- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Scribner; illustrated edition edition (May 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0684806983
- ISBN-13: 978-0684806983
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 19.3 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 794 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#533,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #100 in Books > Sports > Baseball > Essays & Writings
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
James has built a career on finding the art and wisdom in baseball's numbers. Here he answers--in words as well as the numbers to back them up--everything you've ever wanted to know about dugout skippers, from the game's dinosaur days in the 1870s right up to today. Dividing his book into decade stretches, James examines the best managers of each time period, analyzing their contributions, detailing their styles, pointing out quirks, dissecting strengths and weaknesses, and comparing them with others. Along the way, he adds some fascinating essays--on the Dodger farm system, for example, the influence of Ned Hanlon, and the worst single managerial job of all time. Like all of James's work, it's filled with charts and statistics that open doors to both the managerial mind and baseball's inner workings. --Jeff Silverman, Sports editor
From Library Journal
The manager's job is to organize the work of all the team members, and anyone whose job is to manage will readily recognize the delights and frustrations of looking after "the boys of summer." Prolific baseball writer James has compiled a who's who of baseball managers from 1870 to the present day, organized by decade. Each section is essentially a snapshot featuring the most successful managers with profiles, statistics, and detailed explanations as to why each stands out from the rest. A delightful collection that will satisfy baseball fans of all ages.?Larry Little, Penticton P.L., British Columbia
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Left me wanting more...,
By CPUsports (Eastern Seaboard) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers: From 1870 to Today (Hardcover)
This was a good effort from Bill James, butit left me wanting more. There were a lot of key managers that could have been addressed in greater detail
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book about a neglected topic.,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers: From 1870 to Today (Hardcover)
There are a few other books that deal exclusively with baseball managers and I've read most of them. None deal with the subject as objectively or with as much detail and enthusiasm as Bill James' new offering. Besides the celebrated managers of baseball history such as Stengel, McGraw, Mack and others, there are great pieces on lesser known managers such as Bill McKechnie, Fred Haney, Spencer Abbot and Billy Southworth. James also details a few objective ways to discuss and evaluate a manager's accomplishments. The book maps out the trends of various managerial strategies such as the sacrifice bunt and the use of a bullpen. Anyone who loves baseball will find this book hard to put down. And it'll make you think. As James says "managers are fascinating people" and this book makes for many hours of fascinating reading. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
he's done it again,
By Brian Maitland - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers: From 1870 to Today (Hardcover)
Without a doubt, Bill James is THE man who can best shed light on those forgotten heroes of yesteryear and today along with focusing on what or who are the greats.
By tackling the subject of mgrs. he's added another feather in his cap regarding baseball history. The book is simply chock full of astute observations, great stats, and even better off-the-wall stories.
The way the book is laid out also does not overwhelm you because it covers the entire history of the game. James breaks it down by decade and gives you a good feel for the eras and the managers who made them.
I can hardly wait to see what James tackles next.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book about a topic that doesn't receive much attention,
By John J. Franco - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers: From 1870 to Today (Hardcover)
How exciting can a book about managers really be? I am a huge fan of the Bill James Historical Abstract and I like a lot of James' other work (What Happened to the Hall of Fame, etc). So I was willing to give this book a try. 4 stars is probably generous - 3.5 would be better - but James does as good a job as can be expected given the material he has to work with. I really am a huge baseball fan but I found this to be a bit dry at times.
The format is similar to the Historical Abstract - it has the "Decade in a box" feature which provides some common data about each decade. Interspersed with the decade boxes are articles about managers and other happenings from the decade. James profiles about 20-25 managers in much greater detail - examining their tendencies, their styles and the players who played for them. The manager profiles are definitely the best part of the book. James does attempt to come up with a rating system for managers, which is pretty good. He also attempts to come up with what he thinks would be a useful statistical record for managers. This book was written in the mid-90s, and the proposed stats are almost a mirror image of what Baseball Prospectus manager profiles each year. Give James a point there if they really are working from his template. If you want to learn more about baseball history from a different perspective, this is a great book to check out. I just wish that James had covered more managers in detail, since that was the best section of the book. Maybe someday we'll get an updated paperback version that includes Joe Torre and some of the more interesting old-time managers. |
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