OT: Books

Muppetus Galacticus · 03-18-2003, 03:44 AM

Lo all,

With all the historical games people play I was hoping to get some recommendations on here for books on -

1. The history of baseball
2. Every player, stat encyclopedia
3. Information on the players/game for this comeing season

Any info would be great

TIA
Muppetus Galacticus

Cole · 03-18-2003, 08:37 AM

So why didn't you put this admittedly off topic thread in the off topic section?

There's a been a lot of talks of good baseball books in there... I'm certain someone could help you in there.

ctorg · 03-18-2003, 08:45 AM

I used to work at a bookstore and I can tell you that there are tons of great books, but it really depends on the angle you want. For great stats books, there's Total Baseball or the Stats All Time Players Book (can't remember the exact title of this one). Stats used to publish some awesome yearly books, but unfortunately they just stopped making them. Well, they actually just combined with Sporting News, but they're nowhere near as good. Still, that's probably the best you can get for current stuff.

If you want biographical info, well, there are just too many to name.

For historical data, there are many books published by McFarland & Co.

The best thing to do is take some time, go to a Borders or Barnes & Noble, and just browse the baseball section, flipping through books that look good.

MM13 · 03-18-2003, 08:56 AM

For the current season, The Scouting Notebook produced by the Sporting News is good for player info. Also, Lindy's Scouting Reports are a personal favorite.

MrWorkrate · 03-18-2003, 11:06 AM

For the current season, I love the Baseball Prospectus. It's more geared towards a statistical point of view, offering projections of players from single A to the majors. I wrote a review of it for Amazon.

As for a historical reference, another fun book to check out is the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. It just came out in softcover (it was like a $50 book otherwise), and it offers a cool amount of insight into the great players of baseball history. It goes over each decade, and ranks players alltime by position. James is an aquired taste, and I've heard some people swear by it, and some not like him at all.

As for an every player stat encyclopedia, you can't go wrong with Total Baseball. HUGE book, way too much information, one of those books that you don't necessarily sit down and read, but you keep around just in case you need to look up anything at all.

And, like ctorg said, the best thing you can do is go to a local bookstore (ok, a local "bigger" bookstore, like Borders or B&N) and check out the books before you buy them. Books are written differently, and I've seen way too many that were written awkward and seemed good, but just didn't work for me.

03-18-2003, 03:44 AM	#1
Muppetus Galacticus Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Where we talk proper English like the Queen innit? Posts: 2,030	OT: Books Lo all, With all the historical games people play I was hoping to get some recommendations on here for books on - 1. The history of baseball 2. Every player, stat encyclopedia 3. Information on the players/game for this comeing season Any info would be great TIA Muppetus Galacticus

03-18-2003, 08:45 AM	#3
ctorg Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 9,848	I used to work at a bookstore and I can tell you that there are tons of great books, but it really depends on the angle you want. For great stats books, there's Total Baseball or the Stats All Time Players Book (can't remember the exact title of this one). Stats used to publish some awesome yearly books, but unfortunately they just stopped making them. Well, they actually just combined with Sporting News, but they're nowhere near as good. Still, that's probably the best you can get for current stuff. If you want biographical info, well, there are just too many to name. For historical data, there are many books published by McFarland & Co. The best thing to do is take some time, go to a Borders or Barnes & Noble, and just browse the baseball section, flipping through books that look good. __________________ My music "When the trees blow back and forth, that's what makes the wind." - Steven Wright Fjord emena pancreas thorax fornicate marmalade morpheme proteolysis smaxa cabana offal srue vitriol grope hallelujah lentils

03-18-2003, 11:06 AM	#5
MrWorkrate All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,262	For the current season, I love the Baseball Prospectus. It's more geared towards a statistical point of view, offering projections of players from single A to the majors. I wrote a review of it for Amazon. As for a historical reference, another fun book to check out is the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. It just came out in softcover (it was like a $50 book otherwise), and it offers a cool amount of insight into the great players of baseball history. It goes over each decade, and ranks players alltime by position. James is an aquired taste, and I've heard some people swear by it, and some not like him at all. As for an every player stat encyclopedia, you can't go wrong with Total Baseball. HUGE book, way too much information, one of those books that you don't necessarily sit down and read, but you keep around just in case you need to look up anything at all. And, like ctorg said, the best thing you can do is go to a local bookstore (ok, a local "bigger" bookstore, like Borders or B&N) and check out the books before you buy them. Books are written differently, and I've seen way too many that were written awkward and seemed good, but just didn't work for me. __________________ I used to come here a lot. Now, not so much.

03-18-2003, 08:37 AM	#2
Cole Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick Posts: 2,685	So why didn't you put this admittedly off topic thread in the off topic section? There's a been a lot of talks of good baseball books in there... I'm certain someone could help you in there.

03-18-2003, 08:56 AM	#4
MM13 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 23	For the current season, The Scouting Notebook produced by the Sporting News is good for player info. Also, Lindy's Scouting Reports are a personal favorite.