Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter? [Paperback]

Jeff Kisseloff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001 | Age Level: 10 and up

Filled with biographical anecdotes, batting stats and historical comparisons, here is the one book young fans can use to become instant experts in baseball's great debate.

Who is it: Babe Ruth? Ted Williams? Ty Cobb? Mark McGwire? or . . .?

Here is your one-stop resource for answering the question all baseball fans ask: Who is the best batter ever? You'll find thirty-two of baseball's greatest hitters, with each player's batting statistics, special achievements and records, along with interesting anecdotes and photographs.

With all this great information, Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter? is more than just a book of stats. Experienced sports writer Jeff Kisseloff gives young readers the tools to analyze, compare and contrast each player's career batting records. Unlike other baseball books, this one challenges the reader to make his own choices and add his own favorite batters to the debate.

Can you match the question on the left with the player on the right?
1) Who hit 755 home Runs?A) Mark McGwire
2) Who hit .367 lifetime?B) Hank Aaron
3) Who has the best home run/at bat ratio?C) Ty Cobb

And the big question, which statistic matters most?
Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter?

Answers: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-Kisseloff opens up an age-old debate. He gives a historical perspective on the game and profiles 32 stars from various decades, giving reasons why each slugger should or should not be in the running. Allowing readers to draw their own conclusions, he provides the statistics and considerations to weigh ("Is a .366 lifetime average more important or less important than 755 lifetime homers?") in order to make informed choices. Black-and-white photos of each player are included, but they are disappointingly small and undistinguished. Some of the big bats not included are Sammy Sosa and Pete Rose, yet the author challenges fans to make a case for their inclusion. A surefire way to spark many interesting discussions.
Harolyn Legg, Liberty-Benton High School, Findlay, OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Kisseloff makes the case for 32 different major league players to claim the title of "Baseball's Greatest Hitter." And amazingly, he makes a good case for each one, reminding readers how complex the calculation becomes when one must factor in not just statistics but also how lively the ball was in various eras, how far the mound was from home plate, and how many games were played in a season. The introduction alone makes good reading as a short history of the game, while the two-to five-page discussions of each batting champ offer vivid profiles of the men, their achievements, and their individual quirks. Quotes from opposing pitchers add a unique perspective, such as Warren Spahn's tribute to Stan Musial, "He's the only batter I ever intentionally walked with the bases loaded." A book that makes reading about baseball almost as much fun as playing the game. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805067337
• ISBN-13: 978-0805067330
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,042,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bic's Pick, June 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter? (Hardcover)

Who is baseball's greatest hitter? Is it Ted Williams? Of all the players who hit more than 500 home runs he holds the lowest strike out ratio. Is it Mark McGwire? He hit 70 home runs in the 1998 regular season. Or could it be Ken Griffey Jr.? He's the youngest player ever to hit 350 home runs. And Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey are still playing. Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter? by Jeff Kisseloff is chockfull of player's stats and information on how to compare old time players to modern day players. This book is obviously a baseball book, so you have to like baseball to love it. I love baseball. I think the greatest hitter is either Ken Griffey or Barry Bonds because they are really good at hitting round trippers and 2 baggers. It's really easy to image one of them as baseball's greatest hitter. Who is baseball's greatest hitter?

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stats may be suspect . . ., April 17, 2006

By 

Laurie M. Perrigo (Hartland, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Is Baseball's Greatest Hitter? (Hardcover)

With all due respect to Jeff Kisseloff and the previous reviewer, Hank Aaron didn't play for the Kansas City Clowns. He played for the Indianapolis Clowns. That contract was bought by the Braves and Aaron was sent to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to play for the Eau Claire Bears, a farm team for the Braves. That's a pretty basic stat - which leads me to wonder about some of the other "facts" in the book. Guess I'll either have to take it all with a grain of salt or double check Kisseloff's facts. Geez, what good is an editor?