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Paths to Glory |
Paths to Glory
Winner of the 2004 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award !!
"Armour
and Levitt know their baseball history, which is clearly reflected in the
sure-handedness of their writing..." -- David Shiner, Elysian Fields Quarterly.
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Paths to Glory: How Great Baseball Teams Got That Way Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt Published by Brassey's, Inc. in April 2003 ISBN: 157488560X Buy or order it from your local bookstore, direct from Brassey's or purchase it on-line from either Amazon or Barnes&Noble. |
News: Paths to Glory is now in paperback. Order here.
Read an interview with the
authors! Part 1 and Part
2.
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Foreword by Rob Neyer |
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Synopsis of "Paths to Glory" An essential experience of being a baseball fan is the hopeful anticipation of seeing the hometown nine make a run at winning the World Series. All fans have opinions about what changes their favorite team ought to make in order to achieve glory. In the past generation, fresh analysis has improved our understanding of how to value players, how those players might age, how to construct a roster, and other such things. The authors have extended this analysis to the past, examining how some of history's more interesting teams were created. In over a hundred years, baseball has produced more than two hundred league champions, each with a story of how its management built a winner. Armour and Levitt look at some of their stories, and also examine a few teams that used strategies that did not work. What was consistent in the construction of the 1965 Twins, the 1917 White Sox, and the 1997 Marlins, for example, and what was different? How did the general managers of such teams identify problems and fix them? By studying the decisions of past champions and identifying those responsible for success, some of the most worthwhile strategies become apparent. Conversely, by examining the formation of teams that disappointed, the authors find common mistakes and decisions that did not work as intended. Armour and Levitt also explain how different teams were products of their times and how they succeeded, or failed, on the basis of what was possible in their day and age. With new statistics as well as a lively narrative, Armour and Levitt analyze the decisions and the merits of the executives, managers, and players who made up some of baseball's greatest teams. The authors also present new methodologies that can help forecast the remainder of a player's career (focusing on a mid-career Frank Robinson) and that can help predict which minor league hitters are most likely to develop. The book also devotes two full chapters to exploring the history of the relief pitcher, critically examining the way the role of the ace reliever has evolved in the past twenty-five years. Mainly, the book is a lot of fun. The authors are not afraid to meander off subject, often to explore the lives of some of the key players in their stories, such as Happy Felsch, Fred Marberry, Hoyt Wilhelm, Vern Stephens, and Tony Oliva. Baseball history is filled with great stories, and Armour and Levitt uncover a number of them in this book.
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