Unbreakable : The25 Most Unapproachable Records in Baseball in PDF, FB2
9781613217030 English 161321703X "Baseball is a game of mathematical exactitude. ... For many people, one of the great attractions of baseball is the way it lends itself to mathematical analysis. More than in any other sport, numbers dominate the way players and fans think. Three strikes ... three outs ... nine innings, unless the score is tied, of course. ... Within those basic numbers, others reside-hits, runs, errors, runs batted in, batting and fielding averages, on-base percentages, slugging percentages, and so on. Indeed, an entire subsection of fans has emerged to apply advanced mathematical analysis to baseball in an attempt to discover 'hidden baseball' wherein it is said to be possible to ascertain the true value of a player or the usefulness of a particular strategy'. ... With the wealth of numerical data now available on computers, so many various types of records have proliferated that an average fan can often lose sight of records that really matter ... and when broadcasters don't know what to say next they fall back upon senseless statistics supplied to them by a data analyst sitting at a computer looking for some number that someone, somewhere, might care about. This book is an effort to correct that type of imbalance. There are records that matter. There are records so extraordinary that they border on the impossible. Others thought to be impregnable were later exceeded. At one time Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs in his career was thought to be unassailable. ... Similarly, Lou Gehrig's record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games was long thought untouchable. ... Many other records also thought safe from assault have fallen, but there are some so exceptional, so beyond the bounds of believability that they may be truly labeled as unbreakable" Book jacket., Unbreakable gives fans the fascinating stories behind incredible records and the players who made them and provides a basis for comparing players of the Deadball era with those of today. Most importantly, it gives the true baseball fan quantitative objective data to bring to arguments about players and their records. It is almost impossible to fathom how Jack Chesbro could have won 41 games in 1904 when pitchers today don't even make that many starts in a season. Ed Walsh pitched 464 innings in one season and many times pitched more than 400 innings during his 14-season career, while pitchers today seldom throw more than 100 pitches a game. And yet, we must wonder why pitchers today seem to have more arm troubles than workhorses like Ed Walsh. This and other questions are explored in a book that is so much more than a simple listing of unusual records--it is a re-creation of a time when the game was different and when it was played differently. The book provides a baseball fan with a different perspective from which to watch today's players and to have a reasonable basis to compare them with players of yesteryear. Covering players such as Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth, and also including an extended analysis of pre-1900 baseball, Unbreakable is perfect for any fan of our national pastime. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports--books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home., Unbreakable gives fans the fascinating stories behind some incredible records and the players who made them. It also provides a basis for comparing players of the Dead Ball era with those today and draws comparisons. Most importantly, a true baseball fan now has quantitative objective data to being to arguments about players and their records.
9781613217030 English 161321703X "Baseball is a game of mathematical exactitude. ... For many people, one of the great attractions of baseball is the way it lends itself to mathematical analysis. More than in any other sport, numbers dominate the way players and fans think. Three strikes ... three outs ... nine innings, unless the score is tied, of course. ... Within those basic numbers, others reside-hits, runs, errors, runs batted in, batting and fielding averages, on-base percentages, slugging percentages, and so on. Indeed, an entire subsection of fans has emerged to apply advanced mathematical analysis to baseball in an attempt to discover 'hidden baseball' wherein it is said to be possible to ascertain the true value of a player or the usefulness of a particular strategy'. ... With the wealth of numerical data now available on computers, so many various types of records have proliferated that an average fan can often lose sight of records that really matter ... and when broadcasters don't know what to say next they fall back upon senseless statistics supplied to them by a data analyst sitting at a computer looking for some number that someone, somewhere, might care about. This book is an effort to correct that type of imbalance. There are records that matter. There are records so extraordinary that they border on the impossible. Others thought to be impregnable were later exceeded. At one time Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs in his career was thought to be unassailable. ... Similarly, Lou Gehrig's record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games was long thought untouchable. ... Many other records also thought safe from assault have fallen, but there are some so exceptional, so beyond the bounds of believability that they may be truly labeled as unbreakable" Book jacket., Unbreakable gives fans the fascinating stories behind incredible records and the players who made them and provides a basis for comparing players of the Deadball era with those of today. Most importantly, it gives the true baseball fan quantitative objective data to bring to arguments about players and their records. It is almost impossible to fathom how Jack Chesbro could have won 41 games in 1904 when pitchers today don't even make that many starts in a season. Ed Walsh pitched 464 innings in one season and many times pitched more than 400 innings during his 14-season career, while pitchers today seldom throw more than 100 pitches a game. And yet, we must wonder why pitchers today seem to have more arm troubles than workhorses like Ed Walsh. This and other questions are explored in a book that is so much more than a simple listing of unusual records--it is a re-creation of a time when the game was different and when it was played differently. The book provides a baseball fan with a different perspective from which to watch today's players and to have a reasonable basis to compare them with players of yesteryear. Covering players such as Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth, and also including an extended analysis of pre-1900 baseball, Unbreakable is perfect for any fan of our national pastime. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports--books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home., Unbreakable gives fans the fascinating stories behind some incredible records and the players who made them. It also provides a basis for comparing players of the Dead Ball era with those today and draws comparisons. Most importantly, a true baseball fan now has quantitative objective data to being to arguments about players and their records.