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Tom M. Tango
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The Book: Playing The Percentages In Baseball Paperback – April 28, 2014

by Tom Tango (Author), Mitchel Lichtman (Author), Andrew Dolphin (Author)
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Written by three esteemed baseball statisticians, The Book continues where the legendary Bill James’s Baseball Abstracts and Palmer and Thorn’s The Hidden Game of Baseball left off more than twenty years ago. Continuing in the grand tradition of sabermetrics, the authors provide a revolutionary way to think about baseball with principles that can be applied at every level, from high school to the major leagues.Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman, and Andrew Dolphin cover topics such as batting and pitching matchups, platooning, the benefits and risks of intentional walks and sacrifices, the legitimacy of alleged “clutch” hitters, and many of baseball’s other theories on hitting, fielding, pitching, and even baserunning. They analyze when a strategy is a good idea and when it’s a bad idea, and how to more closely watch the “inside” game of baseball.Whenever you hear an announcer talk about the “unwritten rule” or say that so-and-so is going “by the book” in bringing in a situational substitute, The Book reviews the facts and determines what the real case is. If you want to know what the folks in baseball should be doing, find out in The Book.
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  1. Print length
    397 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    April 28, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.9 x 9.21 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1494260174
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1494260170
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 28, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 397 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1494260174
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1494260170
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.9 x 9.21 inches

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Tom M. Tango

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
262 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book very informative, interesting, and in-depth. They also describe it as a great, fun book for sabermetric fans. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding the explanations clear and easy to understand, while others say it's not well-written and has bizarre typographical errors.

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Information qualityReadabilityWriting qualityWriting style
22 customers mention "Information quality"20 positive2 negative

Customers find the book very informative, interesting, and in-depth. They say it provides a huge amount of insight into the game. Readers also mention the book has some interesting statistical conclusions.

"...It is chock full of information, results from research and answers a lot of interesting baseball questions...." Read more

"...The conclusions (and data upon which they are based) are truly amazing. I have never read a book on baseball in this league...." Read more

"...A fun, fun book with a huge amount of insight into the game. Now I am second guessing my home team manager's line up...." Read more

"First off the author is very smart and the book is very in depth. I wouldn’t call it a head to toe book on Sabermetrics...." Read more

21 customers mention "Readability"19 positive2 negative

Customers find the book great and fun. They say it's one of the best baseball books they've read, and it provides a huge amount of insight into the game. Readers also mention it does an excellent job walking through many basic concepts.

"...Lineup, steals, bunts, and streaks are all covered.A fun, fun book with a huge amount of insight into the game...." Read more

"This book does an excellent job walking through many of the basic sabermetric concepts in baseball...." Read more

"...Great read for those interested in learning about baseball and rumors and myths about certain situations." Read more

"Great book that gives insight to developing managerial strategies in baseball." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book very well-written, easy to understand, and in-depth. They also say the author is smart and the book is inspiring, page-turning, and a terrific literary antidote to old hoary Joey Morganisms.

"First off the author is very smart and the book is very in depth. I wouldn’t call it a head to toe book on Sabermetrics...." Read more

"...a bit dated and maybe skewed by the steroid era but it's still very well written and easy to understand...." Read more

"...He seemed very pleased with the book." Read more

"...Terrific. Inspiring. Pageturning. A terrific literary antidote to old hoary Joemorganisms." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style. Some mention the explanations are clear and easy to understand, while others say it's rambling and at times tedious. They also mention there are bizarre typographical errors and tables are difficult to read on the Kindle version.

"...There are some bizarre typographic errors (numbers jammed tight together) in the text in the first chapter which should have never gotten past the..." Read more

"...The clear explanations are such that any person who can understand percentages will gain insight from the book...." Read more

"...There are grammatical errors, typos, missing spaces, etc. I am not sure if I got a preliminary version or what but it is just awful...." Read more

"...The material is broken down in such a way that it is very easy to follow the logic of the authors and examines each decision a manager would have to..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

King Yao
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of its kind - by far!
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2007
Verified Purchase
Other sabermetric books have been written in the last few years, The Book is the best one by far. It is chock full of information, results from research and answers a lot of interesting baseball questions. The three authors, Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman and Andrew Dolphin have academic backgrounds and work for major league teams as employees or consultants. They use statistical methods to extract and comprehend information from a massive database of baseball games.

For the layman, there may be too much math throughout the book. However, they do a fantastic job of summarizing each idea in plain English at the end of each section. For example, in chapter 2 on hot and cold streaks, after presenting data, explaining their process and interpreting results, they summarize the section with "Knowing that a hitter has been in or is in the midset of a hot or cold streak has little predictive value. Always assume that a player will hit at his projected norm (adjusted for the park, weather, and pitcher he is facing), regardless of how he has performed in the very recent past. A player's recent history may be used as a tiebreaker."

Managers, players, fans and the media often put too much emphasis on results from small samples sizes. The authors warn against making this mistake. "One of the pervasive themes of this book is the danger of inferring too much from too little by underestimating the influence of randomness". For example, they summarize a section on pitcher-batter matchups with: "Knowing a player will face a particular opponent, and given the choice between that player's 1,500 PA (plate appearances) over the past three years against the rest of the league or twenty-five PA against that particular opponent, look at the 1,500 PA. "

They aren't afraid to point out when general baseball wisdom is correct. On starting pitchers, they write, "pitchers perform best with five days of rest, and worst with three days of rest. To manage our entire starting rotation effectively, four days of rest seems to be the optimal point. The current MLB pattern of scheduling the starting rotation works."

This book is at the top of my recommendation list for thinking baseball fans. I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first reviewer of this book on Amazon, since it has been out for three months. The sales ranking (currently #47,000 as I write this review) is disappointing for such an incredible book. The Book deserves to be at the top of the baseball best seller's list.
86 people found this helpful
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Elihu Feustel
5.0 out of 5 stars Best math book on baseball ever.
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2008
Verified Purchase
The authors of "The Book" reveal truths of baseball derived from careful statistical analysis. The clear explanations are such that any person who can understand percentages will gain insight from the book. The conclusions (and data upon which they are based) are truly amazing. I have never read a book on baseball in this league. Every angle of the game is analyzed objectively. While it is presented such that "non-math" people can understand it, there is enough meat to the analysis that substantiate the conclusions without scaring the average reader.

My purpose in studying baseball is from a sports betting perspective. The conclusions (such as run equity and win percentages given different situations) make this book a mandatory purchase for anyone who bets on Baseball live, or conducts a very thorough analysis of moneyline prices.

There has never been a book on baseball so well written that targets all ranges of sabr-metric fans. This will teach you the subtleties in baseball that add small percentages to winning games and scoring runs. If you are a fantasy baseball player, a lot of this content is invaluable to you as well.
25 people found this helpful
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Steven Peterson
4.0 out of 5 stars The book on the book in baseball
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
One of the common phrases that we hear in baseball is that a manager was playing by "the book." That is, the manager was doing what the unwritten rules of baseball suggest. One example at the outset illustrates: walking a batter intentionally with first base open. This book, in essence, rewrites the book.

The authors use a detailed data base (including each at bat over a period of years) and then do a statistical analysis of results. And, they argue, the unwritten book is often wrong. The first chapter lays out the logic of this book's orientation. Many readers might find the chapter dense and too quantitative for their taste. My advice? Close the book and put it away, because the book features much statistical analysis.

To illustrate the work's approach. . . . Here are some issues addressed: How real are batting streaks (Answer: You can't predict how a player will do during a hot streak; there is no inherent "momentum")? Chapter three looks at pitcher-batter confrontations. Do certain pitchers "own" batters? Do certain hitters "own" pitchers? Data analysis suggests that we overrate these ideas. We all talk about clutch hitters and clutch pitchers. Chapter 4 takes this notion on (read the book to find out what actually happens).

Chapter 5 examines how to construct a batting order; Chapter 6 examines lefty-versus righty confrontations between hitters and pitchers; Chapter 9 looks at the value and efficacy of the sacrifice bunt; and so on.

If the reader is a figure filbert and likes sabermetrics, this book will be a delight. If you are old school, not so much! But, for me, a lot of fun. . . .
21 people found this helpful
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D. Peters
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book on baseball and statistics
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2012
Verified Purchase
If you are a baseball junkie (check) and interested in data analysis (check) this is a GREAT book. The book walks you through the analysis of the game of baseball using various statistical methods and a recent dataset.

The writing style is a little odd (but I got used to it), but the charts are fantastic and easy to understand. The material is broken down in such a way that it is very easy to follow the logic of the authors and examines each decision a manager would have to make when managing a baseball game. Lineup, steals, bunts, and streaks are all covered.

A fun, fun book with a huge amount of insight into the game. Now I am second guessing my home team manager's line up. I could do it better, couldn't I????
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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JM
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
I keep coming back to reference parts of this book. It is still relevant after more than a decade.
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Reno
5.0 out of 5 stars Complet avec des exemples
Reviewed in France on September 27, 2012
Verified Purchase
Clairement LE LIVRE pour commencer dans le monde du "Sabermetrics". Des exemples concrets, avec des tableaux, des formules, bref la meilleure entrée en matière pour celui qui souhaite apprendre et surtout comprendre les statistiques dans le baseball.

De plus, sur le site internet de l'auteur, il y a régulièrement des annotations ou des mises à jour de certaines parties du livre. Bref, l'auteur est très réactif pour toutes questions ou même suggestions.
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Vasos Lagoudis
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
Good
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CMS
4.0 out of 5 stars Good insights, reads like a textbook though
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
The math is in there if you’re so inclined. If significantly less so, it could be a labourious slug to make it through.

I feel like like I need to read it again for it to sink in, but the writers were kind enough to put the conclusions in ever-so-tempting boxes should you want to skim the preceding material.
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Bosephus
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay
Reviewed in Canada on February 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
A bit dated now, but an interesting read
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