Title/Author:
“Astroball: The New
Way to Win it All” by Ben Reiter
Tags:
Baseball, professional,
championship, Astros, statistics
Publish date:
July 10, 2018
Length:
272 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
Baseball is well into a new era in
which statistical data is analyzed and used for nearly every decision a team
makes, from which players to draft to where to place those players on the
diamond when a batter steps into the box.
While the concept began in the early 2000’s with “Moneyball”, the
groundbreaking book by Michael Lewis about the Oakland Athletics using this strategy,
the Houston Astros dug even deeper into statistical analysis and their work
paid off with a World Series championship in 2017. How they got there is the storyline
of this excellent book by Sports Illustrated writer Ben Reiter.
It is important to note that Reiter
is a Sports Illustrated writer because he wrote a cover story for the magazine in
2014 predicting that the Astros would be the 2017 champions. It seemed outlandish at the time as the Astros
were suffering through their third consecutive season of more than 100
losses. However, the brain trust of
general manager Scott Luhnow and rocket-scientist-turned-baseball-analyst Sig
Mejdal saw that their plan implemented beginning in 2011 was already starting
to take shape.
The book focuses more on these two
men, as well as several of the prospects brought to Houston by them, more than
the baseball or a recap of the Astros championship season. Although for good
baseball writing, the book has plenty in the write-up of the 2017 World Series
in which the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. One key part of that victory was that the
Astros hit star Dodger pitcher Yu Darvish hard, and that was because Carlos
Beltran gave information to his teammates about Darvish’s pitching.
Why this review brings up Beltran is
that the system that is used in Houston by Luhnow and Mejdal includes the human
factors of scouting and team chemistry, something that is lacking, indeed even
chided, in “Moneyball.” Luhnow felt
something else was needed for his team in 2017 despite the success they were
having using the advanced data available to everyone. That something was team chemistry and signing
the 40 year old Beltran (who had a spectacular three months and postseason for
the club in 2004) was just the person who could provide it. There are other great stories about the 2017
season such as the rush to beat the trading deadline in order to obtain pitcher
Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers. Mejdal informed Luhnow that another
quality starting pitcher was needed in order for the Astros to make that final
push and Luhnow went out and got his man.
These two examples are just a small
sample of how the book combines excellent storytelling with hard statistical
data in a manner that is not only fun to read, it is explained in a manner that
even non-baseball fans can enjoy this book. There is even some humor sprinkled in
for good measure. The best was a tweet by Verlander’s then-fiancée, model Kate
Upton. Due to language, I won’t quote it here, but just note that it was one of several
injections of text that makes for a good laugh.
The balance of good storytelling
with hardcore baseball writing makes this book one to add to the book shelf of
any baseball fan, no matter what level.
It is fun to read and will provide the reader with the inside story of
why the Houston Astros were the 2017 champions of baseball and should remain a
top contender for several years.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
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