Author name:
Chris Kahrl,
Keith Law,
Jeff Bower,
Jeff Hildebrand,
Rany Jazayerli,
Dave Pease,
Steven Rubio,
Joseph S. Sheehan,
Greg Spira,
Michael Wolverton,
Keith Woolner,
Clay Davenport
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570973
EAN num: 9781574882148
ISBN number: 1574882147
Label: Potomac Books Ltd.
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Ltd.
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 536
Printing Date: 2000-01
Publishing house: Potomac Books Ltd.
Sale Popularity Level: 999694
Studio: Potomac Books Ltd.
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Amazon.com:
While fantasy baseball players will surely go gaga over the information presented in it, Baseball Prospectus 2000 has plenty to offer general baseball fans as well. Unlike most annuals of its kind, the book provides textual analyses as well as stats for nearly 1,700 players. There are summaries of all the major-league teams, recapping the 1999 season and giving likely scenarios for 2000. Baseball Prospectus also features Clay Davenport's exclusive 'Davenport Translations,' which compare performances across leagues and ballparks (as well as evaluations of players' secondary and primary defensive positions); Davenport's 'Wilton' forecasting system of hitting performance; and other analyses. In addition, there's an alphabetical listing of all full-season minor-league players and picks for the top 40 minor-league prospects. --Andy Boynton
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
If every general manager in baseball (Ed Lynch, are you reading this! ) was forced to study this book, entire paradigms of baseball lore would suddenly be pushed aside in favor or fresh, rational, and rigorous principles of management. All of the statistics provided in the prospectus are, of course, second to none, but Michael Wolverton's relief ratings (ARP, ARA, etc.) are truly something special. I have always been amazed at how even the most "knowledgable" baseball minds accept simplistic statistics like ERA and saves as valuable appraisals of a relief pitcher's talents. It's as if the baseball gurus have failed to adjust to post-1950 baseball with its growing reliance on bullpens and decreasing reliance on starting pitchers, and the completely different conditions in which relief pitchers work in comparison to their starting compatriots. Yet these same "experts" have accepted without question the notion that a team must have a real "closer" in order to be a contender. Wolverton blasts these assumptions to smithereens with his analyses, and his elaborate calculations, yet pristine conclusions should revolutionize how the later innings of games are viewed. Throw in the authors' passionate defense of wise treatment of young pitchers, their funny yet consistently incisive comments about hundreds of players, their willingness to challenge age-old fallacies like "veteran leadership" and the genuinely historical perspective they bring to the table of baseball debate, and you have one of the most informative and entertaining baseball books I've ever read.
Rated by buyers -
BP debunks myths, explodes fallacies, and takes sabermetrics to a new height. It has an excellent method for evaluating and projecting performance, but many other credible methods can found elsewhere. BP's riches are found in the essays and player commentaries. Its insights will reshape the baseball debate in the coming years. Roster management, pitcher abuse, big markets v. small markets, tools v. skills -- the debates defining our age and the age to come are all discussed fully and insightfully here.
BP readers will in short time find themselves looking at baseball in a much more complex and accurate way. They will find themselves at greater and greater distance from the newsstand knowledge of those who rely on magazines and Baseball Weekly. They'll be better fans for having read BP. No other book provides so much. BP2K is the best value on the market.
Rated by buyers -
Baseball Prospectus is a must-have for any hard-core baseball fan. These guys do a fantastic job of stripping away the nonsense and the myths and really analyzing the facts to come up with some really useful observations. Also, the manner in which they do it is fun, funny and engrossing; never just a cold statistical survey. All fantasy league players should buy this book immediately, but it will be a great read to any fan of the game.
Rated by buyers -
All of the reviews of Baseball Prospectus above are spot-on -- it's easily one of the most insightful and ENTERTAINING baseball publications (are you listening, John Benson?) and a must-read for those who take the game seriously.
But be warned -- if you think that baseball analysts "look at stats too much" or still believe that batting average is a pretty good way of assessing a hitter's performance, then you will be way out of your league. Even after 2+ years of studying the Prospectus' methodology, I'm still occasionally befuddled by the statistical measurements used.
Let's just put it this way: there are NO REAL STATS in Baseball Prospectus -- all stats are adjusted (based on park factors, team factors, etc.) or projections for the upcoming year. It's the ultimate in "fantasy" baseball -- yet it tells you more about the "real" game than any non-STATS book out there. And -- to repeat -- it's extremely well-written, provocative and hilarious.
Rated by buyers -
Where once there was only Bill James, now it seems there are oodles of annuals offering scientific analysis of baseball, and a zillion more offering fantasy advice. What makes Prospectus far and away the best? Yes, its analysis is spot on, and contrary to the review above, they have nothing against the Colorado Rockies. Yes, its comments would be helpful at a fantasy draft, although this book is much more about "Real" baseball. No, what makes the Prospectus the best book is the humor. You'll laugh out loud more often than reading any comedian's book on the NYT best sellers list, that's for sure.
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