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Baseball Prospectus 2004: Statistics, Analysis and Insight for the Information Age | 
 enlarge | Author: The Baseball Prospectus Team Of Experts
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $0.83
You Save: $17.12 (95%)
New (11) Used (25) from $0.83
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 408073
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0761134026
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570973
EAN: 9780761134022
ASIN: 0761134026
Publication Date: February 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ** Possible marking on cover. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases.
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Product Description
The best! The Oakland As' heralded General Manager, Billy Beane, calls Baseball Prospectus the standard by which all scouting guides should be measured. Jayson Stark at ESPN says, "I never cease to be blown away by the geniuses at Baseball Prospectus." "When I have a question about a player, no matter how obscure, I pull out Baseball Prospectus," writes Rob Neyer at ESPN.com. And John Hunt, who covers fantasy baseball for USA Today, calls it "the best book for preparing for a rotisserie draft."
Packed with statistics, analysis, and attitude for the information age, Baseball Prospectus is the essential guide for the 3.4 million serious fantasy baseball players, and the perfect game-side companion for millions more seamheads who want to understand the inside game--why, for example, Derek Jeter's recent contract makes A-Rod's look like a bargain, why the hiring of Dusty Baker should end the Cubs' long nightmare, and why, if he remains healthy, Pedro Martinez has a legitimate shot at being remembered as the best pitcher ever. Baseball Prospectus gives in-depth actual data and performance analysis of 1600 players, more than any other guide, covering the majors and minors, the top 40 prospects, draft choices, and rookie ball. It features essays on every team and gimlet-eyed evaluations of at least 50 players per organization. It's the final word--delivered in a wry and witty style--on what pitchers and hitters really did in 2003, and how they'll do in 2004 and beyond.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 The best at what they do January 2, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The team at Baseball Prospectus is absolutely the best at what they do. This book, hands down, gets the majority of my reading to prepare for the upcoming real and fantasy baseball seasons. I have purchased the last four years' worth of Baseball Prospectus books and am also a member at the online site. The info is great, the stats are great and the comments are accurate and at times, humorous.
If you are a sabermetric junkie - you simply cannot go without this book. And, quite frankly, you should become a member on their website - they have excellent articles and the content is updated regularly - one of my favorite baseball websites.
I could tell you that I won my fantasy league last year (which is true) and that I used this book to prepare for the draft and during the year (which is true), but in reality the reason I buy this book each year is because I have learned to trust and really enjoy the reading that I do on their website. Go to baseballprospectus.com and look around - then join and buy the books.
I am a major baseball stat junkie and a statistics professor to boot, so I absolutely eat this stuff up. This is one of three books that I would be uncomfortable preparing for a Fantasy Draft without. I'll let that speak for itself. Go buy it.
Still a winner March 17, 2004
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The 2004 edition of BASEBALL PROSPECTUS is still a winner, with more detailed analysis and perceptive player commentary than ever before--a resource for anyone who wants to go beyond the superficial and not very informed player analyses that get written in mainstream media. With all the numbers available, these guys understand which numbers are meaningful, and what they portend for future performance. Though not designed for fantasy baseball, it can be used in that context as well.As in 2003, PROSPECTUS carries both actual and translated player statistics, making it an incredibly useful all-in-one resource. For the unitiated, "translated" player statists are the actual numbers adjusted for park and league effects. Some parks are friendly to hitters, while others are friendly to pitchers, for example. The theory is that without taking context into account, it is impossible to measure the value of players relative to one another. This book solves that problem, and has figured out ways of translating numbers from the minor leagues, as well as the Japanese league and the Mexican league. Invaluable.
THIS IS THE BASEBALL BOOK March 9, 2004
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book is what any hardcore baseball fan wants. The stats, profiles, and even the extras are great. Could have arrived earlier but a great book like this makes you live with it. At 17.95, it is a bargain. So buy it if you are a hard core fan.
On the money March 8, 2004
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Anyone wanting to know why most baseball announcers have no idea what they are talking about should buy this book. Every fantasy leaguer should own a copy of this book They stick with the stats you will want to know and their analysis is spot-on. In the tradition of Bill James they take on the stats that no one else talks about. Need to know how to analyze stats from Mexico and Japan? Do you want to know if new stadiums really help? You should read their review of A-Rod before he was traded to the Yank's, excellent foresight. Maybe you just want an idea of what kind of year Milton Bradley, Bobby Crosby or any of 1200+ other MLB'ers and prospects might have. If any of this interests you then this is the book for you.
Excellent Statistical Guide March 6, 2004
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I bought the Baseball Prospectus 2004 thinking that it would be a beefed up version of a fantasy magazine. I was pleasantly surprised that it was much more. I can see why baseball GMs read it. It offers excellent statistical analysis of the past performances of players and gives educated PECOTA projections for the future. I would bet the first thought of first-time readers when they open this book is "Wow, this is cool. I can't believe they did all this." That was my impression.I must admit that I bought this book to help me in my fantasy league. I am not a baseball statistics purist or registered sabremetrician. I know many readers are though. For people like me, the Prospectus does not give projections for the standard 5x5 or roto categories, but gives OBP and OPS type stats. I understand that these have greater predictive value, but I would still like to know how many RBI the writers think Sammy Sosa is going to get. So I was wondering how to translate the insights from the Baseball Prospectus for my league. I also bought the Fantasy Baseball Strategy book which I see Amazon is offering with the Prospectus. This is a very good pairing. That book's valuation approach also uses iteration to compare players to replacement players, or the ones not expected to be drafted, in each scoring category. So the statistical approach is very much inline with the Prospectus'. What I think is interesting is that the author really emphasizes the strategic and competitive aspects of fantasy baseball over the valuation process (which is only one of 11 chapters), mainly because most people focus on that. There is a really good section using Michael Porter's Competitive Advantage (Cost Leadership vs. Differentiation) principles that illustrates why. The two books compliment each other well. The point is, if you buy these books to help you in your league, use the Prospectus to gain statistical insights (Cost Leadership) and use the other book to form a strategy (Differentiation) based on those insights so they give you a practical advantage. Whether you buy the Prospectus for fantasy or not, if you are a baseball fan, you really should get it. You will view baseball from a more objective perspective.
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