****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This could be a very long review because this very important book contains much to comment on. I will, however, let you read this book to fully grasp what it says. You will have a complete review of baseball statistical analysis from the creation of the box score, through the Dodgers early efforts in the 1950's, to early regression analysis and then the full blown Sabermetrics efforts of today. This book also does a great service in pointing out the errors Michael Lewis added to "Money Ball" the book and errors in the movie, that have bothered me since I first saw the movie. In fact, Lewis violated Bob Uecker's first rule of resumes, "Don't lie about your batting average, they'll look that up." by "altering fact."Zimbalist and Baumer provide a guide for the reader who want to know what analytics is and what it does, and they go further by stating the limits as well. You will find, contrary to stats geeks, that scouting is in the ascendancy, as it should be.What I found most enlightening is explanation of the distinction between statistical analysis and data analysis. This is because I think there is too much data out there and data science, through big data management, is the way to go and is the way the secrets locked in the data will be revealed. This is good news for Sabermetricians as their tools will be enhanced.Simply stated, if you are a baseball person at whatever level, from fan to GM, this is the book for you. I think its impact will be significant and the game will be better understood because of it.
