Title/Author:
“Power Ball: Anatomy of a
Modern Baseball Game” written and narrated by Rob Neyer
Tags:
Baseball,
professional, statistics, politics, Astros, Athletics
Publish
date:
October
9, 2018
Length:
320
pages
Rating:
4
½ of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
It isn’t often an author can take an idea in which
other books have been published and produce a fresh product, but baseball
author and analyst Rob Neyer does just that with his book “Power Ball”. The idea that isn’t new is to write a book in
the setting of one baseball game – indeed, he acknowledges that this is the
case – as the setting is a game in September 2017 between the eventual World
Series champions, the Houston Astros, and the last place Oakland
Athletics. What IS new is the method in
which Neyer breaks down the game and his analysis on many of the pitchers and
players who participated in that game.
This isn’t just a game recap in which each at-bat,
play and pitching change is analyzed by the numbers, both traditional and
modern. While there is much of that,
more of the book talks about just about any type of statistical analysis used
today. Whether one likes to hear about
launch angle, velocity, Statcast (which measures all movement on the field) or
whether the shift is effective and “modern” (hint – it isn’t new), the reader
will find very interesting reading material on these and similar subjects.
Other issues that affect baseball, such as the pace
of play and number of pitching changes, are also discussed and suggestions on
how these can be addressed are suggested.
One manner to address the pace of play issue that I liked, as it is
something I have felt is the biggest problem, is when pitchers and batters are
delaying the game by stepping off the pitching rubber or out of the batter’s
box. Addressing this “farting around”
(what Neyer calls it) may not shave a lot of minutes off the time of a game,
but it would at least keep the game moving along.
There are also some political and social issues
addressed, interspersed throughout the book.
At times these make sense and are worth talking about, such as the lack
of “US born” African American players, but others such as climate change don’t
seem to add anything to the discussion of the game or the teams playing. While the issue of the lack of openly gay
players in baseball might be worth discussing, it was one of the issues that
seemed to be placed in the book just to promote a certain viewpoint instead of
being part of the game being discussed.
That aside, the baseball talk about the numbers and
the game itself , won by the Athletics in the ninth inning, was terrific. I loved hearing the win probability change
after each half inning, which was how each chapter ended. A baseball fan, especially of the modern
game, will truly enjoy this book. If one wants to read the book just for the
baseball and leave out the other matters, it is still recommended, just skip
over those parts.
Book
Format Read:
Audio
book
Buying
Links:
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