The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics
Long before Moneyball became a sensation or Nate Silver turned the knowledge he’d honed on baseball into electoral gold, John Thorn and Pete Palmer were using statistics to shake the foundations of the game. First published in 1984, The Hidden Game of Baseball ushered in the sabermetric revolution by demonstrating that we were thinking about baseball stats—and thus the game itself—all wrong. Instead of praising sluggers for gaudy RBI totals or pitchers for wins, Thorn and Palmer argued in favor of more subtle measurements that correlated much more closely to the ultimate goal: winning baseball games.
            The new gospel promulgated by Thorn and Palmer opened the door for a flood of new questions, such as how a ballpark’s layout helps or hinders offense or whether a strikeout really is worse than another kind of out. Taking questions like these seriously—and backing up the answers with data—launched a new era, showing fans, journalists, scouts, executives, and even players themselves a new, better way to look at the game.
            This brand-new edition retains the body of the original, with its rich, accessible analysis rooted in a deep love of baseball, while adding a new introduction by the authors tracing the book’s influence over the years. A foreword by ESPN’s lead baseball analyst, Keith Law, details The Hidden Game’s central role in the transformation of baseball coverage and team management and shows how teams continue to reap the benefits of Thorn and Palmer’s insights today. Thirty years after its original publication, The Hidden Game is still bringing the high heat—a true classic of baseball literature.
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The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics
Long before Moneyball became a sensation or Nate Silver turned the knowledge he’d honed on baseball into electoral gold, John Thorn and Pete Palmer were using statistics to shake the foundations of the game. First published in 1984, The Hidden Game of Baseball ushered in the sabermetric revolution by demonstrating that we were thinking about baseball stats—and thus the game itself—all wrong. Instead of praising sluggers for gaudy RBI totals or pitchers for wins, Thorn and Palmer argued in favor of more subtle measurements that correlated much more closely to the ultimate goal: winning baseball games.
            The new gospel promulgated by Thorn and Palmer opened the door for a flood of new questions, such as how a ballpark’s layout helps or hinders offense or whether a strikeout really is worse than another kind of out. Taking questions like these seriously—and backing up the answers with data—launched a new era, showing fans, journalists, scouts, executives, and even players themselves a new, better way to look at the game.
            This brand-new edition retains the body of the original, with its rich, accessible analysis rooted in a deep love of baseball, while adding a new introduction by the authors tracing the book’s influence over the years. A foreword by ESPN’s lead baseball analyst, Keith Law, details The Hidden Game’s central role in the transformation of baseball coverage and team management and shows how teams continue to reap the benefits of Thorn and Palmer’s insights today. Thirty years after its original publication, The Hidden Game is still bringing the high heat—a true classic of baseball literature.
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The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics

The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics

The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics

The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics

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Overview

Long before Moneyball became a sensation or Nate Silver turned the knowledge he’d honed on baseball into electoral gold, John Thorn and Pete Palmer were using statistics to shake the foundations of the game. First published in 1984, The Hidden Game of Baseball ushered in the sabermetric revolution by demonstrating that we were thinking about baseball stats—and thus the game itself—all wrong. Instead of praising sluggers for gaudy RBI totals or pitchers for wins, Thorn and Palmer argued in favor of more subtle measurements that correlated much more closely to the ultimate goal: winning baseball games.
            The new gospel promulgated by Thorn and Palmer opened the door for a flood of new questions, such as how a ballpark’s layout helps or hinders offense or whether a strikeout really is worse than another kind of out. Taking questions like these seriously—and backing up the answers with data—launched a new era, showing fans, journalists, scouts, executives, and even players themselves a new, better way to look at the game.
            This brand-new edition retains the body of the original, with its rich, accessible analysis rooted in a deep love of baseball, while adding a new introduction by the authors tracing the book’s influence over the years. A foreword by ESPN’s lead baseball analyst, Keith Law, details The Hidden Game’s central role in the transformation of baseball coverage and team management and shows how teams continue to reap the benefits of Thorn and Palmer’s insights today. Thirty years after its original publication, The Hidden Game is still bringing the high heat—a true classic of baseball literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780226242484
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 03/20/2015
Edition description: Enlarged
Pages: 440
Sales rank: 249,388
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

About The Author
John Thorn has been the official historian for Major League Baseball since 2011.


Pete Palmer is a statistician, baseball analyst, and former consultant to Sports Information Center.


John Thorn has been the official historian for Major League Baseball since 2011.


Pete Palmer is a statistician, baseball analyst, and former consultant to Sports Information Center.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface           
Acknowledgements

1. The Music of Sphere and Ash
2. What’s Wrong with Traditional Baseball Statistics
3. The New Statistics
4. The Linear Weights System
5. There’s No Place Like Home
6. The Theory of Relativity and Other Absolute Truths
7. The Good Old Days Are Now
8. The Book . . . and the Computer
9. Rising to the Occasion
10. 44 Percent of Baseball
11. Measuring the Unmeasurable
12. What Makes Teams Win
13. Great Single-Season Performances
14. The Ultimate Baseball Statistic
15. Rumblings in the Pantheon

Key to Symbols Used in the Tables

Tables: 1. Lifetime Leaders
2. Single-Season Leaders
3. Season-by-Season Records, 1876–1984
4. Complete Player Data, 1984

Appendix: Top 500 Players of All Time (through 2013)
Bibliography

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