The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract

With an updated article by the author for the paperback edition. Just in time for Father's Day, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract is the baseball book for 2003, and for many seasons to come.

When the hardcover edition was published nearly two years ago, reviewers could scarcely contain themselves: "The most important baseball book of the last twenty years," wrote the Wall Street Journal. The paperback is all that and more, with an extended essay covering the remarkable 2001 and 2002 seasons, and the ascent of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Randy Johnson up the all-time ladder of achievement. Still including James' decade-by-decade history of baseball, from the 1880s to the 1990s incorporating essays on How, Where, and by Whom the game was played; uniforms, Best Minor League Teams, and more. In nearly 1,000 separate articles, James ranks — and writes about — the top 100 players by position in baseball history...and, more than that, introduces a remarkable new statistic called "Win Shares" a way of quantifying individual performance the equalizes the offensive and defensive contributions of catchers, pitchers, infielders, and outfielders.

A defining — perhaps definitive — look at baseball history and achievement...an entertaining and enlightening volume that will be referred to again and again...The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract is a triumph, an irresistible addition to any baseball library. 50 photos throughout.

"I am hardly ashamed or embarrassed to say that I have learned a great deal about baseball from reading James....This is a man who combines a mathematician's brain with a fan's soul....This is the ultimate bedside book for the serious baseball fan." Bob Ryan, The Boston Globe

In nearly 1,000 separate articles, James ranks--and writes about--the top 100 players by position in baseball history . . . and, more than that, introduces a remarkable new statistic called "Win Shares, " a way of quantifying individual performance that equalizes the offensive and defensive contributions of catchers, pitchers, infielders, and outfielders. 50 photos throughout.

When Bill James published his original "Historical Baseball Abstract" in 1985, he produced an immediate classic, hailed by the "Chicago Tribune" as the "holy book of baseball." Now, baseball's beloved "Sultan of Stats" "(The Boston Globe)" is back with a fully revised and updated edition for the new millennium.

Like the original, "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract" is really several books in one. The Game provides a century's worth of American baseball history, told one decade at a time, with energetic facts and figures about How, Where, and by Whom the game was played. In The Players, you'll find listings of the top 100 players at each position in the major leagues, along with James's signature stats-based ratings method called "Win Shares," a way of quantifying individual performance and calculating the offensive and defensive contributions of catchers, pitchers, infielders, and outfielders. And there's more: the Reference section covers Win Shares for each season and each player, and even offers a Win Share team comparison. A must-have for baseball fans and historians alike, "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract" is as essential, entertaining, and enlightening as the sport itself.

Bill James made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s with his Baseball Abstracts. He has been tearing down preconceived notions about America's national pastime ever since. He is currently the Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Susan McCarthy, and three children.