The Diamond Appraised

Discusses what statistics reveal about baseball, looks at players, teams, and strategy, and considers baseball history and strategy

This volume of baseball analysis is a collaboration between House, pitching coach of the Texas Rangers, and Wright, a former Rangers' statistician who styles himself a sabremetrician, a coinage based on the acronym for the Society of American Baseball Research. Their aim is to approach the game from both theoretical and practical standpoints, with each man handling his own area of expertise. Among the questions the two confront: What constitutes excellence in a catcher? Was Ty Cobb or Pete Rose a more valuable player? Should some pitchers be trained to become knuckleball specialists? Does baseball need a system like pro football's instant replay? The book will surely spark arguments galore, even though the authors frequently meander into one another's territory.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.