Baseball Prospectus – Extra Innings
More Baseball Between the Numbers from
the Team at Baseball Prospectus
Edited by Steven Goldman
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
Extra Innings is a sequel, of sorts, to Baseball Between the Numbers (the 2006 Baseball Prospectus book edited by Jonah Keri). The book is a compilation of essays on various baseball topics, generally seeking to provide more insight via the use of statistical/sabermetric analyses. Just a few of the topics addressed are:
“What Really Happened in the Juiced Era?” by Jay Jaffe – an insightful look at factors, including but not limited to PEDs, that led to the 1990-2005 power surge in MLB.
“How Should the Hall of Fame Respond to the Steroids Era?” by Jay Jaffe – a thoughtful treatment of this hot-button topic.
“How Does Age Affect the Amateur Draft?” by Rany Jazayerli – an analysis of the age of top draft picks as it affects their future WAR.
“How Can We Evaluate Managers?” by Steven Goldman – explores several statistical approaches to evaluating the effect that managers have on team results.
“When Does a Hot Start Become Real?” by Derek Carty – uses a correlation-based approach to determine a team’s final W/L% based upon its early start.
… and many more. There are twenty-two essays in total, organized into chapters on PEDs/Player Enhancement, Team-Building, Pitching, Fielding, Offense, and Futures. Generally the essays are of good quality and I found most to be insightful. This book will be interesting to SABR members.
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Baseball Prospectus – Extra Innings
Editor: Steven Goldman
Authors: Derek Carty, Corey Dawkins, Mike Fast, Rebecca Glass, Steven Goldman, Kevin Goldstein, Jay Jaffe, Rany Jazayerli, Christina Kahrl, Ben Lindbergh, Jason Parks, Dan Turkenhopf, Colin Wyers
Published: 2012, Basic Books; ISBN 978-0-465-02403-2 Length: 446 pages
Price: Retail list – $27.99; Online – from $1.49 (used) + shipping.