It’s the 2013 Hardball Times Baseball Annual

The Hardball Times Baseball Annual for 2013 is now yours for the purchasing. This is something we do every year, just for the heck of it. In fact, this is our ninth THT Annual, and we’re trying a few new things this year.

First of all, we went the self-publishing route. We always had a great relationship with our previous publisher, ACTA Sports, but it’s so easy to self-publish, and the economics are better (we think). So you’ll notice that our cover art has changed, and we won’t be available in bookstores. The price is lower, and the dimensions are a bit smaller, too. We’ll let you know how it goes.

The Annual is now 6″x9″—easy to carry and read. We dropped the stats altogether after significantly cutting them back last year. As time went on, the stats became a less important feature of the Annual, because it’s so easy to pick up your stats online at any time. Other than that, the format is exactly the same.

You’re left with 300 pages of baseball eloquence, primarily contributed by THT and Fangraphs writers, as well as a few special guest writers. Here is the specific table of contents:

Recapping the 2012 Season
Reviews of each division, plus Jeff Moore’s prospect capsules and Brad Johnson’s coverage of the postseason.

Baseball Commentary
The Year in Frivolity by Craig Calcaterra
What happened in Oakland by Dan Lependorf
And what happened in Boston by Evan Brunell
Some perspective on Bryce and Mike by Jeff Moore
Dave Studenmund’s WPA take on the Orioles’ bullpen
An ethical perspective on 2012 events, by Jack Marshall
A series of interviews about lineup order by David Laurila
Does the “Stanford Swing” exist? Eno Sarris investigates
GM in a box: Kenny Williams, by Chris Cwik

History
Horace Stoneham’s Legacy by Steve Treder
Deep analysis of Satchel Paige’s career by Sean Smith
The most- and least-pitcher-friendly umps of all time by Chris Jaffe
Looking back at recent expansion drafts by Marc Hulet
Brandon Isleib categorizes the most surprising seasons

Economics & Analysis
Dave Cameron examines the impact of the new CBA
The pitfalls of a salary cap in baseball by Adam Dorhauer
Vince Gennaro’s case study of the Washington Nationals
Bargain hunting in the free agent market by Matt Swartz
How does having a runner on first change the game? by Dave Allen
The impact of Tommy John Surgery, by Jeff Zimmerman and Brian Cartwright

Plus, we’ve sprinkled special leaderboards and specific player “case studies” throughout the book, courtesy of Carson Cistulli and other Fangraphs writers.

As usual, we’ve tried to include something that will appeal to all people, and lots of things that will appeal to most people. Hard-core sabermetricians will be happy with the articles by Sean, Matt, Dave, Chris, Jeff/Brian and maybe even myself. Historians will find plenty of new perspectives. If you’re interested in the business of baseball, we’ve put a lot of good content in there for you. And if you’re just a fan of baseball in general, I think you’ll find plenty to make the Annual worth your time and money.

Right now, the Annual is available for $15.99 on our special sales site, hosted by CreateSpace (our self-publisher). By Monday, Nov. 26, we’re told that it will be available on Amazon.com. Soon after, if not sooner, it will be available for less than ten dollars as an e-book on Kindle, Nook and iBooks. At least, that’s the plan.

As these developments unfold, I’ll announce them here and on twitter (@dastudes).

I have to admit that I had actually given up on the idea of creating another Annual because typesetting is so much work, but Paul Swydan took over the typesetting chores this year, and he’s done a superb job. I think this Annual stands up well against our previous efforts—as well as any other baseball annual—and I hope you agree.


Dave Studeman was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Follow his sporadic tweets @dastudes.
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J. Cross
11 years ago

Can’t wait!  Last year’s was awesome.

bobby
11 years ago

when can we expect the e-version and how much?  great book

Max
11 years ago

Dave, I think one can set whether it can be purchased to international Amazon sites too.
So I’m basically suggesting to make it available at Amazon.it—I can guarantee at least one buyer there.

studes
11 years ago

I’m not sure when the e-book will be ready.  Hopefully next week.  It will be $9.99.

Hey Max!  The book will be available on amazon.it.  Look for it in a week or so.

studes
11 years ago

Wow.  It’s already posted at Amazon, including Amazon Europe (I assume).  Here’s the US link:

http://www.amazon.com/Hardball-Times-Annual-2013-Studenmund/dp/1480273813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353102321&sr=8-1&keywords=hardball+times+annual+2013

John Walsh
11 years ago

Make that 2 guaranteed sales from amazon.it!

studes
11 years ago

Hey, my two favorite Italians.  One with an asterisk.

Max
11 years ago

Last but not least it’s available on Amazon.it.
Ordered it right away.

Max
11 years ago

It’s already available on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de but not on Amazon.it yet. Rats.

John, go search for it on Amazon.it. Who knows, maybe they have some algorithm that gives them how many times an item has been searched for and they will add it.

studes
11 years ago

The Annual is now up on the Kindle too.  The Nook is next.

studes
11 years ago

Thanks, dcs.  I hear you about the saber analysis, though I think that the work by Sean Smith, Chris Jaffe, Jeff Zimmerman, Brian Cartwright, Matt Swartz and Dave Allen (I particularly like Dave’s piece) can stand up to the best of our previous Annuals.

By the way, the Annual should be available on Nook in the next day or two.

dcs
11 years ago

Got the book yesterday. Everything is high quality. For me, though, some more saber/stat analysis articles would have been preferred. Strongly….

cktai
11 years ago

Interestingly the kindle version is more expensive over here in the Netherlands. I can find them for E8.10 at amazon.de and amazon.it, but they won’t “ship” to my country. Instead I get redirected to amazon.com where they charge $13.79 (~E10,70) instead of $9.99 due to international sales taxes.

Barnes and Noble simply won’t sell to credit card holders outside the States.

Is there another way I can purchase an ePub version? I don’t actually mind paying 10,70 for the book, but I do mind that the extra 2,60 goes to amazon instead of you lot.

studes
11 years ago

cktai, we plan to have it available in iBook in about a week.  I don’t know how iBook works in the Netherlands, but we can check it out when it’s available.

studes
11 years ago

Here’s a special announcement for you: we’ve got a 15% discount off the printed version today (Cyber Monday, November 26) only.  Use the code EPNHGWRD when you order it at https://www.createspace.com/4053062

Theo
11 years ago

Got the kindle version last night for $9.99 in Canada. Can’t wait for work to finish so I can get started!

Aron
11 years ago

When will the iBook format be available?  I do not see it as of this morning.  Thank you.

studes
11 years ago

Hard to say.  We’ve submitted it to Apple, but their review process takes a little time.  Should be soon.