The biggest player on the field makes the slow walk from the on-deck circle to the batter's box. The left fielder shouts out something, and the pitcher turns around. Four fingers. The left fielder, who also happens to be the coach of the team, is holding out four fingers. Half of the players on the fielding team have their mouths agape, and the other half nod approvingly. There's a man on second base and one out, after all. The inning ends with three runs scoring, including the batter who was intentionally walked.

The left fielder/coach strides into the dugout, content he did the right thing. Then it starts.

“Why did you want me to walk him?”

“I was playing the percentages. He was their best hitter, by far, we had first base open, and one out.”

“But...,” the reply starts.

“It's what The Book says.” Well, that ends that debate, and just about every debate on this topic, ever. Once you call out the words The Book, that's it. It's gospel.

I was only the second baseman, and 19 years old at the time. What did I know? Apparently, the preachers of The Book were taught in the same manner that teenagers learn all about sexual education. The Book, whether baseball or sex, is handed down generation to generation through the wisdom and experience of those more learned. It doesn't matter if any of these preachers knew anything about the topic. As long as they can claim one success somewhere, that was enough. The Book, the unwritten rules created by generation after generation of baseball followers, was gospel. The preachers did not have to quantify and qualify their reasonings, unlike every other multi-million-dollar corporation in the world.

What you are about to read is an attempt to quantify or qualify the ideal strategies in baseball. Each chapter will tackle a particular topic, and ask several very specific questions. We will use empirical data from recent MLB seasons to answer them. While we will not always have all the answers, we will at least have enough answers to make the followers better equipped to answer their own specific questions.

The unwritten Book is about to be written.