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In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball
The 1936 Yankees, the 1963 Dodgers, the 1975 Reds, the 2010 Giants—why do some baseball teams win while others don’t? General managers and fans alike have pondered this most important of baseball questions. The Moneyball strategy is not the first example of how new ideas and innovative management have transformed the way teams are assembled. In Pursuit of Pennants examines and analyzes a number of compelling, winning baseball teams over the past hundred-plus years, focusing on their decision making and how they assembled their championship teams. Whether through scouting, integration, instruction, expansion, free agency, or modernizing their management structure, each winning team and each era had its own version of Moneyball , where front office decisions often made the difference. Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt show how these teams succeeded and how they relied on talent both on the field and in the front office. While there is no recipe for guaranteed success in a competitive, ever-changing environment, these teams demonstrate how creatively thinking about one’s circumstances can often lead to a competitive advantage.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2015
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180 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 6, 2019
Jonah Keri's book jacket endorsement nails it. An excellent prequel for those who enjoy books like Moneyball, Big Data Baseball and The Extra 2%. A comprehensive look at how team executives put teams together, going back 100+ years. You get a really good feel for the evolution of the GM position.
Make sure you go into it understanding that it's more about team building than season summaries (the latter are brief, but you can find that sort of thing in many places).
Also: the authors, Dan and Mark, both give very good presentations regularly at the SABR Conventions. Worth checking out.
Make sure you go into it understanding that it's more about team building than season summaries (the latter are brief, but you can find that sort of thing in many places).
Also: the authors, Dan and Mark, both give very good presentations regularly at the SABR Conventions. Worth checking out.
March 23, 2015
Review:
In the synopsis of this book, this question is asked: why do some baseball teams win while others don’t? It is a question that has been around as long as the game itself. This well-researched and well-written book examines the method used by winning teams to not only put together that successful club but also what was done to either keep winning or why the success had to come to an end.
Nearly the entire history of professional baseball is covered, from the early days of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise to the current success of the San Francisco Giants. The reader learns how different owners and general managers from Barney Dreyfuss (Pirates for 32 seasons in the early 20th century) to Colonel Ruppert for the New York Yankees in the 1930s and 1940s, to Branch Rickey, George Steinbrenner and Billy Beane, they are all covered in this book.
The stories from various baseball executives are entertaining, funny and keep the book light despite some of the heavy research material. It reads like a fun history book without worrying about the next assignment or essay that might be due.
Nearly every type of strategy to build a winning baseball team that has had some degree of success is analyzed. Whether a team was built through its farm system, by signing free agents, building through the first-year player draft, statistical analysis or any combination thereof, this book will discuss the way it is done and the men behind that club’s success.
Any reader who has even a passing interest in baseball will enjoy reading this book. I especially enjoyed the sections on how the teams of the first half of the 20th century were able to build their winning clubs. However, if more recent history is what the reader wants to learn, the stories from modern times are just as good. This is an excellent source of baseball history through the lens of the front office.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the University of Nebraska Press for an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Did I skim?
No. This was a very interesting baseball history lesson wrapped up in a book, so I wanted to make sure I read every word.
Pace of the book:
Very good – even with the extensive research required, it was a smooth easy read.
Do I recommend?
This is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys the game of baseball and is curious about why a winning team is so successful.
In the synopsis of this book, this question is asked: why do some baseball teams win while others don’t? It is a question that has been around as long as the game itself. This well-researched and well-written book examines the method used by winning teams to not only put together that successful club but also what was done to either keep winning or why the success had to come to an end.
Nearly the entire history of professional baseball is covered, from the early days of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise to the current success of the San Francisco Giants. The reader learns how different owners and general managers from Barney Dreyfuss (Pirates for 32 seasons in the early 20th century) to Colonel Ruppert for the New York Yankees in the 1930s and 1940s, to Branch Rickey, George Steinbrenner and Billy Beane, they are all covered in this book.
The stories from various baseball executives are entertaining, funny and keep the book light despite some of the heavy research material. It reads like a fun history book without worrying about the next assignment or essay that might be due.
Nearly every type of strategy to build a winning baseball team that has had some degree of success is analyzed. Whether a team was built through its farm system, by signing free agents, building through the first-year player draft, statistical analysis or any combination thereof, this book will discuss the way it is done and the men behind that club’s success.
Any reader who has even a passing interest in baseball will enjoy reading this book. I especially enjoyed the sections on how the teams of the first half of the 20th century were able to build their winning clubs. However, if more recent history is what the reader wants to learn, the stories from modern times are just as good. This is an excellent source of baseball history through the lens of the front office.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the University of Nebraska Press for an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Did I skim?
No. This was a very interesting baseball history lesson wrapped up in a book, so I wanted to make sure I read every word.
Pace of the book:
Very good – even with the extensive research required, it was a smooth easy read.
Do I recommend?
This is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys the game of baseball and is curious about why a winning team is so successful.
March 3, 2025
This book is a Herculean undertaking. The effort Armour and Levitt poured into researching the history of baseball operations from the dawn of the game to the 2010s is evident in each chapter, for better and worse.
This book is packed with fascinating insights, including how (semi-)professional baseball initially operated much like European soccer with local owners buying teams and selling players to keep their teams afloat, how one man at the helm of a club could be a wrecking crew for better or worse, and how the scale and professionalism of MLB front offices boomed as owners began to recognize their value.
Each chapter offers a deep dive into one person or team that exemplifies an era of baseball operations. The authors provide blow-by-blow accounts of each subject, sparing no detail. That’s actually my main quibble with the book: the granularity grew tedious. The authors flexed their research muscles by listing transaction and accounts that made little difference in the narrative arc of a chapter. Seasons that could be summarized in a paragraph were instead pages, analyzing trades of forgotten players from decades ago. This book is a feat, but the depth was too much at times, even for an avid baseball fan and GM wannabe.
Overall, the impressive research still makes for an enjoyable, albeit long analysis for baseball historians and enjoyers of Moneyball.
This book is packed with fascinating insights, including how (semi-)professional baseball initially operated much like European soccer with local owners buying teams and selling players to keep their teams afloat, how one man at the helm of a club could be a wrecking crew for better or worse, and how the scale and professionalism of MLB front offices boomed as owners began to recognize their value.
Each chapter offers a deep dive into one person or team that exemplifies an era of baseball operations. The authors provide blow-by-blow accounts of each subject, sparing no detail. That’s actually my main quibble with the book: the granularity grew tedious. The authors flexed their research muscles by listing transaction and accounts that made little difference in the narrative arc of a chapter. Seasons that could be summarized in a paragraph were instead pages, analyzing trades of forgotten players from decades ago. This book is a feat, but the depth was too much at times, even for an avid baseball fan and GM wannabe.
Overall, the impressive research still makes for an enjoyable, albeit long analysis for baseball historians and enjoyers of Moneyball.
March 28, 2015
Tremendous book, essential reading for anybody who wants to understand how successful franchises become successful.
December 16, 2020
The most fundamental question in major league baseball might be this one: How do you win games?
Obviously, scoring more runs than the opposition on a consistent basis is a good start. But, how is that accomplished?
It's a tougher question than many might think. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it ... and every team would wind up at .500. Not only that, but the rules about putting together a winner in baseball keep changing.
Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt have taken on the big job of explaining how that task has changed in the past 110 years or so. No wonder the text of "In Pursuit of Pennants" checks in at more than 400 pages.
The short answer is that as the game has become more complicated, and more financially rewarding, the number of people in charge of such decisions has grown almost exponentially. We've gone from one or two people to dozens and dozens over the years as the stakes have gotten bigger.
That was a slow process, of course. This book starts in the 1890s, when baseball was just starting to move past the original concept where the captain was also a recruiter of local talent, and the games really were my town's best against your town's best. Before long, though, owners such as Barney Dreyfuss of Louisville and Pittsburgh started to take a role in putting together the team. That got to be a big job, so managers received a larger role in selecting the roster.
Eventually, the business of the game grew a bit, and the owners needed someone to oversee the ball club. That spot eventually became known as a general manager. Naturally he needed assistants as the organization grew in size.
Every so often, something came along to change the rules when it came to player acquisition. Let's list some of them - minor league teams became part of a major league organization, African-Americans (and later Latins and Asians) entered the talent pool, the amateur draft came long, the league expanded, and free agency arrived. It wasn't always easy to keep up.
The book, then, becomes something of a collection of case studies of certain teams in particular eras. The great Yankee teams and the Big Red Machine are profiled, as you might expected. But there are surprising choices as well. The Kansas City Royals, for example, rarely missed a step when they entered the American League in 1969, and became a constant contender in about seven years.
It's often very interesting to see how teams got better. For example, the Boston Red Sox of the early 1960s were rather awful. General manager Dick O'Connell cleared out many of the veterans, put in some talented youngsters, and watched the win-loss record slowly improve. The surprise 1967 pennant was followed by years and years of winning seasons, and it's great fun (at least for those who are familiar with the team) to see how things were put together in hindsight.
The narrative concludes in the present day, where teams like the San Francisco Giants used the latest analytics and technology advances to seek out an edge on the competition. It seems to be working, based on their record of success lately.
Credit goes to Armour and Levitt for some comprehensive research into the subject. There are plenty of interesting facts presented along the way. Drawbacks are few in number. It can be a little dry in spots, and a little editing would have gotten the manuscript down a bit to a slightly more readable length.
Plus, "In Pursuit of Pennants" obviously is designed with the good-sized baseball fan in mind. In other words, members of the Society of American Baseball Research will thoroughly enjoy this. Others might not open this volume, but it's nice that such a smart work about an important aspect of the sport is there for the reading by those who wish to get an advanced education on the subject.
Obviously, scoring more runs than the opposition on a consistent basis is a good start. But, how is that accomplished?
It's a tougher question than many might think. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it ... and every team would wind up at .500. Not only that, but the rules about putting together a winner in baseball keep changing.
Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt have taken on the big job of explaining how that task has changed in the past 110 years or so. No wonder the text of "In Pursuit of Pennants" checks in at more than 400 pages.
The short answer is that as the game has become more complicated, and more financially rewarding, the number of people in charge of such decisions has grown almost exponentially. We've gone from one or two people to dozens and dozens over the years as the stakes have gotten bigger.
That was a slow process, of course. This book starts in the 1890s, when baseball was just starting to move past the original concept where the captain was also a recruiter of local talent, and the games really were my town's best against your town's best. Before long, though, owners such as Barney Dreyfuss of Louisville and Pittsburgh started to take a role in putting together the team. That got to be a big job, so managers received a larger role in selecting the roster.
Eventually, the business of the game grew a bit, and the owners needed someone to oversee the ball club. That spot eventually became known as a general manager. Naturally he needed assistants as the organization grew in size.
Every so often, something came along to change the rules when it came to player acquisition. Let's list some of them - minor league teams became part of a major league organization, African-Americans (and later Latins and Asians) entered the talent pool, the amateur draft came long, the league expanded, and free agency arrived. It wasn't always easy to keep up.
The book, then, becomes something of a collection of case studies of certain teams in particular eras. The great Yankee teams and the Big Red Machine are profiled, as you might expected. But there are surprising choices as well. The Kansas City Royals, for example, rarely missed a step when they entered the American League in 1969, and became a constant contender in about seven years.
It's often very interesting to see how teams got better. For example, the Boston Red Sox of the early 1960s were rather awful. General manager Dick O'Connell cleared out many of the veterans, put in some talented youngsters, and watched the win-loss record slowly improve. The surprise 1967 pennant was followed by years and years of winning seasons, and it's great fun (at least for those who are familiar with the team) to see how things were put together in hindsight.
The narrative concludes in the present day, where teams like the San Francisco Giants used the latest analytics and technology advances to seek out an edge on the competition. It seems to be working, based on their record of success lately.
Credit goes to Armour and Levitt for some comprehensive research into the subject. There are plenty of interesting facts presented along the way. Drawbacks are few in number. It can be a little dry in spots, and a little editing would have gotten the manuscript down a bit to a slightly more readable length.
Plus, "In Pursuit of Pennants" obviously is designed with the good-sized baseball fan in mind. In other words, members of the Society of American Baseball Research will thoroughly enjoy this. Others might not open this volume, but it's nice that such a smart work about an important aspect of the sport is there for the reading by those who wish to get an advanced education on the subject.
December 17, 2019
This was a fairly comprehensive view of how dynasties and mini-dynasties have been built in the baseball world since the 1890's. It does a really good job in demonstrating the evolution of the front office, from the days of the owner-operator to the current scene where it takes an entire fleet of highly-trained professionals to run a front office.
The book also handles the changes in player acquisition with aplomb. The only aspect about "In Pursuit Of Pennants" I didn't like was the poor fact-checking - for example, the Blue Jays did NOT trade Alfredo Griffin and Dave Collins to the Mariners for Bill Caudill - the trade actually involved the A's.. a quick check of baseball-reference.com would've corrected that error (Amongst others of the same ilk). Still, if you don't get too wrapped up in such details, this was a good read.
The book also handles the changes in player acquisition with aplomb. The only aspect about "In Pursuit Of Pennants" I didn't like was the poor fact-checking - for example, the Blue Jays did NOT trade Alfredo Griffin and Dave Collins to the Mariners for Bill Caudill - the trade actually involved the A's.. a quick check of baseball-reference.com would've corrected that error (Amongst others of the same ilk). Still, if you don't get too wrapped up in such details, this was a good read.
June 29, 2020
First of all, this book was atrociously edited. Both the kindle edition (lots of bad formatting) and the book (so much repetition and poor organization). That being said, I loved the deep dive into the hidden side of baseball and learned so much. Frankly, I learned too much that I can’t really take it with me, but I was fascinated and enjoyed reading the book.
September 6, 2020
Wow! Great read
Loved it. Getting a run through history on how teams were built, from the owner/managers of the early 20th century to present times, this was a joy to read. As someone always fascinated with team building, this book was perfect for me
Loved it. Getting a run through history on how teams were built, from the owner/managers of the early 20th century to present times, this was a joy to read. As someone always fascinated with team building, this book was perfect for me
July 15, 2015
The most fundamental question in major league baseball might be this one: How do you win games?
Obviously, scoring more runs than the opposition on a consistent basis is a good start. But, how is that accomplished?
It's a tougher question than many might think. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it ... and every team would wind up at .500. Not only that, but the rules about putting together a winner in baseball keep changing.
Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt have taken on the big job of explaining how that task has changed in the past 110 years or so. No wonder the text of "In Pursuit of Pennants" checks in at more than 400 pages.
The short answer is that as the game has become more complicated, and more financially rewarding, the number of people in charge of such decisions has grown almost exponentially. We've gone from one or two people to dozens and dozens over the years as the stakes have gotten bigger.
That was a slow process, of course. This book starts in the 1890s, when baseball was just starting to move past the original concept where the captain was also a recruiter of local talent, and the games really were my town's best against your town's best. Before long, though, owners such as Barney Dreyfuss of Louisville and Pittsburgh started to take a role in putting together the team. That got to be a big job, so managers received a larger role in selecting the roster.
Eventually, the business of the game grew a bit, and the owners needed someone to oversee the ball club. That spot eventually became known as a general manager. Naturally he needed assistants as the organization grew in size.
Every so often, something came along to change the rules when it came to player acquisition. Let's list some of them - minor league teams became part of a major league organization, African-Americans (and later Latins and Asians) entered the talent pool, the amateur draft came long, the league expanded, and free agency arrived. It wasn't always easy to keep up.
The book, then, becomes something of a collection of case studies of certain teams in particular eras. The great Yankee teams and the Big Red Machine are profiled, as you might expected. But there are surprising choices as well. The Kansas City Royals, for example, rarely missed a step when they entered the American League in 1969, and became a constant contender in about seven years.
It's often very interesting to see how teams got better. For example, the Boston Red Sox of the early 1960s were rather awful. General manager Dick O'Connell cleared out many of the veterans, put in some talented youngsters, and watched the win-loss record slowly improve. The surprise 1967 pennant was followed by years and years of winning seasons, and it's great fun (at least for those who are familiar with the team) to see how things were put together in hindsight.
The narrative concludes in the present day, where teams like the San Francisco Giants used the latest analytics and technology advances to seek out an edge on the competition. It seems to be working, based on their record of success lately.
Credit goes to Armour and Levitt for some comprehensive research into the subject. There are plenty of interesting facts presented along the way. Drawbacks are few in number. It can be a little dry in spots, and a little editing would have gotten the manuscript down a bit to a slightly more readable length.
Plus, "In Pursuit of Pennants" obviously is designed with the good-sized baseball fan in mind. In other words, members of the Society of American Baseball Research will thoroughly enjoy this. Others might not open this volume, but it's nice that such a smart work about an important aspect of the sport is there for the reading by those who wish to get an advanced education on the subject.
Obviously, scoring more runs than the opposition on a consistent basis is a good start. But, how is that accomplished?
It's a tougher question than many might think. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it ... and every team would wind up at .500. Not only that, but the rules about putting together a winner in baseball keep changing.
Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt have taken on the big job of explaining how that task has changed in the past 110 years or so. No wonder the text of "In Pursuit of Pennants" checks in at more than 400 pages.
The short answer is that as the game has become more complicated, and more financially rewarding, the number of people in charge of such decisions has grown almost exponentially. We've gone from one or two people to dozens and dozens over the years as the stakes have gotten bigger.
That was a slow process, of course. This book starts in the 1890s, when baseball was just starting to move past the original concept where the captain was also a recruiter of local talent, and the games really were my town's best against your town's best. Before long, though, owners such as Barney Dreyfuss of Louisville and Pittsburgh started to take a role in putting together the team. That got to be a big job, so managers received a larger role in selecting the roster.
Eventually, the business of the game grew a bit, and the owners needed someone to oversee the ball club. That spot eventually became known as a general manager. Naturally he needed assistants as the organization grew in size.
Every so often, something came along to change the rules when it came to player acquisition. Let's list some of them - minor league teams became part of a major league organization, African-Americans (and later Latins and Asians) entered the talent pool, the amateur draft came long, the league expanded, and free agency arrived. It wasn't always easy to keep up.
The book, then, becomes something of a collection of case studies of certain teams in particular eras. The great Yankee teams and the Big Red Machine are profiled, as you might expected. But there are surprising choices as well. The Kansas City Royals, for example, rarely missed a step when they entered the American League in 1969, and became a constant contender in about seven years.
It's often very interesting to see how teams got better. For example, the Boston Red Sox of the early 1960s were rather awful. General manager Dick O'Connell cleared out many of the veterans, put in some talented youngsters, and watched the win-loss record slowly improve. The surprise 1967 pennant was followed by years and years of winning seasons, and it's great fun (at least for those who are familiar with the team) to see how things were put together in hindsight.
The narrative concludes in the present day, where teams like the San Francisco Giants used the latest analytics and technology advances to seek out an edge on the competition. It seems to be working, based on their record of success lately.
Credit goes to Armour and Levitt for some comprehensive research into the subject. There are plenty of interesting facts presented along the way. Drawbacks are few in number. It can be a little dry in spots, and a little editing would have gotten the manuscript down a bit to a slightly more readable length.
Plus, "In Pursuit of Pennants" obviously is designed with the good-sized baseball fan in mind. In other words, members of the Society of American Baseball Research will thoroughly enjoy this. Others might not open this volume, but it's nice that such a smart work about an important aspect of the sport is there for the reading by those who wish to get an advanced education on the subject.
September 12, 2016
My exceptions were too high. Too much emphasis put on outcomes (going game by game of World Series, for example) instead of the processes behind a front office and how it operates and how teams vet a player or a deal.
Near the end, the book becomes a wank piece on Pat Gillick (of all people) who proceeds to inform us that true general managers don't get wrapped up in data and statistics ... then he informs us that the current GM that reminds him of him is Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who fully embraces the use of advanced analytics to assess players.
Near the end, the book becomes a wank piece on Pat Gillick (of all people) who proceeds to inform us that true general managers don't get wrapped up in data and statistics ... then he informs us that the current GM that reminds him of him is Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who fully embraces the use of advanced analytics to assess players.
May 3, 2015
Overall, this was a good book that told of the origin of some of the greatest teams in the game's history. My one issue with it is that it often became just a list of trades or free agent pickups. I would have liked to have seen more backstory fleshed out to add depth the the different men and teams featured. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball and is a student of the game.
May 24, 2015
Enjoyed this book--would give it three-and-a-half stars if I could. I was struck with how many of the book jacket quotes mentioned how well it was researched and I'd have to agree.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews