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The Bill James Baseball Abstract, 1988
1988 & final edition of this SABRmetric baseball annual.
- GenresSportsBaseballNonfiction
235 pages, Paperback
Published March 12, 1988
About the author
Bill James
159 books204 followersGeorge William “Bill” James (born October 5, 1949, in Holton, Kansas) is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. His approach, which he termed sabermetrics in reference to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), scientifically analyzes and studies baseball, often through the use of statistical data, in an attempt to determine why teams win and lose. His Baseball Abstract books in the 1980s are the modern predecessor to websites using sabermetrics such as Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Primer (now Baseball Think Factory).
In 2006, Time named him in the Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. He is currently a Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. In 2010, Bill James was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James
In 2006, Time named him in the Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. He is currently a Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. In 2010, Bill James was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 28, 2020
great re-read while waiting for my new baseball-related book to arrive in the mail (what makes you think i'm having trouble waiting for baseball to come back? I can handle it).
all the usual great stuff that made this an annual highlight of spring for me in the 1980's. It's funny how many of his riffs I remember quite specifically across the decades (ex. the material on pp. 156-157 concerning the Astros' free agent signing of Joaquin Andujar -- i'd forgotten that this was the stimulus for it, but the idea that you want the sweet red juicy part of the watermelon that is a player's career, rather than the bitter rind stuck with me and comes up surprisingly often in my thinking about the Washington football team -- looking at you, "Mister Snyder," in relation to signing Bruce Smith, Donovan McNabb, Deion Sanders, etc. ad infinitum).
kind of poignant to read his ambivalent sendoff chapter about how this would be his last annual Abstract ("breakin' the wand") coupled with the last sentence of dedication page, concerning his pals he used to play a table-game baseball league with: "I miss those days, but then I guess you always miss being young and thinking that you are doing nothing."
If you'll indulge me (and who are we kidding? you can't stop me; you can only hope to contain me, goodreads readers) in a tangential digression, his sentiments remind me of the days [first 10 years after high school] when I produced (compiled? wrote? it was a mix) a monthly newsletter for our tiny graduating class and assorted friends/relatives/relatives of friends -- maybe 40 people at peak.
That was a lot of fun and a great way to stay connected -- this is well before Facebook, before the internet, etc. I sometimes think if blogging had been an accessible format I'd never have stopped, but the time and effort cost (typing up jokes/anecdotes/commentary, appending maybe a cut/paste newspaper article of relevance, xeroxing it all, and stuffing a few dozen envelopes = non-trivial hobby task) eventually exceeded the rewarding aspects, which had begun to decline (slower influx of newsy letters from friends as you all leave college for the [vastly overrated] "regular world"), so i pulled the plug.
I have friends who tell me they kept every issue and still cart around those binders through 30-40 years of moves, and I'm proud of that, but to this day occasionally second-guess myself for stopping. I guess Bill James could relate, since stopping the annual abstract hardly stopped him from doing sabermetrics research and writing about it -- just read yesterday a new study he posted on his website.
Anyway, tl dr as the young people would say: you can want to quit something and still look back on it with great fondness.
all the usual great stuff that made this an annual highlight of spring for me in the 1980's. It's funny how many of his riffs I remember quite specifically across the decades (ex. the material on pp. 156-157 concerning the Astros' free agent signing of Joaquin Andujar -- i'd forgotten that this was the stimulus for it, but the idea that you want the sweet red juicy part of the watermelon that is a player's career, rather than the bitter rind stuck with me and comes up surprisingly often in my thinking about the Washington football team -- looking at you, "Mister Snyder," in relation to signing Bruce Smith, Donovan McNabb, Deion Sanders, etc. ad infinitum).
kind of poignant to read his ambivalent sendoff chapter about how this would be his last annual Abstract ("breakin' the wand") coupled with the last sentence of dedication page, concerning his pals he used to play a table-game baseball league with: "I miss those days, but then I guess you always miss being young and thinking that you are doing nothing."
If you'll indulge me (and who are we kidding? you can't stop me; you can only hope to contain me, goodreads readers) in a tangential digression, his sentiments remind me of the days [first 10 years after high school] when I produced (compiled? wrote? it was a mix) a monthly newsletter for our tiny graduating class and assorted friends/relatives/relatives of friends -- maybe 40 people at peak.
That was a lot of fun and a great way to stay connected -- this is well before Facebook, before the internet, etc. I sometimes think if blogging had been an accessible format I'd never have stopped, but the time and effort cost (typing up jokes/anecdotes/commentary, appending maybe a cut/paste newspaper article of relevance, xeroxing it all, and stuffing a few dozen envelopes = non-trivial hobby task) eventually exceeded the rewarding aspects, which had begun to decline (slower influx of newsy letters from friends as you all leave college for the [vastly overrated] "regular world"), so i pulled the plug.
I have friends who tell me they kept every issue and still cart around those binders through 30-40 years of moves, and I'm proud of that, but to this day occasionally second-guess myself for stopping. I guess Bill James could relate, since stopping the annual abstract hardly stopped him from doing sabermetrics research and writing about it -- just read yesterday a new study he posted on his website.
Anyway, tl dr as the young people would say: you can want to quit something and still look back on it with great fondness.
August 18, 2017
Bill starts by saying this is his last abstract and he ends the book by explaining why. I have only read the last three but it is easy to see that it was a monumental effort to put this much thought into the subject every year. What made the series so enjoyable is that you get interesting analysis on almost every page and it helps you analyze conventional wisdom not just in baseball but elsewhere in life. These books make you ask questions that might not make you popular but will be satisfying to yourself and those who want to get at hidden truths.
The 1988 essays include the Bill James gem, game scores, which gives a numerical value to starting pitchers for their performances. Using a pretty easy formula you can rate any pitcher from his box score line. It's something that baseball reference cites in their box scores of historical games.
A big essay near the beginning addresses the change in strike zone in reaction to the offensive output of 1987. Bill James gives us the history of the 1960s when baseball changed the strike zone to start the 1963 season and the outcome leading up to the year of the pitcher in 1968. The section is a reminder that Bill James is a great explainer of data but not exceptional as a predictor of future outcomes. The history here is great, but his predictions are hit and miss.
He's not sold on the Dodgers or the A's although they would wind up in the World Series against one another. There is an essay on how we think of Kirk Gibson as a great player but he has never won an MVP award or made the All Star Team. He would go on to win the MVP in 1988, which would really be the last good year. In the next 8 years he would play over 100 games just twice.
Also, we were just beginning to enter the steroid era so although the new strike zone should have made it tougher for hitters more runs were actually scored in 1988. Bill predicted the opposite not knowing the reasons behind the offensive output.
I'm about 30 years behind in reading these, but the series is just as worthwhile now as they were then, especially since you already know how the careers of these players turned out. You forget how much promise Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Phil Bradley, and Eric Davis had coming into the 1988. Mattingly tops the list of players who have the best chance at 3,000 hits. Rickey Henderson, who would reach 3,000, is given a 7% chance. He writes about the mistakes of the Braves and even mentions the Doyle Alexander trade but no mention of the then obscure John Smoltz who was acquired from that trade.
He ends the book by predicting someone else will take up the mantle and continue to write the abstracts but it never really happened. These were the product of a particular mind who is also a great prose writer. He is clear, concise, and even funny. I'll buy any of the older ones if the prices drops below $10. Last I saw the 1983 book was $70 used. I wish James and the Publisher would get together and release them cheaply for the Kindle.
The 1988 essays include the Bill James gem, game scores, which gives a numerical value to starting pitchers for their performances. Using a pretty easy formula you can rate any pitcher from his box score line. It's something that baseball reference cites in their box scores of historical games.
A big essay near the beginning addresses the change in strike zone in reaction to the offensive output of 1987. Bill James gives us the history of the 1960s when baseball changed the strike zone to start the 1963 season and the outcome leading up to the year of the pitcher in 1968. The section is a reminder that Bill James is a great explainer of data but not exceptional as a predictor of future outcomes. The history here is great, but his predictions are hit and miss.
He's not sold on the Dodgers or the A's although they would wind up in the World Series against one another. There is an essay on how we think of Kirk Gibson as a great player but he has never won an MVP award or made the All Star Team. He would go on to win the MVP in 1988, which would really be the last good year. In the next 8 years he would play over 100 games just twice.
Also, we were just beginning to enter the steroid era so although the new strike zone should have made it tougher for hitters more runs were actually scored in 1988. Bill predicted the opposite not knowing the reasons behind the offensive output.
I'm about 30 years behind in reading these, but the series is just as worthwhile now as they were then, especially since you already know how the careers of these players turned out. You forget how much promise Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Phil Bradley, and Eric Davis had coming into the 1988. Mattingly tops the list of players who have the best chance at 3,000 hits. Rickey Henderson, who would reach 3,000, is given a 7% chance. He writes about the mistakes of the Braves and even mentions the Doyle Alexander trade but no mention of the then obscure John Smoltz who was acquired from that trade.
He ends the book by predicting someone else will take up the mantle and continue to write the abstracts but it never really happened. These were the product of a particular mind who is also a great prose writer. He is clear, concise, and even funny. I'll buy any of the older ones if the prices drops below $10. Last I saw the 1983 book was $70 used. I wish James and the Publisher would get together and release them cheaply for the Kindle.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews