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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570973021
EAN num: 9780879463205
ISBN number: 0879463201
Label: ACTA Sports
Manufacturer: ACTA Sports
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: February 15, 2008
Publishing house: ACTA Sports
Sale Popularity Level: 233011
Studio: ACTA Sports
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
Starting in the 1970s, a night watchman wfrom Kansas forever changed the way that many people view baseball analysis and ultimately the game itself. Now Bill James is doing it again with The Bill James Gold Mine--a groundbreaking collection of original essays, statistical profiles, and hidden 'nuggets' of information worth their weight in gold.
Always known for his piercing wit and cutting analysis, Bill James wrote 17 new essays for The Bill James Gold Mine, including: - Clutching Hitter of the Year
- Measuring Consistency
- Closer Fatigue
- Strength Up the Middle
- Bullpens and Crunches
- Hall of Famers Among Us
Of course, it wouldn't be from Bill James if it didn't come with innovative and intriguing profiles and nuggets of statistical information on players from all 30 teams, including: - Impacting by Position in Inning
- Pitching Type Analysis
- Pitcher's Record of Opposing Batters
- Games Played by Opening Day Starters
- Pitching/Batting Records Against Quality of Opposition
- Team Record by Home Runs
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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A seminal event in my life was my discovery of James' Baseball Abstracts. His application of statistics and commonsense to my beloved game of baseball was eye-opening and has informed my worldview ever since. If I had begun my working career as a night watchman, as did James, I'd like to think that I would have also spent some of the quiet hours on baseball analysis, but know that I couldn't have done it with the insight, wit, or pithy commentary of James. I still remember the hollow feeling when I very first read that James was ending the Abstracts.
With that backdrop, I was thrilled to learn of the "Gold Mine" book. I hoped it would fill the Abstract vacuum. It doesn't. Although the insights of James shine through occasionally, much of the book is soulless tables that don't have the song of knowledge within them. I came away with the feeling that a clever 50-page Abstract was expanded into over 300 pages for no good reason except sales price.
I agree with others that "Gold Mine" reads like an extended advertisement for James' online website. And I expect that I'll subscribe to the website, and never purchase another "Gold Mine" book.
I can say it no better than this. The Baseball Abstracts remain a treasured possession that I'll keep to the end of my days. I'm unsure if I'll even keep "Gold Mine' until October.
Rated by buyers 
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This is an offbeat addition from baseball stats-guru Bill James. The book is partly 30-team abstract, but primarily a look at little-known statistics compiled over the last season or so. James examines all 30 teams by looking at a few of their players. We see where certain players hit their batted balls, how many bad pitches others swing at, the pitch selection of certain hurlers, etc. Interspersed between the team sections are chapters on such subjects as no cigars (players that bat .299, or drive in 99 runs, or win 19 games), hard-luck starting pitchers, relievers that allow too many inherited runners to score, etc. The book's great strength is providing hardcore fans with important yet little-known stats that otherwise go unreported. I'd have liked more information on my favorites (White Sox) and the other teams as well, but this book isn't really an abstract. Instead, its an unusual but valuable look for students of the game.
Like many, I've enjoyed Bill James' books dating back to his 1980's Abstracts (which I still miss). I wish he'd included more team information in this offbeat effort. Still, as always, James helps us see baseball in a more informed and imaginative light.
Rated by buyers -
Bill James is well known for revolutionizing baseball statistics. Many fans, however, are satisfied with traditional baseball statistics and may avoid his books. If so, they are missing a hanging curveball. James is also the most talented writer among the current crop of baseball authors. While I find his analysis very insightful, I would not pay for a book of numbers and poorly written text. This man will one day be inducted into the Writers' Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the Babe Ruth of baseball writers, in my estimation.
Rated by buyers -
Other reviewers have accurately pointed out that this book is basically an advertisement for Bill James' new website. This is an outline for what Baseball Abstracts used to be, and while there are some very interesting statistics and amusing observations (on Troy Glaus' HOF chances: Birthdays are not kind to .250 hitters), there aren't enough to justify the cost of the book when, for the exact same price, you can get everything in this book and waaaaaay more by subscribing to the on-line site for seven months.
If you enjoy reading Bill James' articles you'll enjoy this book, but you'll enjoy it in the same way someone who loved Raiders of the Lost Ark enjoys the coming attraction for the new Indy movie. You want more. A lot more.
Rated by buyers 
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I've been reading Bill James since 1983, and for years I anticipated his newest book. However, I approached the Gold Mine with trepidation, as I would an aging rock star who lost his chops. I didn't like the Bill James Handbook series at all because it was minutiae that didn't leave room for imagination nor wit.
However, this book returns to the best of Bill James: humor, unusual insights and ideas, social commentary, and sheer unpredictability. This book blazes so many new paths that it's impossible to decide where to go first, and you just sit there thinking, "Well, I hope all those smart sabermetricians follow up on the ideas that Bill has raised."
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