Book Review

What can I say other than "Great Book!"

Well I could say a few more words than that. The writers at The Hardball Times really outdid themselves with the interesting articles and indepth analysis in this fantastic publication. There are two books that I really look foward to when the season comes to and end the the World Series is a memory. Early in November I start getting an itch to lay my hands on the Hardball Times. Without a doubt it tops my list of favorite annual baseball publications and perhaps after reading this you'll run right out and get yourself a copy of it to enjoy and get you through the snowy winter months. I suppose though if you live in warmer climes it's just a dreary, warm, sunny winter without snow or cold or baseball. Where I live we laugh about global warming.

From the first pitch of the season to the final pitch of the World Series this book covers it all. There are great articles on the top issues from the 2007 season including Bonds' run at Hank Aaron's home run record, a detailed review of each playoff series, and new articles by Bill James, John Dewan and Will Leitch. Every article put into this book is top notch and represent very insightful in-depth analysis.

Of course there are the standard player statistics that stat nuts like you and me are all geeked up about in preparation for our next strat season, but there is much more to the statistical analysis in this book than you will find in your average annual baseball publication. This book gives you all the stats and the reading materials you need to get you through those long winters I mentioned earlier.

The book begins with perhaps my favorite article of all of them called Ten Things I Learned This Year. It was written by Dave Studenmund and it is about the many things that happened during the season and has had a tremendous impact on me when thinking about the season past. He talks about the Sox winning the series again for the second time in four years and how we don't have to feel bad for the Red Sox Nation any longer. He also talks about the difference between milestones and records, and how very few numbers are both records and milestones. Among other things he talks about the changing of the guard in the youth movement of MLB teams and how 2007 was also the year of the A-Rod. It is a very good article to lead off the book and the articles, essays and stats are so worth the read you won't be longing for baseball material to keep you busy during the off season.

Other stories include The Top Minor League Prospects, The Decline and Fall of the MLBPA, Mr. Clutch which was written by Bill Jame, and many others written by very talented and insightful writers. I cannot say enough for how well this book is put together. The statistical section of the book includes each teams stats, league leaderboards, and Win Statistics.

There is also a section entitled Playing Time Constellations by John Burnson which I find particularly interesting because I love visuals and there is nothing like seeing stats displayed in a graphical setting. This section breaks down playing time on each of the 30 Major League teams by showing players and the time each spent playing particular positions during the 2007 season. Truly remarkable.

The glossary is helpful for those who may not know the statistical abbreviations used in the book and the Who's Who section gives us a little information about the contributing writers to this great book.

All in all, I'd have a hard time pointing out a better baseball annual. There is nothing that even comes close the the depth and breadth of the analysis in this book. It's so much more than just a stat book. The 2008 Hardball Times Baseball Annual is a work of art.