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Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game
“Winner of the 2018 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year.”
The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.
On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book.
Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft.
As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.
The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.
On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book.
Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft.
As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
October 27, 2018
This was a good book despite the political issues I had to endure during the “9 innings”. The issues on gays and African Americans in baseball as well as climate change could have been omitted. I am a baseball fan and don’t care whether the hitter or pitcher is gay or what the color of his skin. For some reason, the author feels MLB would be better served if they had an openly gay player. Who cares? The other parts of the book, when analyzing the nuances of the game are really good. This would have been a 5 star review if the liberal issues were not mentioned.
September 25, 2018
Very much in the tradition of Daniel Okrent's excellent Nine Innings, Rob Neyer uses the framework of a meaningless late September game between the eventual World Champion Houston Astros and the cellar dwelling Oakland A's, to examine the state of the National Pastime in 2017. He manages to give solid analysis of subjects such as the prevalence of home runs and strikeouts, and the length and pace of ballgames (amongst many other topics) while keeping the pace of his own writing both breezy and humorous. Now I very much want to dig up a copy of Okrent's book, and see if it's as great as I remember it being (and I'm pretty sure I will not be disappointed).
October 20, 2018
An utterly joyful read. Neyer has been one of my favorite baseball writers for a long time, and in this book he explores the contemporary game through following a late season Astros-A’s matchup. Reading it is like listening to one of the great commentators, who animate the action and fill the quiet moments in the game with stories. Highly recommend to baseball fans. For casual fans, this book will be a great primer on how the game has changed in recent years.
December 29, 2019
#4 Best Book I Read in 2019
Excellent baseball book. We’ve reached a new era in the game and Neyer explains what it is and how we got here, but the book is so much more than that. He uses a seemingly random Astros/A’s game as a jumping off point to lead into mini-essays on several aspects of the modern game - stadium architecture, Statcast, instant replay, tanking, race, defensive shifts, and many more.
Nice to read a modern baseball book that isn’t a bunch of advanced stats and numbers.
Excellent baseball book. We’ve reached a new era in the game and Neyer explains what it is and how we got here, but the book is so much more than that. He uses a seemingly random Astros/A’s game as a jumping off point to lead into mini-essays on several aspects of the modern game - stadium architecture, Statcast, instant replay, tanking, race, defensive shifts, and many more.
Nice to read a modern baseball book that isn’t a bunch of advanced stats and numbers.
December 13, 2018
It isn’t often an author can take an idea in which other books have been published and produce a fresh product, but baseball author and analyst Rob Neyer does just that with his book “Power Ball”. The idea that isn’t new is to write a book in the setting of one baseball game – indeed, he acknowledges that this is the case – as the setting is a game in September 2017 between the eventual World Series champions, the Houston Astros, and the last place Oakland Athletics. What IS new is the method in which Neyer breaks down the game and his analysis on many of the pitchers and players who participated in that game.
This isn’t just a game recap in which each at-bat, play and pitching change is analyzed by the numbers, both traditional and modern. While there is much of that, more of the book talks about just about any type of statistical analysis used today. Whether one likes to hear about launch angle, velocity, Statcast (which measures all movement on the field) or whether the shift is effective and “modern” (hint – it isn’t new), the reader will find very interesting reading material on these and similar subjects.
Other issues that affect baseball, such as the pace of play and number of pitching changes, are also discussed and suggestions on how these can be addressed are suggested. One manner to address the pace of play issue that I liked, as it is something I have felt is the biggest problem, is when pitchers and batters are delaying the game by stepping off the pitching rubber or out of the batter’s box. Addressing this “farting around” (what Neyer calls it) may not shave a lot of minutes off the time of a game, but it would at least keep the game moving along.
There are also some political and social issues addressed, interspersed throughout the book. At times these make sense and are worth talking about, such as the lack of “US born” African American players, but others such as climate change don’t seem to add anything to the discussion of the game or the teams playing. While the issue of the lack of openly gay players in baseball might be worth discussing, it was one of the issues that seemed to be placed in the book just to promote a certain viewpoint instead of being part of the game being discussed.
That aside, the baseball talk about the numbers and the game itself , won by the Athletics in the ninth inning, was terrific. I loved hearing the win probability change after each half inning, which was how each chapter ended. A baseball fan, especially of the modern game, will truly enjoy this book. If one wants to read the book just for the baseball and leave out the other matters, it is still recommended, just skip over those parts.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
This isn’t just a game recap in which each at-bat, play and pitching change is analyzed by the numbers, both traditional and modern. While there is much of that, more of the book talks about just about any type of statistical analysis used today. Whether one likes to hear about launch angle, velocity, Statcast (which measures all movement on the field) or whether the shift is effective and “modern” (hint – it isn’t new), the reader will find very interesting reading material on these and similar subjects.
Other issues that affect baseball, such as the pace of play and number of pitching changes, are also discussed and suggestions on how these can be addressed are suggested. One manner to address the pace of play issue that I liked, as it is something I have felt is the biggest problem, is when pitchers and batters are delaying the game by stepping off the pitching rubber or out of the batter’s box. Addressing this “farting around” (what Neyer calls it) may not shave a lot of minutes off the time of a game, but it would at least keep the game moving along.
There are also some political and social issues addressed, interspersed throughout the book. At times these make sense and are worth talking about, such as the lack of “US born” African American players, but others such as climate change don’t seem to add anything to the discussion of the game or the teams playing. While the issue of the lack of openly gay players in baseball might be worth discussing, it was one of the issues that seemed to be placed in the book just to promote a certain viewpoint instead of being part of the game being discussed.
That aside, the baseball talk about the numbers and the game itself , won by the Athletics in the ninth inning, was terrific. I loved hearing the win probability change after each half inning, which was how each chapter ended. A baseball fan, especially of the modern game, will truly enjoy this book. If one wants to read the book just for the baseball and leave out the other matters, it is still recommended, just skip over those parts.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
October 13, 2018
Power Ball reads like a trip to the ball park with a cool baseball sage. The one who has an appreciation for the history of the game, and at the same time, has the brains to easily crunch the numbers of the present. You can see him point to Altuve and say, “You see that guy? Well, there’s only been a few other players of his stature who have been able to play the game like that…” His conversational style thoroughly sustains the narrative of the 2017 game and the analysis of Post Modern topics that come up as each batter reaches the plate. From the defensive shift, to the change in how bullpens are now used, to the issues over pace of play, the strike zone, and video reviews.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/09/26/po...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/09/26/po...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
October 8, 2018
A fun read from an author with deep knowledge of baseball analytics and history. This is a must read for anyone who loves baseball or has been wondering what's happened since Moneyball. I can't wait to see the movie ; )!
November 18, 2018
Rob Neyer had a nice idea for a book. It's not an original idea - as he admits at the outset - but it's still a nice idea. Take a game - just a seemingly random regular season game with no importance beyond what happened on the field that day - and use it as a jumping off point to discuss the state of baseball in the modern day. Arnold Hano did for a book back in the 1950. Dan Okrent did it 30 years later. And, some three decades hence, no one else has piggybacked on this notion, so Neyer calls dibs.
The game is a September 2017 contest between the championship-bound Astros and the second-division residing A's. It's a good game (walk-off win for Oakland - /spoiler), but Neyer doesn't spend much of the 280-some pages discussing the action on the field. Instead, each half-inning, he finds some event or player to focus on in order to go off on a tangent about modern baseball in general. As you'd expect from a veteran sabermetric writer, he handles launch angle, and spin rate, and all sorts of other contemporary sabermetric ideas from this age of statcast.
But he also digs into other matters, ranging from the rise of Ivy Leagurs in the front office, modern baseball stadiums, social media, race & current baseball, and all that. He generally does a nice job. I might give it five stars, but I already knew a lot of the ground he covered here. A more casual fan might get more out of it.
Any complaints? Well, I read this right after going through AstroBall, and comparing the two - Neyer has a more dismissive attitude toward team chemistry here. Your sabermetric front offices (like the Astros) are coming around more to the importance of it. (That book noted that the Astros though Carlos Beltran was worth the money they gave him based on how he helped out his players, while Neyer's book just notes his lack of production).
Beyond that, one omission I found odd: while Neyer mentions race relations and baseball, and gets into politics (while talking about twitter), but he never mentioned players kneeling for the National Anthem. True, that's much more a basketball and football thing, but it was going on the same month this game was played - and the only MLBr to kneel (Bruce Maxwell) played in this game. Seems like a natural jumping off point to at least mention.
Those are fairly minor criticisms. The biggest concern I'd have is how Neyer treats the current relationship between MLB and the Union. We're at a time when MLB has, for the first time in decades, clearly gotten the better of the relationship. That largely glances off Neyer. He gets into barely in the very last chapter, but his handling of it was wanting. He says that owners prioritize making their millionaire players happy instead of the fans happy, and notes in passing that the 2017-18 free agent season saw players getting less money than they expected. I mean, writers like Craig Calcaterra (who Neyer mentions in this last bit) and others have noted how the last few rounds have gone much better for owners than for players, but you wouldn't get that from this book. To be fair, the very end of this last chapter notes one interesting thing: attendance is down notably from the previous year.
Overall, it's a very good overview of the current state of MLB.
The game is a September 2017 contest between the championship-bound Astros and the second-division residing A's. It's a good game (walk-off win for Oakland - /spoiler), but Neyer doesn't spend much of the 280-some pages discussing the action on the field. Instead, each half-inning, he finds some event or player to focus on in order to go off on a tangent about modern baseball in general. As you'd expect from a veteran sabermetric writer, he handles launch angle, and spin rate, and all sorts of other contemporary sabermetric ideas from this age of statcast.
But he also digs into other matters, ranging from the rise of Ivy Leagurs in the front office, modern baseball stadiums, social media, race & current baseball, and all that. He generally does a nice job. I might give it five stars, but I already knew a lot of the ground he covered here. A more casual fan might get more out of it.
Any complaints? Well, I read this right after going through AstroBall, and comparing the two - Neyer has a more dismissive attitude toward team chemistry here. Your sabermetric front offices (like the Astros) are coming around more to the importance of it. (That book noted that the Astros though Carlos Beltran was worth the money they gave him based on how he helped out his players, while Neyer's book just notes his lack of production).
Beyond that, one omission I found odd: while Neyer mentions race relations and baseball, and gets into politics (while talking about twitter), but he never mentioned players kneeling for the National Anthem. True, that's much more a basketball and football thing, but it was going on the same month this game was played - and the only MLBr to kneel (Bruce Maxwell) played in this game. Seems like a natural jumping off point to at least mention.
Those are fairly minor criticisms. The biggest concern I'd have is how Neyer treats the current relationship between MLB and the Union. We're at a time when MLB has, for the first time in decades, clearly gotten the better of the relationship. That largely glances off Neyer. He gets into barely in the very last chapter, but his handling of it was wanting. He says that owners prioritize making their millionaire players happy instead of the fans happy, and notes in passing that the 2017-18 free agent season saw players getting less money than they expected. I mean, writers like Craig Calcaterra (who Neyer mentions in this last bit) and others have noted how the last few rounds have gone much better for owners than for players, but you wouldn't get that from this book. To be fair, the very end of this last chapter notes one interesting thing: attendance is down notably from the previous year.
Overall, it's a very good overview of the current state of MLB.
September 18, 2018
Fascinating read. I felt as though I were at the game. I also felt like a fly on the wall when Rob was telling about the front office, players, and managers. I look forward to Rob's next book. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game.
February 20, 2019
A solid 4-star book. Love the format, which goes through a 9-inning game, half-inning by half-inning, doing a deep dive on a specific skill, issue, or strategy. Other books have done that and this is a more modern version thereof.
I think the baseball-interest level I'd recommend this to would be modestly hardcore. If you're a super hardcore, you're going to know a lot of the things in here. But Rob's takes make for interesting reading regardless.
I think the baseball-interest level I'd recommend this to would be modestly hardcore. If you're a super hardcore, you're going to know a lot of the things in here. But Rob's takes make for interesting reading regardless.
January 2, 2019
Neyer's book is a conscious attempt to deliver a Moneyball for 2018. Despite it being full of interesting details and loads of passion, I don't think it delivers.
First up, the obligatory caveats. Baseball is my favorite professional sport. I have no problem with sabermetrics. And I've never read Neyer before (columns or books). On to my thoughts ...
Structure of the book: Neyer attempts to combine a thick description of a single game with broader analysis of the state of the game. This means that the book is organized by half-inning, and starts with description of the action. Yet very swiftly in each chapter the on-field action disappears entirely in favor of an extended essay on some aspect of the game - economics, relief pitching, pitch framing, etc. Only at the very end of each chapter does the action reappear. This amalgamation doesn't really work for me. I don't really care about the micro-details of a an august 2017 game between the Astros and As, even if it did end pretty dramatically. But the analysis ends up clouding your ability to follow the action on the field. In short, the decision to structure the book as Neyer did reduces, rather than enhances, comprehension of the two things he's trying to achieve. He'd have been a lot better off writing more clearly delineated chapters than what he did: a chapter on the first inning, followed by 1-2 chapters on analytical topics, followed by the second inning, etc.
Writing style: to be blunt, it wasn't for me. He favors a punchy oral style, full of intentional sentence fragments. Mind you, I'm not looking for Shakespeare in a baseball book but still ... If I wanted a stream of consciousness take on all matters baseball, I know where to find my local sports bar. Here's where the distinction between Michael Lewis (Moneyball) and Neyer looms largest - Lewis was able to take pretty arcane stuff (for 2003) and make it comprehensible, even to non baseball wonks; Neyer can't do that.
The argument: ultimately Neyer argues that baseball is killing itself because it doesn't pay attention to the fans. Attendance is down, he states, because the billionaire owners and millionaire players have an incentive to make money, not be entertaining. And yet Neyer assumes he knows what fans want (more singles, doubles, triples and fielding). Do they? How do we know that? I've heard plenty of analysts bewail the fact that fans actually prefer to see the Two True Outcomes (strikeouts and homers). Ultimately, despite his postmodern trappings, Neyer comes off a bit as someone pining for the glory days of the '50s or '60s. He might be right, but he'd need to produce data and analytics to prove it. And, then again, he may be wrong.
The good: although ultimately my review is critical, Neyer's work does pay dividends for die-hard baseball fans. I learned a lot, although I wish it had been presented in a more structured, more elegant way.
First up, the obligatory caveats. Baseball is my favorite professional sport. I have no problem with sabermetrics. And I've never read Neyer before (columns or books). On to my thoughts ...
Structure of the book: Neyer attempts to combine a thick description of a single game with broader analysis of the state of the game. This means that the book is organized by half-inning, and starts with description of the action. Yet very swiftly in each chapter the on-field action disappears entirely in favor of an extended essay on some aspect of the game - economics, relief pitching, pitch framing, etc. Only at the very end of each chapter does the action reappear. This amalgamation doesn't really work for me. I don't really care about the micro-details of a an august 2017 game between the Astros and As, even if it did end pretty dramatically. But the analysis ends up clouding your ability to follow the action on the field. In short, the decision to structure the book as Neyer did reduces, rather than enhances, comprehension of the two things he's trying to achieve. He'd have been a lot better off writing more clearly delineated chapters than what he did: a chapter on the first inning, followed by 1-2 chapters on analytical topics, followed by the second inning, etc.
Writing style: to be blunt, it wasn't for me. He favors a punchy oral style, full of intentional sentence fragments. Mind you, I'm not looking for Shakespeare in a baseball book but still ... If I wanted a stream of consciousness take on all matters baseball, I know where to find my local sports bar. Here's where the distinction between Michael Lewis (Moneyball) and Neyer looms largest - Lewis was able to take pretty arcane stuff (for 2003) and make it comprehensible, even to non baseball wonks; Neyer can't do that.
The argument: ultimately Neyer argues that baseball is killing itself because it doesn't pay attention to the fans. Attendance is down, he states, because the billionaire owners and millionaire players have an incentive to make money, not be entertaining. And yet Neyer assumes he knows what fans want (more singles, doubles, triples and fielding). Do they? How do we know that? I've heard plenty of analysts bewail the fact that fans actually prefer to see the Two True Outcomes (strikeouts and homers). Ultimately, despite his postmodern trappings, Neyer comes off a bit as someone pining for the glory days of the '50s or '60s. He might be right, but he'd need to produce data and analytics to prove it. And, then again, he may be wrong.
The good: although ultimately my review is critical, Neyer's work does pay dividends for die-hard baseball fans. I learned a lot, although I wish it had been presented in a more structured, more elegant way.
October 13, 2019
Insightful reflections into the game at large through an in-depth look at one normal, regular-season game. That's probably its strongest feature in that it makes it easy to read when organized this way. Interesting to learn more about the defensive shift, tanking in baseball, and a lot more. Got a little more political than I expected? But overall, an enjoyable read.
January 21, 2019
There are many, many interesting topics that Rob Never espouses upon in "Power Ball". The problem? There is absolutely no organization or rhyme-or-reason for when/why he espouses upon them.
The structure of this book is that it is set up in 18 chapters, each representing a half-inning from a late-season 2017 Astros/Athletics game in Oakland. Based nominally on what happened that inning, Neyer then deep-dives into a specific topic (or topics) for that chapter.
In terms of the information Neyer discusses, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the content. In fact, he manages to pick out a host of interesting, timely topics surrounding Major League Baseball as the 2010s come to a close.
The problem? The 9-inning, in-game structure is really little more than a sham organizational strategy to try and shoehorn all of Neyer's topics into a single book and allow them to make sense (which it really doesn't accomplish). In all honesty, most the topics in each chapter only vaguely (if at all) correspond to the action taking place over the course of the game. It's almost as if Neyer had all these things he wanted to discuss, and needed a ribbon of thread to tie them all together.
That actually leads to the second problem with "Power Ball". For seasoned baseball fans, the topics likely won't be given enough depth. I've read entire books on pitcher arm injuries, shifts, StatCast, saber metrics, and the like. For the more casual fan, the sheer enormity of hard-hitting topics might be a bit overwhelming. As such, I struggle to see exactly what audience this book will resonate with.
2.5 stars would be my exact rating here. Just interesting/engaging enough to keep the pages turning, by either lacking depth or causing information overload depending on which side of the coin you are on in terms of pre-existing baseball knowledge.
The structure of this book is that it is set up in 18 chapters, each representing a half-inning from a late-season 2017 Astros/Athletics game in Oakland. Based nominally on what happened that inning, Neyer then deep-dives into a specific topic (or topics) for that chapter.
In terms of the information Neyer discusses, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the content. In fact, he manages to pick out a host of interesting, timely topics surrounding Major League Baseball as the 2010s come to a close.
The problem? The 9-inning, in-game structure is really little more than a sham organizational strategy to try and shoehorn all of Neyer's topics into a single book and allow them to make sense (which it really doesn't accomplish). In all honesty, most the topics in each chapter only vaguely (if at all) correspond to the action taking place over the course of the game. It's almost as if Neyer had all these things he wanted to discuss, and needed a ribbon of thread to tie them all together.
That actually leads to the second problem with "Power Ball". For seasoned baseball fans, the topics likely won't be given enough depth. I've read entire books on pitcher arm injuries, shifts, StatCast, saber metrics, and the like. For the more casual fan, the sheer enormity of hard-hitting topics might be a bit overwhelming. As such, I struggle to see exactly what audience this book will resonate with.
2.5 stars would be my exact rating here. Just interesting/engaging enough to keep the pages turning, by either lacking depth or causing information overload depending on which side of the coin you are on in terms of pre-existing baseball knowledge.
May 28, 2019
This read like a jumble of anecdotes layered over the often uninspired play by play of a single game. It just didn’t work as well as it could have.
A book tackling the detailed discussion of a single game sounded pretty great to me but this one didn’t really do that. It would often go on tangents (which is to be expected) and then randomly jam in the description of a few at bats at the end of the chapter to remind you of this ongoing game. Often times I would lose track of what the the heck was going on in that game and it wasn’t clear why he thought it was so important to thread it through if he had to keep forcing the description.
Is this about modern baseball? Sort of. It doesn’t go into much detail on analysis or on new strategies or cover the statistics of really anything. The author says many times that statcast has a ton of data and so much new analysis is being done but doesn’t even bother to describe the cut up strike zone on the cover and how data on that can be insightful and how it is changing...
It is very very light weight but does have its moments. Moneyball and Astroball are way better IMO.
A book tackling the detailed discussion of a single game sounded pretty great to me but this one didn’t really do that. It would often go on tangents (which is to be expected) and then randomly jam in the description of a few at bats at the end of the chapter to remind you of this ongoing game. Often times I would lose track of what the the heck was going on in that game and it wasn’t clear why he thought it was so important to thread it through if he had to keep forcing the description.
Is this about modern baseball? Sort of. It doesn’t go into much detail on analysis or on new strategies or cover the statistics of really anything. The author says many times that statcast has a ton of data and so much new analysis is being done but doesn’t even bother to describe the cut up strike zone on the cover and how data on that can be insightful and how it is changing...
It is very very light weight but does have its moments. Moneyball and Astroball are way better IMO.
April 22, 2019
Rob Neyer knows a lot about baseball and he wants to share it. But, he's going to make you work for it.
Instead of putting asides in the text - which he easily could - he puts them in footnotes that appear at the bottom of almost every other page. So, you go to the bottom and read small type, and then find your place again. And then, a page later, another.
He also makes it hard to read by his writing style. He does. No really. Really really. By repeating words - again and again in the book. By making little inside jokes. By talking about things he knows little about (his diatribe on climate change was comically inaccurate by any standard, and jarring for someone who wants to enjoy a baseball book).
By the way, Neyer would like you to know that Moneyball is kinda overrated, but he'd also like you to know that he helped Bill James, who is a main character in Moneyball, get his job at the Red Sox.
It isn't a bad book. Neyer knows baseball. But I worked in baseball, and it was too much clever sports dude, and not enough baseball.
Instead of putting asides in the text - which he easily could - he puts them in footnotes that appear at the bottom of almost every other page. So, you go to the bottom and read small type, and then find your place again. And then, a page later, another.
He also makes it hard to read by his writing style. He does. No really. Really really. By repeating words - again and again in the book. By making little inside jokes. By talking about things he knows little about (his diatribe on climate change was comically inaccurate by any standard, and jarring for someone who wants to enjoy a baseball book).
By the way, Neyer would like you to know that Moneyball is kinda overrated, but he'd also like you to know that he helped Bill James, who is a main character in Moneyball, get his job at the Red Sox.
It isn't a bad book. Neyer knows baseball. But I worked in baseball, and it was too much clever sports dude, and not enough baseball.
April 21, 2021
One of the best books on baseball I’ve read, particularly one that deals with the numbers, sabermetrics, social issues, strategy, and history. The author takes an inconsequential September game between the last place A’s and first place Astros and proceeds to tell a story for almost every batter or pitcher. He discusses the nuisances of the game that stats people crave but the average fan can’t always pick up while watching like pitcher’s spin rate or exit velocity from a batted ball. He uses the diminutive Astros star Jose Altuve to discuss short guys in the game. He often compares what he calls Post Modern baseball of today to yesterday such as the increase pitching speed or size of the players. I highly recommend this book to any baseball fan interested in various aspects of the game.
November 15, 2018
Sports books are usually not a captivating read. But this book is! And that's not only because it is about my team, the Oakland Athletics. But also because each chapter delves, in a fascinating way, into an aspect of the modern game of baseball. Funny, amusing and a bit snarky at times, I found this to be a very enjoyable read.
November 12, 2018
This book's narrative about the history of baseball is framed around one game--played on my birthday last year. It compiles information about player stats and how the technology that tracks them has changed the game.
January 17, 2019
Fantastic read. One of the best *paced* baseball books I've ever read, as Rob dips in and out of the game he's using as a framing device to hit on all the major issues facing Baseball today. An essential book for a baseball fan in 2019.
January 21, 2019
At the beginning of Rob Neyer's new book, Power Ball, the author pays homage to earlier baseball books, and in particular several that used the device of one game as the setting for a narrative about baseball in general. Mr. Neyer borrows the convention lovingly as he uses a single September 2017 game between the Astros and the A's to discuss the current state of baseball, including sabermetrics, Statcast, defensive shifts, Exit Velocity, Launch Angle, player salaries and free agency, and the question of whether the baseball is slightly smaller and bouncier than several years ago. Along the way the author gives us narratives and information about the specific players who appear in this particular game as well as the teams, their coaches and GMs, and an assortment of random thoughts and stories, all of which are delivered in a fun, sometimes funny, and very accessible text.
If you're looking for a coherent story, you'll be disappointed. There is the somewhat dramatic outcome of the specific game in question, but it was (as the author himself states early on) a meaningless game in September between one of the worst teams in the league and one of the best. The stories and discussions are more or less linked to the action on the field (sometimes the segues are obtuse) and the author rambles at times rather than tying the stories and discussions together into any recognizable narrative. But, the stories themselves are mostly interesting and filled with quotes and attributed comments that provide fodder for a baseball fan bonfire. It's warm, it's fun, and it's best shared with other people.
Mr. Neyer sometimes waxes philosophical about the state of the game and a few times drifts into quasi-rants about his pet issues (no, Mr. Neyer, pitchers are not going to start wearing face protection any time soon), but for the most part the book is a fairly objective and evenly discussed presentation of the issues. The author clearly loves to harken back to the good old days of baseball, but he also loves the current game and wants everyone to appreciate the modern use of analytics as a positive development. The mound is still 60 feet six inches away from the plate, and the bases are still 90 feet apart. Some things never change, while many things evolve over time. That's the point, and it's well made.
Hard core baseball fans will love the details and the depth of the discussions of the same issues we all argue about in bars and stadiums around the country. Casual fans will probably be overwhelmed by this book, and this is definitely not a book to get for a child or someone just learning the game. It has a definite place, however, in the baseball lexicon.
If you're looking for a coherent story, you'll be disappointed. There is the somewhat dramatic outcome of the specific game in question, but it was (as the author himself states early on) a meaningless game in September between one of the worst teams in the league and one of the best. The stories and discussions are more or less linked to the action on the field (sometimes the segues are obtuse) and the author rambles at times rather than tying the stories and discussions together into any recognizable narrative. But, the stories themselves are mostly interesting and filled with quotes and attributed comments that provide fodder for a baseball fan bonfire. It's warm, it's fun, and it's best shared with other people.
Mr. Neyer sometimes waxes philosophical about the state of the game and a few times drifts into quasi-rants about his pet issues (no, Mr. Neyer, pitchers are not going to start wearing face protection any time soon), but for the most part the book is a fairly objective and evenly discussed presentation of the issues. The author clearly loves to harken back to the good old days of baseball, but he also loves the current game and wants everyone to appreciate the modern use of analytics as a positive development. The mound is still 60 feet six inches away from the plate, and the bases are still 90 feet apart. Some things never change, while many things evolve over time. That's the point, and it's well made.
Hard core baseball fans will love the details and the depth of the discussions of the same issues we all argue about in bars and stadiums around the country. Casual fans will probably be overwhelmed by this book, and this is definitely not a book to get for a child or someone just learning the game. It has a definite place, however, in the baseball lexicon.
October 15, 2018
I picked up Rob Neyer's 'Power Ball' at our local library because I love baseball, I'm into the new stats that have changed how the game is played, and Neyer's a knowledgeable baseball writer who seems like a good dude. He takes an unique approach to explaining the impact of stuff like launch angle, spin rate, WAR, and all the other 'new' information that's available by taking us through, on a batter-by-batter and almost pitch-by-pitch basis, a relatively meaningless game late in the 2017 season between Houston and Oakland. As each player comes to the plate, he tells us a little about him, why he's there, possibly how his 'game' has been affected by one or more of the statistics now being followed. He does the same for the pitchers, explaining why, for example, they're throwing certain pitches in specific places due to the change in how a batter might be swinging to effect a better 'launch angle'.
Neyer's approach is different- not as stat-heavy as I was expecting, but the key thing he does is explain at a micro level how the revolution in numbers and data in baseball affects the players, situations in the game, the overall game itself, and us fans. The game he described in Power Ball may have been meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but he succeeded in using it to make some great points about where the National Pastime is heading.
Neyer's approach is different- not as stat-heavy as I was expecting, but the key thing he does is explain at a micro level how the revolution in numbers and data in baseball affects the players, situations in the game, the overall game itself, and us fans. The game he described in Power Ball may have been meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but he succeeded in using it to make some great points about where the National Pastime is heading.
December 20, 2018
Rob Neyer has written a classic!
Neyer has been a great baseball writer for many years, blessed with both a nimble and adaptable feel for the ongoing evolution of the game, as well as a fine sense of the game's rich history and abundant traditions. He is both a raconteur and an analyst - the perfect person to interpret the modern game to readers who want to know not only what is happening, but why.
In Power Ball, Neyer explores the ebbs and flows of a single Major League Baseball game from the 2017 season. He zooms in to describe the game's many interesting events in chronological order, while periodically zooming out to provide context and history for many modern trends in baseball, such as the rise in home runs, defensive shifting, bullpen usage and more.
As a lifelong baseball fan, I can attest that I found Power Ball to be very entertaining. As a person who has worked in the baseball industry for more than a decade, I can say that I found Power Ball to be remarkably accurate in its depiction of the modern game, and the thought processes within the game. For anyone planning to write about baseball, or to gain employment in the industry, Power Ball is an absolute must-read!
Neyer has been a great baseball writer for many years, blessed with both a nimble and adaptable feel for the ongoing evolution of the game, as well as a fine sense of the game's rich history and abundant traditions. He is both a raconteur and an analyst - the perfect person to interpret the modern game to readers who want to know not only what is happening, but why.
In Power Ball, Neyer explores the ebbs and flows of a single Major League Baseball game from the 2017 season. He zooms in to describe the game's many interesting events in chronological order, while periodically zooming out to provide context and history for many modern trends in baseball, such as the rise in home runs, defensive shifting, bullpen usage and more.
As a lifelong baseball fan, I can attest that I found Power Ball to be very entertaining. As a person who has worked in the baseball industry for more than a decade, I can say that I found Power Ball to be remarkably accurate in its depiction of the modern game, and the thought processes within the game. For anyone planning to write about baseball, or to gain employment in the industry, Power Ball is an absolute must-read!
April 27, 2024
This book basically felt like sitting down to watch a game with your baseball obsessed uncle, guiding you through all the intricacies of the game in front of you. Whether that means telling you about Jose Altuve's backstory, his take on how climate change will affect coastal stadiums, or the current state of MLB race relations and international scouting. All of this was good stuff, and I can conclusively say Rob Neyer seems like a cool dude to grab a beer with at a game and get a private lecture.
However I struggled at times to connect these tangents to the game "happening" in the paragraphs between. It didn't feel like there was much of a conclusion being made about the contest between the creator and the inheritor of the moneyball mindset. I think the book would have benefitted from better structure in the half inning chapters; give me a breakdown of what just happened in the game, then split off into the takeaway/ramble about whatever. I would have been able to keep things straight. Maybe I read it too fast? Or I'm just too new to the sport?
3.5 stars.
However I struggled at times to connect these tangents to the game "happening" in the paragraphs between. It didn't feel like there was much of a conclusion being made about the contest between the creator and the inheritor of the moneyball mindset. I think the book would have benefitted from better structure in the half inning chapters; give me a breakdown of what just happened in the game, then split off into the takeaway/ramble about whatever. I would have been able to keep things straight. Maybe I read it too fast? Or I'm just too new to the sport?
3.5 stars.
December 24, 2019
Fun! I only didn't give it 5 stars because I think that it could be a little more organized around certain themes, rather than bouncing from point to point, often even within chapters. But Neyer does have an overall point (the surge of "power" in baseball, seen in the increase in HRs and strikeouts and all things related to power, is evident and a detriment to the entertainment value of the game) and he makes it in a way that doesn't come across as simply complaining about "the game today." And along the way he says a whole lot of other interesting, insightful, and entertaining things about a game that is a little less entertaining than it used to be. Baseball is no longer my favorite professional game to watch, but there's still nothing like a really good baseball book. Neyer scores here, as he pretty much always does.
November 1, 2018
Rob Neyer has a challenge: To take pages from Arnold Hano and Daniel Okrent and discourse on the state of baseball using one game as his launching point. For Hano, it was Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. Okrent used a June 1982 Brewers-Orioles game. And Neyer uses a September 2017 A’s-Astros game.
Hano had the World Series as his backdrop. Okrent and Neyer coincidentally wrote about teams that ended up in the World Series that year. And, just as the game in 1982 was vastly different than the game in 1954, the game in 2017 is different from the game in 1982.
Neyer, one of the better writers on the current state of the game, does a masterful job of weaving in how he focus on analytics has changed the game, on issues as diverse as homosexuality in the game (or not in the game, to be more accurate), PEDs, tanking, social protests, equitable pay for minor league players and – most importantly – what it takes to build a great team, as they game is played today.
This is a well-told tale. Well-written, concise, informative and intriguing.
I gave the book four stars as there is one tic I found challenging. The book is filled with asides in the form of asterisks. There is at least one page where the asterisks take up more of the page than does the narrative. An occasional aside is fine but the asides in Powerball are excessive, to the point where they become disruptive to the narrative.
Hano had the World Series as his backdrop. Okrent and Neyer coincidentally wrote about teams that ended up in the World Series that year. And, just as the game in 1982 was vastly different than the game in 1954, the game in 2017 is different from the game in 1982.
Neyer, one of the better writers on the current state of the game, does a masterful job of weaving in how he focus on analytics has changed the game, on issues as diverse as homosexuality in the game (or not in the game, to be more accurate), PEDs, tanking, social protests, equitable pay for minor league players and – most importantly – what it takes to build a great team, as they game is played today.
This is a well-told tale. Well-written, concise, informative and intriguing.
I gave the book four stars as there is one tic I found challenging. The book is filled with asides in the form of asterisks. There is at least one page where the asterisks take up more of the page than does the narrative. An occasional aside is fine but the asides in Powerball are excessive, to the point where they become disruptive to the narrative.
August 26, 2024
Excellent book written to be something of a “Moneyball: 15 Years Later.” The discussion of baseball stats (not much) and history unfold through the lens of a September 2017 game between the Houston Astros and Oakland As. That was the first year the Astros made the World Series, the one they one, albeit having cheated the whole season.
Neyer’s a good writer—though lacking Lewis’s archness—there was only a single place I thought the narrative slowed unwelcomely. Those pages were easily skipped. Not sure now he picked this game, but I applaud the choice.
Neyer’s a good writer—though lacking Lewis’s archness—there was only a single place I thought the narrative slowed unwelcomely. Those pages were easily skipped. Not sure now he picked this game, but I applaud the choice.
June 28, 2020
a pretty solid overview of how baseball was three years ago - unfortunately, i didn't really learn anything new. i would recommend this to somebody who is looking to get into baseball, but it was a bit too surface level and outdated for me
November 17, 2018
A must for all baseball fans
Probably not breaking news but any content that Rob Neyer creates is essential to digest if you're a fan of baseball. In "Power Ball" we get his master work, a wonderfully written survey of the game today.
Probably not breaking news but any content that Rob Neyer creates is essential to digest if you're a fan of baseball. In "Power Ball" we get his master work, a wonderfully written survey of the game today.
November 13, 2018
Neyer goes ining-by-inning through a game between the Astros and the A's from September 2017, using the on-field action as a springboard for digressions on the state of the baseball today. Great job capturing the current state fo the game.
December 26, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed. Writing is excellent, information informative and a delight for baseball fans
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