Customer Reviews

The SABR Baseball List & Record Book: Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

At last, a book that truly lives up to its title--surely it has to be the most unusual baseball record book ever written, and it is thoroughly fascinating. I can't imagine any baseball fan who openins up this treasure house to look for something . . . anything . . ., and who doesn't wind up spending a delightful bouncing around from one unique record to another. Here is a tiny, tiny fraction of the things I found that I not only hadn't known, but that I hadn't known I hadn't known:

First home run hit at Ebbets Field: Casey Stengel

Most career putouts by an outfielder: 7095, Willie Mays

Players who stole home twice in a game: Honus Wagner, Joe Jackson, and Vic Power are all on the list of 10.

Most times ejected from a major league game as a player or manager: John McGraw (131) and Leo Durocher (124) head the list, but Tony La Russa, Lou Piniella, Joe Torre, and Casey Stengel are all on the list.

Most consecutive losses in a season for a team that finished first: 11, Giants in 1951.

And a million more. How can anyone be a baseball fan and not want to know these things?

For those who are figure filberts and love strange statistics, this book is for you!

This is a book produced by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). This is, as the book says (page vii), "intended to fill what we in SABR feel is a void in the reference publications that fans and media depend upon." It is not intended to replace standard sources of statistics, The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. It provides other lists, not appearing in standard references. For instance, the Introduction remarks that some reference sources include records for most RBIs by a rookie, this volume lists "every rookie who batted in at least 100 runs."

The book covers the time frame 1876-2006. And comparing statistics across these periods is extraordinarily difficult!

Records are listed in numerical order from 001 to 740 (thus, there are 740 records examined). 001 is Most career games played (Pete Rose is # 1 with 3562); 740 is "Families with 3 or more brothers who played in the major leagues" (the Delahanty's are # 1 with 5 brothers playing in the bigs). By the way, both records are in the The Baseball Encyclopedia, if memory serves. But what records are included in between!

Some random picks: Worst fielding average by a first baseman since 1946. One player dominates with 3 of the 4 crummiest fielding averages. Any guess? Dr. Strangeglove--Dick Stuart (1961, 1963, 1964). Here's something exotic: Pinch-hit home run and one other home run in a game: This has happened 26 times (all with 1), the most recent being Jeff Salazar (Chicago White Sox) in 2006. What about most homers in a season without winning the home run title? Sammy Sosa, of course, with 66 in 1998.

Another intriguing hitting record: Most career RBIs without a 100 RBI season. Pete Rose ranks # 1 here. Others in the top 10 include Eddie Collins, Craig Biggio, Sam Rice, and Julio Franco. And how's this? Game-ending extra-inning home runs (16th inning and later)? The most recent is Ramon Martinez in 2006; the earliest was Charley ("Old Hoss") Radbourne, in 1886.

One last tidbit. Best stolen base duo in a season? With 246 steals, Arlie Latham (129) and Charlie ("Old Roman") Comiskey (117) in 1887. From1898 to the present? Vince Coleman (110) and Willie McGee (56), for a total of 166 in 1985.

Anyhow, this book is a hoot for those who like offbeat statistics. Despite the book's claim, you will find some of these statistics elsewhere. But there are some interesting off-the-beaten-path stats.

This book contains a lot of statistics that you can't find anywhere else. It may be easy to find out who has, say, the largest number of doubles ever, but in this book you'll find the ranking of the highest ones, going down, for some statistics, to the top 50 or the top 100. You'll also find lists broken down by position, as well as by handedness (lefthanded, righthanded, or switch-hitting). There are also some odd statistics that you'll never find anywhere, such as managers by number of times ejected by an umpire from the game!

You do, of course, have to be a baseball fan, and the sort of baseball fan who relishes looking up all sorts of statistics, to enjoy this book. I am, so I really enjoyed digging into it.

I have become "King of the Universe" at my gym and pool with my handy SABR baseball record book. Where else can I find the baseball facts that just confound and stupefy my pals ??

The book is a guarantee of hours of baseball heaven for the true fans of the game.

The editors have done a superb job of combining unusual, exotic, wonderful, useless trivia about baseball and its fascinating records. For a baseball nut like me, the work is perfect. What baseball fan in his right mind would not want to know which potentially perfect games were broken up with two outs in the 9th inning or which pitcher has the most career innings in relief and also pitched a no-hitter? I'll admit to having spent several wonderful hours perusing this book. It belongs in every baseball fan's bathroom.

This fine book has been edited into eight sections: Batting,Pitching,fielding and base running records,as well as rookie and miscellaneous records. Also included are a list index and player index. Just about any unusual record one might imagine is included. Many are broken down as totals and then by right,left and switch hit batters as well as right and left handed pitchers. Several interesting illustrations are most career grand slam home runs

Lou Gehrig (23),best career strikeout to home run ratio Joe DiMaggio (1.02)most career home runs without ever hitting 30 in a season Al Kaline(389),most career shutouts Walter Johnson(110),most career strikeout by a pitcher Nolan Ryan(5714)most consecutive strikeouts Tom Seaver (10-1970), most RBI's in a season by a rookie Ted Williams(145-1939)most consecutive wins in a season by a time N.Y. Giants(26-1916,most career steals of home Ty Cobb(54). This list covers seasons 1876-2006. Many of the records are broken down between pre and since 1893. And don't think just the top players of a category are listed. In many cases the best forty or fifty are shown. All told there are 740 record categories. Tremendous job that should be in every serious baseball library.

The book turned about 50 cool statistic lists into a couple of hundred by going by position and such. That turned out to be fairly numbing and repetitive.

I enjoy baseball statistics also, but I will sit on the fence on this one with 3 stars.

Deep inside this book is a list of home-road disparities in home runs. One of the top seasons of all time, for the more unusual situation where the home park disfavored the hitter, was Alex Rodriguez in 2000, his only full season at Safeco Field. Here was a stat that, in ways the media never really covered, explained as much as anything why he fled for free agency. This book is filled with stats like this.

A great thing you learn, for instance, is that for some statistics, left handed pitchers or right handed batters have far less impressive stats than those who bat or pitch the other way. The career stats of left-handed closers, for instance, are pretty pathetic compared to right-handers.

And then there are the categories where a single individual just blows the competition away. Strikeouts per nine-innings in a season? Randy Johnson is simply God. Frank Thomas has some very impressive on-base stats. Great stuff.

My only complaint is that the fielding stats are pretty boring and useless. Errors are not a good measure of a fielder's prowess, and there are endless stats about errors and fielding percentage. Waste of good space, in my opinion.

But it's a fun book, good bathroom reading, recommended.

I immediately saw the value of this book when I received it as a SABR member. I claims to fill a void and it does.

I'm not the stat type that many SABRen are. I like the story more than the stats. But stats help tell the story. The stats in this book, help put stats in context.

This does not replace any other work. But it will definitely help to complete your baseball reference library.

a boring chore if you sit down to read from cover to cover.

like reading recipe after recipe.

it is great to check on a particular player, or a particular stat.

it's probably most fun just to open to a random page and read about a famous stat that you THOUGHT you knew about, a new stat you learn about, something new about a player you have known about for years, or a new player you see from a stat page, then try to learn more about him.