Smart Baseball

The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball

By: Keith Law

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.

For decades, statistics such as batting average, saves recorded, and pitching won-lost records have been used to measure individual players' and teams' potential and success. But in the past 15 years, a revolutionary new standard of measurement - sabermetrics - has been embraced by front offices in Major League Baseball and among fantasy baseball enthusiasts. But while sabermetrics is recognized as being smarter and more accurate, traditionalists, including journalists, fans, and managers, stubbornly believe that the old way - a combination of outdated numbers and gut instinct - is still the best way. Baseball, they argue, should be run by people, not by numbers.

In this informative and provocative book, the renowned ESPN analyst and senior baseball writer demolishes a century's worth of accepted wisdom, making the definitive case against the long-established view. Armed with concrete examples from different eras of baseball history, logic, a little math, and lively commentary, he shows how the allegiance to these numbers - dating back to the beginning of the professional game - is firmly rooted not in accuracy or success but in baseball's irrational adherence to tradition.

While Law gores sacred cows, from clutch performers to RBIs to the infamous save rule, he also demystifies sabermetrics, explaining what these "new" numbers really are and why they're vital. He also considers the game's future, examining how teams are using data, from PhDs to sophisticated statistical databases, to build future rosters - changes that will transform baseball and all of professional sports.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Meadow Party LLC (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Outstanding Overview

This is a great general summary/explanation of the current state of baseball analytics, with some history of baseball statistics for context. I've been interested in baseball stats for almost 40 years -- some of what Mr. Law writes about are things that have been obvious to discerning fans for a long time (e.g. that fielding percentage is a completely useless statistic and that the save rule has actually made managers stupider) but other things are not, particularly the revolution ushered in by the Statcast era, where pitch and every batted ball are observed in detail using optical systems and then catalogued for analysis. The writing is clear and logical and relatively easy to understand, though there are some references to tables of numbers, so you might want to consider getting the print edition (or maybe there is a pdf that comes with the audio book?). Anyhow, great job by Keith Law -- unless you are already an expert sabermetrician, you will learn something from this book!

for baseball fans, this is a must read

As someone who is a fan but still learning the nuances of advanced statistics and how to apply them in understanding the game better, this book has been priceless. With chapters broken into explaining specific stats and their accompanying mythology, I am sure I will go back to this book from time to time to get a refresher. Thanks Keith, a great book!

Must Read For Any Serious Baseball Fan

Keith Law does a great job of explaining many facets of the game of baseball in this book. I'll admit that I found it difficult to accept that many statistics that are common place in baseball may not have as much merit as I previously thought. Batting average for example is something I valued greatly in players and after reading this book, I can honestly say that that has changed. If you call yourself a serious fan of baseball, you need to read this book. This is where baseball is going, and knowing the information behind team's decisions is important for die hard fans of the game. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of America's Pasttime.

A must own baseball book

Well written, easy to understand, and thoroughly entertaining, this is a must read for anybody hoping to understand how a front office makes baseball decisions, and how to evaluate players using current statistics and terminology.

If you are a casual fan, you'll be at the cutting edge of baseball thinking by the end of this book.

If you are a baseball expert, you will enjoy the read, and learn a few tidbits you didn't already know.

Great intro for rookies, nice brush up for vets.

I've followed Keith's work for a long time, this book doesn't disappoint. It's got all the snark you're used to along with a bit of humor and a ton of knowledge. While there wasn't a lot of knew information for someone who follows baseball and sabermetrics it's still essential reading because it looks at how statistics have taken over the game and driven out the old, illogical ways of the past. You'll learn a bit about sabermetrics and a lot about the state of the game itself. Great read, thanks Keith!

Hoped For Better

In small doses, such as his commentary role on ESPN I've always liked Keith Law. That along with my love of baseball made this book an essential buy for me, and for the most part I don't regret the purchase, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I had hoped that this book would be as good as Brian Kenney's Ahead of the Curve, or perhaps more accurately I would like this book as much. The author gets a bit repetitive when criticizing the old stats, he also gets a bit too technical for too long at a time in more than one chapter. Overall this a book that is filled with excellent information, most of it presented well. I had just hoped for more.

A lot to ponder

Loved the book... a nice leap into stats for the baseball lover. A lot going on in this one, and I listened to it while driving, so Im already looking forward to hearing it all again.

Information for Baseball

This book cleared so many old ways of thinking about the value of an athlete. So glad to have made this reading my first in audible books. For the baseball fan it’s a must read/hear.

A good Sabre-metric glossary

First of all, I am not really a huge Keith Law fan but a friend whose opinion I respect seemed to like it. So I thought I would give it a shot. It was a good book and easy to listen to. Lots of cynical commentary as well as "asides" (He insists on putting "trade mark" after every utterance of "Proven Closer" which I agree with).

But the book is probably best used as a "glossary" of Sabre metrics. It gave a good explanation of the state of the game when it comes to advanced statistical analysis...at least as far as those of us outside of MLB front offices have access to. He gave a good explanation of what different stats measure and how they do it (formulas, etc.).

My main complaint was that this book wasn't so much polemical as it sounded like a book length rant. While I agree with him on most things I couldn't help but think some of his versions he was "disputing" were caricatures or "straw man" type arguments putting other's thoughts into their worst light and then try to come across as the "voice of reason." Again, I agree with him on just about everything--or maybe everything--but it just felt like his version of what those who disagreed with him were saying sounded silly in a way that felt fishy.

Good stuff

A great breakdown to fully understand how and why these stats work and changed every front office in baseball. Cardinals and Brewers suck!!