The Bill James Handbook: 2005

Rating:
Summary: Can't Wait for next year's edition!!!!
Review: As a fantasy sports aficionado, I have found this book to be a MUST HAVE for anyone considering entering a competitive league. The insightful analysis of players' chances of breaking career marks (by Ryan Galla) is thought provoking, and takes into account many factors that I would probably have never thought of otherwise. Galla is clearly the heart and soul of the company that put together this wonderful book, and has a very bright future in the field of baseball analysis. A must have for any baseball fan. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: INSIDE BASEBALL AT ITS BEST
Review: Bill James started out as a wacky guy who saw baseball differently from the so-called "experts." Today, those experts refer to his theories and expound beyond them. He demonstrates that it is much better to think baseball through than to chew tobacco and say things like, "Don't think, you can only hurt the ball club," which is what Rod Dedeaux used to say when I was at USC. Baseball is best approached the same way marketing, science or politics is approached - using numbers and stats, mixing experience with experiment.

STEVEN TRAVERS
Author of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman"
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Love It
Review: I keep this one on the table whenever watching a ballgame on TV or fooling with a fantasy club. Every active player's career stats, with useful stats created by Bill James, like runs created, stats on manager moves, and ballparks. Useful and well-organized.

Rating:
Summary: If you liked 2004, you'll like '05
Review: The new edition has some added features like projected career totals and injury projections, but the meat of it is similar to what appeared in 2004. For stats junkies who just want the numbers, it's a great book. For those who prefer Prospectus and their comments (for better or, often, worse), this may be a disappointment because of its lack of commentary on players.

There is some discussion of items like the career projections and injury projections, but no essays that make his Abstracts or other books like Win Shares so popular. I'd definitely consider this a must for 2005 - a concise, easy to use guide to the essential stats that can be kept on your coffee table all season - but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who doesn't share an obsession with stats.

Rating:
Summary: The definitive baseball statistics book
Review: This book is a 'must have' for any baseball fanatic or fantasy baseball coach. It includes up-to-date individual statistics for every single MLB player, and insightful articles explaining the statistics.

I especially enjoyed Ryan Galla's contribution to the book explaining Career Assessments - his article sheds a lot of light on the overall perfomances of one player vs. another over their careers.

A glossary in the back defines many of the more obscure statistics used in baseball, including the actual formulas used to compute them.

I keep my copy handy for every baseball game I watch.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This came as a total letdown, since I was expecting it to be like Bill James' Handbooks of the past.

Instead, it's basically a listing of active players with statistics, almost zero commentary, and offers little over what you can get over the internet.

Stick with Baseball Prospectus: stats are just as good, but the commentary is plentiful, enlightening, and often very funny.