What Makes an Elite Pitcher?

Warren N. Wilbert

ISBN 10: 0786414561 / ISBN 13: 9780786414567

Published by McFarland and Co Inc, US, 2003

About this Item

Elite baseball pitchers are elite for a reason. They seem to have it all: a variety of pitches that no one can lay a bat to; cool heads and confidence in their "stuff" when they get in a jam; and the kind of dexterity that makes difficult plays seem easy. Is elite status revealed through statistics? Though the author of this book considers statistics of both the traditional and sabermetric sort, he argues that the greats are proved not by broad statistical comparison with all other pitchers, but by their record against one another. In a thoughtful discussion of the evidence of head-to-head matchups, he finds the nine pitchers who make up the true elite: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux. For each pitcher the book provides biographical information, career highlights, and a list of the feats that put him in the record books.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780786414567

Bibliographic Details

• Title: What Makes an Elite Pitcher?
• Publisher: McFarland and Co Inc, US
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786414561
• ISBN 13: 9780786414567
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: Illustrated.
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 15.24W x 2.01H x 22.86D centimeters 15.24 centimeters width by 2.01 centimeters height by 22.86 centimeters depth
• Weight: 517 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Elite baseball pitchers are elite for a reason. They seem to have it all: a variety of pitches that no one can lay a bat to; cool heads and confidence in their "stuff" when they get in a jam; and the kind of dexterity that makes difficult plays seem easy.

Is elite status revealed through statistics? Though the author of this book considers statistics of both the traditional and sabermetric sort, he argues that the greats are proved not by broad statistical comparison with all other pitchers, but by their record against one another.

In a thoughtful discussion of the evidence of head-to-head matchups, he finds the nine pitchers who make up the true elite: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux. For each pitcher the book provides biographical information, career highlights, and a list of the feats that put him in the record books.

About the Author

Warren N. Wilbert, a veteran baseball historian and SABR member, is the author of numerous books about baseball. He lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.