Baseball's Best 1,000: Rankings of the Skills, the Achievements and the Perfomance of the Greatest Players of All Time [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Derek Gentile (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Using various (and completely subjective) criteria including lifetime statistics, personal and professional contributions to the game at large, sportsmanship, character, popularity with the fans, and more, sports writer Derek Gentile ranks the best players of all time.

Along with a ranking, information on each player is presented, including the teams on which he has played throughout his career, positions played, lifetime statistics, and a brief biography--as well as a photograph. Baseball's Best 1,000 is sure to spark controversy and debate among fans.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Derek Gentile is a reporter for the Berkshire Eagle and is the baseball historian for Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He is the author of Smooth Moves and Baseball's Best 1,000, both published by Black Dog & Leventhal. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157912397X
• ISBN-13: 978-1579123970
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Book With Erratic Photo Selection., November 11, 2004

By 

Daniel Oconnor (BAYSIDE, NEW YORK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baseball's Best 1,000: Rankings of the Skills, the Achievements and the Perfomance of the Greatest Players of All Time (Hardcover)

Mr. Gentile has a pretty good style for summing up a players career and his rankings are good conversation starters. Unfortunately, though photos have been attached to nearly every player in the book, some players are misrepresented. George Stone, Mike "King" Kelly and George Bell have other players photos representing them. Jeff Heath who played from 1936- 1949 is shown twice on the list. Mr. Heath, who played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Braves and Washington Senators, is shown first in the 900 numbers, attached by a picture of a player from the Oakland A's. He also is in the 400's again, with the same writeup, but now with a picture of a 19th century player. George Bell, a player of African American descent, is represented by a picture of a baseball card, circa 1913 of a caucasion player. George Stone who played in the first decade of the 20th century is represented by a photo of a player from the Texas Rangers, a team which didn't exist till 1972.
Lefty O'Doul, ranked at #495 also has another picture of himself, representing #494 John Olerud.

A pretty good book but somebody point out to whoever selected the photos, even if they don't know the players, how obvious silly it is showing a post 1945 Boston player to represent King Kelly, a 19th century star.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little fact-checking would be good., August 4, 2008

By 

Gimpy Gal (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball's Best 1,000: Rankings of the Skills, the Achievements and the Perfomance of the Greatest Players of All Time (Hardcover)

Gentile says Johnny Ray was the 1982 Rookie of the Year, but it was Steve Sax. He also says a National League pitcher threw a no-hitter again the Rangers, an American League team. I couldn't care less, but I'm married to a baseball nut who likes to point out these errors, and it can be a little, shall we say, tiring.