Book Review: The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstractby Jonathan LeshanskjiJune 12, 2004 Book Review: The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract By Bill James Published by The Free Press (A Division of Simon and Schuster) p.998 I will confess that I was almost dreading trying to review this book - not because of any inherant flaw but because trying to review Historical Baseball Abstract is like trying to review an encyclopedia set – it is something very hard to do unless of course you are comparing it to other encyclopedia sets and in this case there simply is nothing that really compares with the Baseball Abstract. For those that don’t know who Bill James is, he is not just a writer but also the guru of baseball statistical analysis and he has been a major factor in transforming the game of baseball over the last 10 years. Based upon his work and the work of people who do similar things, baseball has become a lot more scientific and less hunch based when it comes to things like scouting, predicting success and managing a team. He’s currently a special advisor to the Boston Red Sox. While plenty of other books have attempted a decade-by-decade history of baseball, most of them have confined their scope and tried to keep their eye on the big picture - the major leagues, its stars, and moments in history and how they fit into the big league framework. However that’s not the model of the New Bill James historical baseball abstract. While James’ Abstract attempts to create a decade by decade account of baseball’s history its scope is not limited and James rather than confine himself to a limited history takes the reader on a wild ride via many tangents - some of which are pure analysis, others pure opinion. However even opinion when it comes from the mouth (or pen) of Bill James is usually very well reasoned and has statistical background to support it. What this creates is a book that’s scope doesn’t just cover major league baseball, but touches on all of baseball including the minor league stars, Negro leagues and the changes that the game has gone through. Certainly it is not comprehensive - it would take more than a set of encyclopedias to document everything in the game, but the book offers a more complete guide to the business and changes in baseball decade by decade than any other text I have encountered. The book has its flaws, but for the most part it is spectacular. On the downside there are many lists that tend to be monotonous (but can also be fun) and it’s definitely not a book that can be read through cover to cover (though I tried). When taken in small daily chunks it is just fantastic. Among my favorite sections were one on the American Association and whether it really should have been considered a major league and a section on the Negro leagues. The section-by-section account of the evolution of the baseball uniform was also worthy of note as were the player profiles and histories that make up most of this book. I’m going to be a harsh critic on this one and only give it 3.5 of 4 possible balls, but I suspect that most readers will think it better than that. It is one of a handful of baseball books that I consider essential reading for fans that have a deep and abiding love of the game and its history. Our Rating System is based on a four ball system as follows: One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special. Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above average, and worth reading/owning. Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended. Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk - straight to the local book store to get a copy. |
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