Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit, the 50 Greatest Individual Seasons [Paperback]

Warren Wilbert (Author), William Hageman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1999

From April 22, 1876, through 1997, more than 1,750 ballplayers have pulled on Cubs uniforms, and out of that number, co-authors Warren Wilbert and William Hageman have chosen players who have put together individual seasons of such magnificence that they have merited a top 50 billing. From Al Spalding to the peerless leader, Frank Chance, and on to "Ole Pete" Alexander and Hack Wilson, Gabby Hartnett and Billy Herman, and on to Ron Santo and "Let's Play Two" Ernie Banks. From the more recent past are Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace. The famous and the not-so-famous are ranked in order from No. I through No. 50.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Chicago Cubs are the only baseball franchise that has operated continuously in the same city from its first game in 1876 to today. During that time over 1,750 ballplayers wore Cub uniforms. Authors Warren Wilbert and William Hageman have chosen from that long history Cubs players whose splendid banner seasons merit inclusion in their book, Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit, The 50 Greatest Individual Seasons.

Strict guidelines were used to choose and rank the selections. Players could be listed only once, although other great years of players selected are noted as afterwards to their chapters. Players are evaluated in how the league and the Cubs fared in the player's big season and in comparison to the hitting and pitching characteristics of the league overall in the season. Ballpark idiosyncracies are weighed. Final statistical values are awarded in accordance with highly sophisticated sabermetric formulas. -- Sports Collectors Digest June 20, 1997 Richard Miller

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571671102
• ISBN-13: 978-1571671103
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,515,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Will it be updated for Sammy Sosa?, February 9, 1999

By 

rletterly (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit, the 50 Greatest Individual Seasons (Paperback)

It was awfully coincidental that this type of book comes out in the same year when Sammy Sosa has probably the most productive season in modern Cub history. I was puzzled as to how the authors came up with such determinations as "fielding runs prevented"...which tended to bolster the statistics of many old-time Cubs. I think the most valuable aspect of this book is the insight it lends; the authors point out that statistics alone do not make a good season. They pointed out that players such as Bill Nicholson were more valuable in years where their statistics were not as impressive as other years. Other factors, such as league strength and the strength of the rest of the lineup must be considered when determining the value of a ballplayer's stats. A must read for true Cub fans...I'm not sure anyone else besides true baseball junkies would find much enjoyment in this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cubs Yearbook (addendum to prior review), October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit, the 50 Greatest Individual Seasons (Paperback)

My previous review contained a typo - only the top 50 (fifty) top Cubs players seasons are covered not the top 100 as I stated.

Also, in retrospect I can think of another group other than SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) members that will love this book. That group is the legion of fanatic Cubs fans out there(and my, my, my there are a lot of us aren't there?).

I had fond memories of seasons past as I paged through this book. This book is a very effective time machine if you have lived, suffered, and rejoiced through Cub seasons past and present.

Just think of it as a 100+ year High School Yearbook. It's just too bad that the publishing date wasn't 1999 - it would have been interesting to see how Sammy Sosa's 1998 season did once the authors' sabermetric grid was applied to it!

Go Cubs!

/fwa

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable but DRY, October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit, the 50 Greatest Individual Seasons (Paperback)

A unique analysis of the top 100 Cubs player seasons of all time up to 1997 (the year of publication). There is a lot good interesting, valuable information here that baseball fans will appreciate. There is real treasure here!

But like most treasure you must move aside mountains of dry sand to get to the gems.

Especially niggling is the lack of a good index or listing of the players alphabetically. For example, to locate Cap Anson, or Bruce Sutter, Ernie Banks, or Ron Santo you have page through the book a section at a time to find them. How the authors and the publisher overlooked this simple courtesy is baffling!

Members of the Society of American Baseball Research (of which the authors are both members) will want to add this amazing resource to their library for the wealth of stats and the clever use of sabermetrics. The rest of us will most likely pass on this dry book.

/fwa