts it in the Foreword, "It's not so odd to me that he sees things I don't see; there are a lot of things I don't see. What's odd to me is that Craig sees things nobody else sees." Perhaps if he had grown up with the game like most American boys, he'd think more like the rest of us instead of letting his mind ponder peripheral, but often entertaining, questions.

If players actually stole the bases that they steal, how much would it cost over the course of a season to replace them? How often has the Canadian anthem been the only one played before a game? What's the Native American population of Cleveland, home of the Indians? How tall is Fenway Park's Green Monster compared to other national landmarks?

Were he to simply ask and answer these questions in text format, it would make for interesting trivia and not much more. But his images make it easy to visualize Fenway's Wall compared to the Statue of Liberty or how tall Alex Rodriguez's annual salary would be in pennies.

There is some text in the book. Sprinkled throughout, Robinson breaks from the graphics to tell his story of how an Englishman living in Germany became hooked on America's game during the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets. Though he rooted for the underdogs from Flushing then, when he came to New York five years later, he fell in love with the Yankees. After catching his first game in the Bronx he was hopelessly hooked.

In 2008, Robinson returned to the States with an extensive road trip mapped out: New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He logs it all, devoting more space to his travels and off-field interactions with other fans, taken in by his accent and passion for their game. A year later, he planned another swing to hit some of the parks he'd missed, but was stranded in Toronto after being denied a visa to travel in the U.S. Though he wound up spending more time in the SkyDome-oops, Rogers Centre-than he might have preferred, it provided plenty of material for another essay.

Robinson's writing, like many of his infographics, is irreverent and entertaining. He details his adventures while traveling the country by Greyhound bus, meeting a young, baseball-loving soldier on his way home to Montana, and a racist ex-con in Milwaukee. His favorite parks were Coors Field and Dodger Stadium. His least favorite, Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which has since been replaced by Target Field.

One gets the feeling he'd be a fascinating person to sit next to during a game. He'd undoubtedly lead you into conversations unlike any you'd ever had before at a ballpark. Odds you'll ever get to sit next to him? Give him a minute and he could certainly calculate that. If you're patient, he could even diagram it for you.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coffee-table volume dishes up informative, instructive, and intriguing aspects about the Boys of Summer. The British-born author-illustrator journals his adoption of America’s pastime, pens his love for the New York Yankees, and inventories his visits to actual and virtual baseball venues. His scant pages of text (headlined with cute bobblehead figures) are interspaced with ample visuals, paintings, maps, and other illustrations that pump colorful life into otherwise boring actuarial categories.

The intriguing title should captivate a buyer’s interest as to the suggested nature of this work. “Flip Flop”? Well, this folio publication won’t easily be packed along with your sandals and suntan lotion when you strike out for the beach. It infers sporadic consultation, not a page-turning read. “Fly” is a nod to the New York comic-book artist-illustrator, Fly, renown for her cover artwork, collage portraits, and graphic-novel prints. “Fly Book” suggests a multimedia treatment, but it might not really prepare the user for the plethora plotting. The coined subtitle claims to be “infographic” and not interactive—you weren’t expecting a pop-up edition, were you?

The oversized format (9” x 12”) is necessary to present the bar-, column-, and scatter-graphs as well as the Venn diagrams, timelines, and other charts. There are some displays that run across several pages and there are some tables that are rendered almost indecipherable because of darkly shaded background colors. Clever book marketing might have included a full-page magnifier or an inexpensive jeweler’s loupe for the user to easily read the inserted tiny texts on these pages.

Robinson scores multiple offbeat hits that might not be discovered elsewhere like a list of ballpark smoking areas, a schematic of baseball organizations in Taiwan, or a dimensional diagram of the stack of pennies equaled in Alex Rodriguez’s salary. He slides in spaces for Independent, Minor, Negro and Women’s Pro Leagues; but he has neglected Mexican ball clubs, although foreign-born players are included in other plats.

This work flops as an ordinary sports encyclopedia that might focus on ERA or RBI stats. And yet, there are abundant baseball data included that will help the armchair enthusiast answer the local TV broadcaster’s trivia question during a game. The book is a unique visual almanac for a sport that normally is crazed with statistics.

A true-blue diehard may flip through the book, tracing a favorite team, its history, rankings or personnel. A casual fan should appreciate the vivid offerings that render a European’s global vision of America’s favorite sport. And the casual observer might learn about some arcane tidbits, such the use of a squatchee (baseball cap button).

This could be a take-along, summertime reading. Just don’t forget to pack a loupe.

[jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

of the many hundreds (or could it be thousands?) of books written about baseball, flip flop fly ball ought to rank amongst the most unique, informative, and entertaining. devised and written by craig robinson, an englishman whose love for the game was late to bloom, flip flop fly ball is a collection of bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, venn diagrams, and other assorted infographics about baseball miscellany and esoterica.

robinson's love for baseball did not begin until his thirties, but it's apparent his ardor swelled hot and heavily. based on a website of the same name, flip flop fly ball fills you in on all the aspects of the game you've likely never wondered about: "team names: an etymological venn diagram," "ballpark orientation: direction the batter is facing in all mlb parks," "surnames: the most common surnames in the majors (1871-2009)," "turner, montana: the american town farthest from a major league team," "alex rodriguez's salary: a very tall stack of pennies," and "barry bonds' walks: 43.6 miles worth of 'em." there are charts and graphics devoted to nearly every aspect of the game (past, present, and even future), and some which focus specifically on a particular era, team, or player. not forgetting that by the 21st century baseball has all but swept the globe, robinson also includes infographics on taiwan, japan, and korea.

interspersed throughout the book are brief essays highlighting robinson's fandom. he writes about how his passion for the game developed, as well as a roadtrip he took across the united states visiting as many major league parks as he could. as many baseball fans tend to be statistical junkies as well, flip flop fly ball is a perfect blend of sport & statistic. robinson, both in the essays & in chart captions, demonstrates quite an abundance of humor and wit, which only serves to make the book all the more fantastic.

flip flop fly ball could well delight both rookie fans and seasoned veterans. the book serves to capture some of the seemingly limitless minutiae that make baseball such an intricate and intriguing game. above all, robinson's book is fun, a departure from so much of the world of sports writing that is poorly constructed and rather dull. robinson ought to be commended on adding yet another dimension in which fans and players alike can engage and enjoy the great game of baseball. there is so much in flip flop fly ball to admire, save, of course, for robinson being a fan of those abhorrent new york yankees.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a variety of baseball-related infographics from Craig Robinson. Many of them are informative, many are funny, and quite a few are both informative *and* funny. Robinson, an English person who first became hooked on baseball during adulthood, also tells stories between the infographics about how he came to love the game and his experiences traveling around the US (and Canada) to see big league teams play.

For someone like me who likes baseball and loves trivia, this book is great. Through his graphics, Robinson asks interesting questions about baseball and its history, and presents the answers to those questions in interesting and often humorous ways. For example, in one of his graphics, Robinson noticed that the Yankees have an awfully high number of retired numbers. He then wondered, at the current rate that the Yankees are retiring numbers, how long it would be until at least one player on the Yankees would have to wear a three-digit number due to all the one-digit and two-digit numbers being taken already. He plotted previous number retirements by year, extrapolated a trend line, and found the answer: by 2100, one or more Yankees will likely be wearing a three-digit number.

Another graph shows the migration of big league managers between teams, while illustrating the comparatively rare feat Bobby Cox accomplished by managing the same team for 20 years in a row without getting fired. Another shows how far Barry Bonds would have walked, if all of his career walks were put together in a straight line starting from home plate in San Francisco, and extending down the first base line, out the stadium, across the water, and more.

Not all of the graphics are meant to be funny. One shows how long after Jackie Robinson's debut with the Dodgers it was before each other team had broken their own color barrier. The Boston Red Sox went the longest with an all-white roster, more than 12 years. Along the same lines, another graph shows the vanishingly small percentage of major league players who have ever publicly admitted being gay (note: it's only two, ever). Per the footnote, "everyone else [some 13,000 players in history] is either heterosexual or not telling." Draw your own conclusions.

If you like baseball trivia and statistics, I think you will get a kick out of this book. I don't really have much more to say about it than that. Take a look!

[Golfer76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am pleased to recommend “Flip Flop Fly Ball” to anyone remotely interested in baseball, statistics, and/or infographics. Englishman Craig Robinson brings very unique perspectives and insights to our great game. He provides clarity and understanding through a combination of easily understood infographics and engaging storytelling.

Growing up in England and living in Germany, Robinson missed the thrill of going to a major league ball park with his father and his glove during his formative years. However, once he caught the bug in his mid-thirties, Robinson has tried to catch up all at once, visiting 18 major league ballparks on a cross-country summer trip. His resulting observations provide the reader with unique view of America’s Pastime.

The marriage of colorful and readable infographics to the most statistically rich sport is a natural. But be aware, Robinson’s perspectives cause the reader to think about the game, ballparks, and players in ways never before imagined. My personal favorites include “Stolen Bases”, “Defensive Positioning”, and “MLB Payrolls”.

I loved the book, with only two (slight) caveats –
1) Some of the colors used for numerals and words in the infographics almost merged into the background colors (maybe my older eyes were the culprits)
2) There could have been additional traditional baseball statistics shown in this rich format; perhaps there will be more in a future book

You can see samples of Robinson’s information-rich infographics along with additional creative perspectives at his website www.flipflopflyball.com.

“Flip Flop Fly Ball” would be a great gift for baseball fans of any stripe (especially Yankee fans) or of any age. I predict that I’ll keep it handy to peruse during the next ESPN game.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book!

Author Craig Robinson combines his love for baseball with his artistic and writing skills to produce one fun, eminently readable hardcover book. An Englishman, Robinson came to baseball later in life, but when he did, he fell whole-heartedly in love with the game. He had a lot of catching up to do, but this also gave him the ability to see baseball from a slightly different, skewed angle than Americans.

Not only is the book illustrated with original works of art, like the painting "SkyDome" which has a big, white roof hovering above, cloud-like, or the abstract piece called "Pirates Fan," which resembles a man nodding off in his chair, but it also includes some wacky charts and graphs. Like the one that shows the distance of all the pitches thrown during the 2006 MLB season, if you added them all up (8,318.5 miles). Or, one of my favorites, the graph that shows ballpark elevations. Coors Field is WAY up there!

Robinson's sense of humor comes through not only in his charts (and their captions), but also in his text. Some of the essays are personal, and describe how he came to love the game of baseball. Some talk about the cross-country trip he took to see the different ballparks. But then he also throws in some quirky ones, like the imagined interview with the dove that met his end from a Randy Johnson fastball.

This really is a fun book. My only complaint is that it is too short! I wanted more, which is always a good way to leave a reader.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a GoodReads Win. I love winning books from Goodreads, as I get books I might never have looked at before. This is a large book, which would be great for the coffee table of a baseball lover. It could be called "101 of baseball". The cover states, this is an Infographic Baseball Adventure. Beautifully printed on good stock paper, this book has some wonderful pictures in it, as well as informative stories about baseball and the stadiums throughout America, and lots and lots of statistics. Which I understand, (from baseball lovers I have known, statistics in baseball are awesome). At first reading I thought it was the story of an American child's love of baseball, but no, I was wrong. It is written by a Brit, who like me, was raised on "cricket" closest we had to baseball was "rounders". Craig is a New York Yankees Fan! He really does Love this team. I found it interesting from a British perspective to read about his baseball travels. A lot of work went into this book. Although my children did do the Little Leagues etc. that Craig Robinson never got to enjoy, and they had a famous baseball relative "Zip Zabel" they were never interested in the game, or hooked, as is the author. So well done Mr. Robinson I was impressed that this was written by a person who grew up with a "sticky wicket" (Cricket) or songs of "Nice one Cyril" from the football field, to writing a book on American Baseball.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trivia, baseball, unrelated pop culture references, footnotes, and graphs: turns out these are some of my favorite things. I love the website, and can't wait to see what Robinson came up with for the book.

I'll start, right up front, by saying I had two problems with this book. The first being that quite a few of the infographics included in the book were originally posted to the website, meaning I've already seen them. Don't get me wrong - I liked them! Both times I saw them! But I've already seen most of them.

Want to know the Billboard 100 #1 song played the day Nolan Ryan threw his first and last major pitches? Done. The worst town in the US for baseball fans to live in (and why)? It's there. All of the information you could possibly require re: Ichiro and his awesomeness? Included.

If you know a baseball dork (or if you are one), this is well worth the flip through.

Now, you may be asking - Chelsea, didn't you say you had two problems with this book? Did you walk away in the middle of writing your review again and forget that you said that? Well, yes and no. I walked away, sure, but I don't plan on leaving a cliffhanger for you, no worries.

Two words: Yankee. Fan.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flip Flop Fly Ball is a coffee-table sized book that is a combination of various graphs, charts and illustrations about the game of Major League Baseball, and the story of a British fan (the author) falling in love with the game and travelling to various major league parks. The graphics range from the amusing (The Republic of Bradenia, a reference to Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden and his umbrage with Alex Rodriguez crossing the pitcher's mound on his way back to the dugout) to the fascinating (a breakdown of all the perfect games in MLB history, including statistics like ground ball/fly ball/strikeout breakdown, how many career starts the pitcher had before throwing the perfect game, etc). Unfortunately, even with the oversized pages of the book some of the more dense graphics are unreadable without the aid of a magnifying glass. [return][return]I was expecting a picture book and nothing more, so the stories from the author were a pleasant surprise. It was interesting to read about someone becoming a fan of baseball in adulthood with no prior knowledge of the game, and it didn't hurt that he was a Yankees fan too!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book as I was wandering around the book store looking for Christmas gifts for my husband. My husband has collected a pretty extensive baseball book library, so finding a baseball book he doesn't already have can be difficult and baseball books are probably his favorite present to receive. Flip Flop Fly Ball caught my interest as soon as I opened the book up. I can see where some might feel this is just a book of random stats and facts. But for those who love the game of baseball, the strategies, the historical changes, the settings, etc., the graphs and information in the book are not what I would consider random. Even if the nuances of baseball are of no interest to you, the visual inforgraphics are very eye catching and could be exemplary samples used in a statistic class or graphic design course. Sprinkled in with the infographics are some pretty interesting stories too that I am sure will be referenced in conversations with our baseball loving friends or at home, since a baseball game, baseball news or baseball movie is what is playing on our television 90% of the time.

[Amy Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave such a fresh perspective on the game of baseball. It compared teams, players, stadiums and uniforms in ways I never thought about. A few of my favorite infographics from the book were: A comparison of players homeruns and their involvement with performance enhancing drugs; outlines of each of the Major League fields (I picked out Fenway with no problem!); Green Monster height comparisons; and Kevin Costner's baseball movies vs. his non-baseball movies.

If you are a fan of the game of baseball you really must take a look at this book. It not only looks at Major League Baseball, but Minor League Baseball, Independent Leagues, Japanese Baseball and even the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

See my full review at http://bosoxamysbooks.blogspot.com/20....

[Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a part of the Goodreads giveaway program. This book was...random. There were some pretty cool stats, some graphs that made much more of an impact with pictures than words ever would, and some unique looks at baseball as told by an English baseball fan and some very strange stories that I never did quite figure out how they might be related to baseball. Kind of fun to flip through, but definitely not a reread. Gave it to my husband who is a big time baseball fan and he lost interest after flipping back and forth a few times. I don't think the author understands the average red blooded American male baseball fan.

[Spiros · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly entertaining bit of dorkery. Mr Robinson is a Brit who discovered Baseball somewhat late in life, and brings a different, and humorous, perspective to the game. My two favorite graphics: the headache inducing chart of all the MLB managerial changes during Bobby Cox's 20 year tenure at the helm of the Atlanta Braves; and the somewhat snarky (but entirely merited) page illustratng the procedure for removing the sticker which New Era affixes on the bills of their Baseball caps, and which the young people seem to have such a hard time removing.

[Ryne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I highly recommend it to any baseball fan who is amused by all sorts of aspects of the game. The author is a British graphic designer who fell in love with baseball later in life which I think leads to the unique way he approaches the game. The book shows really nice looking graphics of things like i) how much would it cost if players actually stole the bases, ii) how far did Barry Bonds walk in his walks, iii) what is the elevation of every ball park (Target Field is 4th highest!), and many others.

[Jennifer Didik · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm probably rounding up. does this book deserve five stars? well. do we need an illustration showing us that arod's 2010 salary and prorated bonus equals a 3,178.3 mile high stack of pennies? do we need graphs, both pie and chart, breaking down all 2010 bobblehead giveaways? do we need to know the percentages of players who wore high socks on opening day 2010? well. did i need that third, fourth, or fifth drink this past friday night? of course not. but it happened, and so did this book. and maybe the world is better for it. though i can't say the same about those drinks.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of infographics on baseball by one guy with a blog, with varying levels of absurdity. Regardless of how I feel about each individual graphic, it's good that this concept exists. I don't know if I necessarily need to know how tall Alex Rodriguez's salary would be if it were pennies stacked one or the other, or how far MLB baserunners run in a total season, but something like this -- http://blogs.thescore.com/mlb/2013/09... - is genuinely instructive. Fun read.

[Vj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually amazing and informative for a baseball aficionado. Several baseball fans in my family picked this up to look at it. However, I think the designer did not make the best decisions about type size and reversing out of color. Hard to read explanatory detail. Personally, I skipped the English author's narrative about his experiences; I was more interested in the visual presentations of statistical data. Good gift idea for a baseball fan.

[Unit of Raine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read parts of it (I bought it as a gift, but it was a book, in my house ...).

Some of the stats and info was interesting to the non-fan. Some was interesting to the insider. And some was just randomly WTF. But apparently it's being enjoyed by those that know WAY more about baseball than I; so it's a random, serious baseball fan-centric coffee table book.

[The Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is amazing! This guy's blog is equally amazing. I hope he releases a book every year. I'd buy them all! They're amazing infographics about all kinds of baseball information.

Thanks to Craig Robinson, I now know that I spend about 5.5% of my year watching Tigers baseball. I guess it's a good thing that I multitask.

[Deborah Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are a baseball fan you will love this. I am not, so it was tedious. The book is mainly graphs depicting everything from the parking lot size to the number bars in baseball stadiums. You will not find any statistics in here that are in most baseball books. This is for the trivial pursuit fan.