Winners: How Good Baseball Teams Become Great Ones (and It's Not the Way You Think) Hardcover - 2006 - 1st Edition
by Dayn Perry
How do baseball teams win? In the entertaining and controversial "Winners," stat-head-hero Dayn Perry puts forth answers by analyzing all the ingredients people say a team needs to win. Instead of just crunching numbers, however, he turns them into fun narratives, spinning out stories of teams and players that exemplify the myths and realities of winning.
Summary
First line
Your team is a loser.
From the rear cover
In this raucous, entertaining, and sure-to-be-controversial guide for the dedicated fan and unpaid organizational watchdog, Baseball Prospectus columnist Dayn Perry dives deep into the stats and comes up with some mind-blowing answers to the most important question in baseball: How do winners win?
Analyzing records, lineups, defense, and pitching staffs of the 124 teams that made it to the playoffs between 1980 and 2003, Perry separates baseball myth from hardball reality, slays some sacred cows, and gives you new, more accurate ways to analyze both individual and team performance.You'll discover why stats like batting average, RBI, and even OBP don't tell you what you really need to know about a hitter's contribution to the team; why that much ballyhooed trading-deadline pickup probably won't help your team move up in this year's standings; and why you need only one certified ace in the rotation to make it into the post season. You'll also find out why: A huge payroll doesn't guarantee success (but it helps)Slugging percentage is a hitter's most important traditional statThere's no such thing as a player who "knows how to win"Middle relievers are typically the most important people in the bullpenSpeed helps, stealing bases doesn't
Perry backs up every one of his brash claims with solid statistical evidence. He illustrates each point with colorful, engaging stories about some of the most successful teams and admired players of the last quarter century, from dynasties like the Braves and the Yankees to one-season wonders like the '87 Tigers and the '01 Diamondbacks. He shows you how to identify the young players most likely to have long and successful careers; analyzes the achievements of such greats as George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Pedro Martinez, and Barry Bonds; and reveals how one of the greatest teams of all time managed an eleven-year winning spree using ten (count 'em--ten!) different closers.Whether you're buttonholing the GM, dialing your local sports call-in show, or commiserating with your buddies as the local nine go down in flames yet again, Winners gives you a leg up in every baseball argument. Maybe your team still can't win--but you can!
From the jacket flap
In this raucous, entertaining, and sure-to-be-controversial guide for the dedicated fan and unpaid organizational watchdog, Baseball Prospectus columnist Dayn Perry dives deep into the stats and comes up with some mind-blowing answers to the most important question in baseball: How do winners win?
Analyzing records, lineups, defense, and pitching staffs of the 124 teams that made it to the playoffs between 1980 and 2003, Perry separates baseball myth from hardball reality, slays some sacred cows, and gives you new, more accurate ways to analyze both individual and team performance.You'll discover why stats like batting average, RBI, and even OBP don't tell you what you really need to know about a hitter's contribution to the team; why that much ballyhooed trading-deadline pickup probably won't help your team move up in this year's standings; and why you need only one certified ace in the rotation to make it into the post season. You'll also find out why: A huge payroll doesn't guarantee success (but it helps)Slugging percentage is a hitter's most important traditional statThere's no such thing as a player who "knows how to win"Middle relievers are typically the most important people in the bullpenSpeed helps, stealing bases doesn't
Perry backs up every one of his brash claims with solid statistical evidence. He illustrates each point with colorful, engaging stories about some of the most successful teams and admired players of the last quarter century, from dynasties like the Braves and the Yankees to one-season wonders like the '87 Tigers and the '01 Diamondbacks. He shows you how to identify the young players most likely to have long and successful careers; analyzes the achievements of such greats as George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Pedro Martinez, and Barry Bonds; and reveals how one of the greatest teams of all time managed an eleven-year winning spree using ten (count 'em--ten!) different closers.Whether you're buttonholing the GM, dialing your local sports call-in show, or commiserating with your buddies as the local nine go down in flames yet again, Winners gives you a leg up in every baseball argument. Maybe your team still can't win--but you can!
Details
- Title Winners: How Good Baseball Teams Become Great Ones (and It's Not the Way You Think)
- Author Dayn Perry
- Binding Hardcover
- Edition number 1st
- Edition 1
- Pages 248
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Wiley, New York
- Date 2006-02-01
- ISBN 9780471721741 / 0471721743
- Weight 0.98 lbs (0.44 kg)
- Dimensions 9.56 x 6.42 x 0.9 in (24.28 x 16.31 x 2.29 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects Baseball - United States
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 2005015111
- Dewey Decimal Code 796.357
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