Title/Author:
“Hardball Retroactive”
by Derek Bain
Tags:
Baseball, statistics,
history
Publish date:
June 22, 2018
Length:
1287 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
If you ever wanted to know how your
favorite team has fared over the years when it comes to the outcomes of trades
they have made or the success of their farm system and the players drafted by
the team to stock the system, then this book by Derek Bain is for you.
Using extensive statistical analysis
from his computer along with articles he has written on various blogs such as
Seamheads.com and his own, Bain breaks down the performance of scores of
general managers who have run major league teams throughout the years. The
results and rankings, based on statistics like win shares, may surprise some
readers. For those who have seen Bain’s earlier book, “Hardball Retrospective”,
this book is in the same format and design. It just is now concentrating on
trades and farm systems, along with some other fun concepts such as getting
extra bases by hustle from singles.
The research is extensive and the
charts can be overwhelming at times so it is best to be used as a reference
book and to study in depth the teams or statistics in which the reader is most
interested. That is how I approached
this book, looking at each section in depth for only my favorite team, the
Minnesota Twins. As a note, if the team
has relocated at any time in the history of the franchise, like the Twins did
in 1961 when they arrived from Washington, all relevant information from those
teams will be used as well.
While it was hard to locate specific
tables and graphs in the PDF format at the page numbers on the file did not
match those in the table of contents, it was nonetheless a fun look at how the
Twins’ GMs and trades stacked up over the years. I was pleasantly surprised at how high the
former GM, Terry Ryan, ranked in the list of GMs and other readers are sure to
find just as many surprises in this wealth of information.
I wish to thank Mr. Bain for
providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)
Buying Links:
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