WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HALL OF FAME

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stove League Commissioner?
Review: After reading "Politics of Glory" I would like to nominate Bill James for Hot Stove League Commissioner. The Hot Stove League is where baseball hungry fans spend their winter days arguing that "My favorite player is better than yours!" James approaches baseball arguments the way a Philadelphia lawyer evaluates lucrative contracts, by examining every point with microscopic clarity.

A book about the Hall of Fame, with its unending controversies over just who is truly deserving of entry and who is not, is ideal grist for the analytical mind of James. He covers many controversies, two of which surround Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale and Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto. Drysdale had been voted into the Hall by the time James wrote his book while Rizzuto was elected just as James was completing his final chapter. The evaluations of both players were so thorough that James concluded his analysis of Drysdale by covering the tall right-hander's performance in pennant stretch drives of the Dodgers as well as in the twelve games James deemed the most crucial of his career excluding World Series performances. Rizzuto's Hall of Fame worthiness was ultimately evaluated by a statistically microscopic comparison of the Yankee star with his counterpart New York contemporary at shortstop, Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In addition to comparing and contrasting players both in and out of the Hall, James also delves into the politics of Cooperstown. He decries the period of the fifties and sixties for what he deems less than deserving choices made by the Veterans Committee. James pinpoints the reason as the leadership influence of Frankie Frisch, the great infielder of the Cardinals and Giants, whose love affair with the game of his playing days continued even when he was managing teams years later. James notes that the "Fordham Flash" was less than a hit with his players for constantly proclaiming that "The players of my days were much better than the players now." Frisch's period on the Veterans Committee resulted in numerous former teammates being selected, including choices James statistically debunks as inadequate, including three former St. Louis Cardinals, pitcher Jess Haines, first baseman Jim Bottomly, and outfielder Chick Hafey.

Reading James improves a baseball fan's instincts for looking beyond the sheer numbers, such as park advantages, i.e.: Did a pitcher perform in a home park favorable to pitchers or hitters or did a hitter play half his games in a stadium with short or long fences? James comes up with some convincing arguments by searching in places where most fans have never treaded.

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stove League Commissioner?
Review: After reading "Politics of Glory" I would like to nominate Bill James for Hot Stove League Commissioner. The Hot Stove League is where baseball hungry fans spend their winter days arguing that "My favorite player is better than yours!" James approaches baseball arguments the way a Philadelphia lawyer evaluates lucrative contracts, by examining every point with microscopic clarity.

A book about the Hall of Fame, with its unending controversies over just who is truly deserving of entry and who is not, is ideal grist for the analytical mind of James. He covers many controversies, two of which surround Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale and Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto. Drysdale had been voted into the Hall by the time James wrote his book while Rizzuto was elected just as James was completing his final chapter. The evaluations of both players were so thorough that James concluded his analysis of Drysdale by covering the tall right-hander's performance in pennant stretch drives of the Dodgers as well as in the twelve games James deemed the most crucial of his career excluding World Series performances. Rizzuto's Hall of Fame worthiness was ultimately evaluated by a statistically microscopic comparison of the Yankee star with his counterpart New York contemporary at shortstop, Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In addition to comparing and contrasting players both in and out of the Hall, James also delves into the politics of Cooperstown. He decries the period of the fifties and sixties for what he deems less than deserving choices made by the Veterans Committee. James pinpoints the reason as the leadership influence of Frankie Frisch, the great infielder of the Cardinals and Giants, whose love affair with the game of his playing days continued even when he was managing teams years later. James notes that the "Fordham Flash" was less than a hit with his players for constantly proclaiming that "The players of my days were much better than the players now." Frisch's period on the Veterans Committee resulted in numerous former teammates being selected, including choices James statistically debunks as inadequate, including three former St. Louis Cardinals, pitcher Jess Haines, first baseman Jim Bottomly, and outfielder Chick Hafey.

Reading James improves a baseball fan's instincts for looking beyond the sheer numbers, such as park advantages, i.e.: Did a pitcher perform in a home park favorable to pitchers or hitters or did a hitter play half his games in a stadium with short or long fences? James comes up with some convincing arguments by searching in places where most fans have never treaded.

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stove League Commissioner?
Review: After reading "Politics of Glory" I would like to nominate Bill James for Hot Stove League Commissioner. The Hot Stove League is where baseball hungry fans spend their winter days arguing that "My favorite player is better than yours!" James approaches baseball arguments the way a Philadelphia lawyer evaluates lucrative contracts, by examining every point with microscopic clarity.

A book about the Hall of Fame, with its unending controversies over just who is truly deserving of entry and who is not, is ideal grist for the analytical mind of James. He covers many controversies, two of which surround Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale and Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto. Drysdale had been voted into the Hall by the time James wrote his book while Rizzuto was elected just as James was completing his final chapter. The evaluations of both players were so thorough that James concluded his analysis of Drysdale by covering the tall right-hander's performance in pennant stretch drives of the Dodgers as well as in the twelve games James deemed the most crucial of his career excluding World Series performances. Rizzuto's Hall of Fame worthiness was ultimately evaluated by a statistically microscopic comparison of the Yankee star with his counterpart New York contemporary at shortstop, Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In addition to comparing and contrasting players both in and out of the Hall, James also delves into the politics of Cooperstown. He decries the period of the fifties and sixties for what he deems less than deserving choices made by the Veterans Committee. James pinpoints the reason as the leadership influence of Frankie Frisch, the great infielder of the Cardinals and Giants, whose love affair with the game of his playing days continued even when he was managing teams years later. James notes that the "Fordham Flash" was less than a hit with his players for constantly proclaiming that "The players of my days were much better than the players now." Frisch's period on the Veterans Committee resulted in numerous former teammates being selected, including choices James statistically debunks as inadequate, including three former St. Louis Cardinals, pitcher Jess Haines, first baseman Jim Bottomly, and outfielder Chick Hafey.

Reading James improves a baseball fan's instincts for looking beyond the sheer numbers, such as park advantages, i.e.: Did a pitcher perform in a home park favorable to pitchers or hitters or did a hitter play half his games in a stadium with short or long fences? James comes up with some convincing arguments by searching in places where most fans have never treaded.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 2 or 3 sports books, i read over & over..
Review: An excellent use of statistics & common sense in discussing the HOF issue. I'd never really put much thought into it before, but, have since reading this book. Not surprisingly to James fans, this book uses alot of statistics to sort the wheat from the chaff when looking at HOF selections & candidates. However, James also uses some subjective tools, like MVP voting, All-Star games, gold gloves, quotes, Keltner List, etc. to emphasize what was thought of the players WHILE THEY WERE PLAYING, not quotes 40 years later by old cronies or by quoting inflated stats during the 20's/30's. Also, good use of humor to keep some of the dry statistical stuff more interesting. In addition, the historical info on the HOF is very interesting & stuff i've never read elsewhere.

To finish, i'd tell the reviewer who was upset w/ Jame's analysis of the Frisch/Terry selections to re-read the book. When 8 men w/ marginal at best (I use that term loosely for some)credentials are voted in & they're all in close proximity to almost 1/2 the committee than something's wrong. Hafey played in 1275 games. Haines was .525 pitcher. Youngs was mediocre & played 10 yrs. Linstrom had 7 yrs. as a regualar. Same w/ Kelly. Bancroft & Bottomley are marginal. All these guys rank in the bottom 10% of the HOF selections, along w/ the 40's guys, Ferrell, Hooper, etc.

Rating:
Summary: The True Story Of The Hall of Fame
Review: At first I expected this book to be an argument over the merits of certain players. Who should and who shouldn't be in the hall of fame. I couldn't have been more delighted to find out that while the book does contain those arguments it actually functions as a history of the hall of fame.

I have to agree with Bill James that their are a lot of players whose plaques don't belong in Cooperstown. James not only tells you why they don't belong but tells you of the good ole boy network that got them in there. His chapter on the Frankie Frisch saga at the hall is very enlightening while his argument over the merits (or lack thereof)of Phil Rizzuto is hard to debate.

If you are one of those who debates who should be in the hall of fame with your buddies than this book is for you. After reading it I have no doubt that Ron Santo is the best player not in the hall (with the exception of Pete Rose and Joe Jackson). This book will tell you why.

Rating:
Summary: What Sabermetrics is all about
Review: Back in the 70s, when Tony Kubek was considered a baseball savant, Bill James began popularizing a rigorous statistical analysis of baseball. In the 80s, when the pedantry of the Elias Baseball Analyst team threatened to remove the ideas from the study of the game, James kept chugging along with his yearlies, and the Historical Abstract (another must read). Later he produced this, probably his best work. For anyone who shakes his head at a player or manager dismissing another's opinion by saying "He never played the game;" for anyone who is not cowed by the received truth of an inside "authority" or eyewitness, for anyone who loves baseball and thinks we can do better by using the tools at our disposal, Bill James is a godsend. If you're a big baseball fan and you don't know who he is, get this for yourself. It will open up your appreciation of the game, its history, and the numbers and debates that keep its history alive.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent - one of the few books I read over and over ...
Review: Bill James has developed some neat tools to enable a more objective view in evaluating baseball's stars, yet he does not use them as undeniable proof for or against any one player. He presents a balanced view of the HOF's past and has a very neat suggestion of how the election should take place. Great book for the serious baseball fan!

Rating:
Summary: This is a classic for baseball fans
Review: Bill James is a legend in the world of sabermetrics (the use of non-traditional stats to model baseball). If you read Rob Neyer or the Baseball Prospectus, you will love this book.

Even for more casual fans, the book gives a great history of the Hall and how the methods for selecting honorees have changed throughout the years. The book focuses on the cases of Don Drysdale and Phil Rizzuto, who are definately borderline Hall of Famers.

There is great information on how voters often misuse statistics to aid the player they support. The book is extremely well-written and displays a great sense of humor at the appropriate times.. A must-have for die-hard baseball fans..

Rating:
Summary: The unbiased truth about how the Hall of Fame is run
Review: Bill James succeeds in telling it like it is in this history of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pretender Hall of Famers like Joe Tinker are revealed and good ideas are put forward on how to solve the problem of electing marginal players. Enough with the sympathy votes, leave the Hall for the best of the best!

Rating:
Summary: Great book, don't always agree with him, but a must-read.
Review: Despite what the one reviewer said, James backs up all his opinions in the book with facts. The so-called Frankie Frisch selections are extremely weak, and no one who reads the book objectively would say otherwise. But this is more than a book about who should or should not be in the Hall of Fame; it also gives a detailed history of the institution and how it operates, and he does a wonderful job of weaving in his analysis of the players both and and out of Cooperstown into the story.

I bought the first edition of the book, titled The Politics of Glory, and it's interesting to read some of it after six years have passed. For example, he never thought George Davis (a great player at the turn of the century who got overlooked) would make the Hall of Fame, but he has. I don't agree with him that Don Drysdale doesn't belong, but I can see his argument. I do wish the voters would listen to him about Ron Santo, though.