The Bill James Baseball Abstract, 1986

This book is dated but remains fun, educational reading. As with Bill James' other 1980's Abstracts, this book devotes an informative section to each of baseball's then-26 teams. The author analyzes each squads' lineup, leadership, on-base percentages, runs created, etc., with an expertise that led many of us to crown "brother Bill" as baseball's top stats-guru. In this edition James (a native Kansan) takes a long and proud look the the 1985 World Champion Kansas City Royals. Yes, the Royals were solid back then near the end of the George Brett/Frank White era dating from the mid-1970's. Fans of certain age will enjoy reading about many now-defunct ballparks like Comiskey Park and Tiger Stadium, plus many multi-purpose arenas (Three Rivers, Riverfront, the Astrodome, etc). And let's not forget the ballplayers, most of whom at this writing are well into middle age; Carlton Fisk, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, Oil Can Boyd, Darrell Evans, Larry and Lance Parrish, etc. This book dates to before innovations/events like the Internet, Stats Inc, steroid abuse (I think), ESPN-Baseball Tonight, Win Shares, partial revenue sharing, etc. And it's clearly written for hardcore baseball nuts - as James states, "if you don't know what On-Base Percentage is you shouldn't be reading this book." Clearly dated, but with that irreverent wit and readable style that makes darn good reading. Like many others, I sure miss these abstracts.

I purchased this book because I was exposed to the writing of Bill James as a young man. James doesn't extrapolate as much with the written words and witty sayings but his style still comes through in one of the write ups in this book. Sometimes it feels as though James is a friend on mine.

Few baseball writers have Bill James' stellar combination of readability and analysis. James devotes a section to each of baseball's then-26 teams for the upcoming 1992 season, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses both on and off the field. He ranks players by position, and posts meaningful stats such as on-base, slugging, and offensive winning percentage. Included in these pages is biographical information, and dozens of illuminating anecdotes including one about Roger Clemens and another on whether Atlanta or LA faced tougher pitching down the stretch in 1991. I particularly liked James' fictional discussion with a U.S. Senator on ticket prices, scalping, and over-priced hot dogs. As always, James is readable and illuminating, respectful of the game, yet properly skeptical of big-money owners and their lame cries of poverty. This was the last of James' three BASEBALL BOOK annuals from 1990-1992, a series many wished he'd continued. This one has a somewhat different format than its two predecessors, but each remains excellent reading even today.

I keep this one on the table whenever watching a ballgame on TV or fooling with a fantasy club. Every active player's career stats, with useful stats created by Bill James, like runs created, stats on manager moves, and ballparks. Useful and well-organized.

Bill James started out as a wacky guy who saw baseball differently from the so-called "experts." Today, those experts refer to his theories and expound beyond them. He demonstrates that it is much better to think baseball through than to chew tobacco and say things like, "Don't think, you can only hurt the ball club," which is what Rod Dedeaux used to say when I was at USC. Baseball is best approached the same way marketing, science or politics is approached - using numbers and stats, mixing experience with experiment.STEVEN TRAVERSAuthor of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman"[email protected]