If you are of a certain age, you grew up reading Bill James’ Baseball Abstracts in the 1980s. James introduced the idea of studying baseball stats – he called it “sabermetrics” – to a wide audience and changed the way people thought about on-base percentage and stolen bases and lineup construction and clutch hitting and a million other things.
The back cover of his latest book (with the ostentatious title “The Bill James Gold Mine 2008”) says he “revolutionized baseball.” I don’t think he did that, but he did have an impact on the way I think about the game, and I’m sure many others, too. We wouldn’t have OPS without Bill James. So that’s a good thing.
The good news about the new book is James intends for it to come out every year. It’s similar to the old Abstracts in that it has a section on each team with essays and little stat nuggets. There are a lot of charts and raw stats, but I always skip those and just read the essays.
In the Yankees section, he does a study of whether the Yankees lose more games when Mariano Rivera is tired. He also has these nuggets:
In 2002-03, Jason Giambi hit .339 and .327 in clutch situations. Since 2004, he has hit .217, .229, .203 and .222 in clutch situations;
Alex Rodriguez in 2007 hit only one ground ball single through the right side of the infield;
Mariano Rivera last year threw 99 percent fastballs and cut fastballs. No other major league pitcher (50 games or 100 innings minimum) threw more than 86 percent fastballs.
If you like stuff like this, check the book out. If not, don’t.
I’d be interested to know if any of you read the old “Abstracts” in the 1980s and still have a box of them in your parents’ attic like I do.
And yes, I know James is a Red Sox consultant.
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Comments (6)
The book sounds amazing. I would like to get a hold of it.
But there are always the gray areas.
I mentioned before the game vs. the Mets Lilly pitched. One of the Subway Series games. He was wild, but not too wild to be taken out of the game, but wild enough around the plate, and the ball was really moving ... no one could hit it.
I think that was the game Mo Vaughn put his belly into it and hit a HR off of the scoreboard. That's what the Mets had expected of him often.
Anyway ... sounds like a great book!
A must read for every true fan!
Duh ... I meant, how can you quantify a game like that, Lilly vs. the Mets ... where he was so wild that no one could hit him, but not so, so wild as to be taken out of the game?
It was a very strange game. If you didn't see the game live, I don't think the Box Score could have told you the right story ...
That's what makes baseball great.
As DRU said, we should have signed Ted. He begged to come back. His ball moves and it's hard to hit. Period. He doesn't get hurt. They changed his motion in Oakland or Toronto and he doesn't throw across his body anymore. That's why his ball moved so much. The angle.
Yes, the NL Central is weak, but they have some great hitters: Pujols, Ankiel, Ludwick, Colby Rasmus and Brandon Phillips. Maybe there are a few others on Chicago and Pittsburg. Cincy? Adam Dunn was a good hitter, no? Phelps? Well, it's not that great of a division. But the Cards did appear in two World Series since 2004, winning one.
No one has all the answers with the stats, but they are fodder for interesting discussions.
I have the Bill James Abstracts from the 1980s but not the 1970s (which I had at the time). Far better books than the pointless-stats heavy Elias "Baseball Analysts" that Marty Noble used to rave about in Newsday 20 years ago. James was interested in what makes a team win. I haven't bought this book yet or his website but will soon.
Nice having Bill on our side!
Can anyone say: "How about a REPEAT in '08?"
I didn't get heavily into James until he started publishing in book form. Then I never missed one. Don't have anything left because I passed stuff like that on to my son when he got old enough to read whole books. I think that was true of a lot of people but much of what was new then is commonplace now, absorbed into the thoughts and writing of a lot of other people. I haven't followed him much for several years, but I will say James influenced my understanding of the game and even of past players.
I've always thought Bill James was full of sh*t.