Wednesday, December 28, 2005
THT Annual Reviews
Posted by Dave StudemanReviews of The Hardball Times Annual 2006 continue. The latest is from Many Go; Few Understand, a little gem of a blog. Among his many comments (and good feedback) is this quote:
Like Bill James' Historical Abstracts, it contains so much excellent material that readers will find themselves returning to the book time and time again. It just isn't something you read and shelve, or use solely for research purposes. It is a vibrant collection of work that remains important and fresh after the initial read.Mets Geek ran a review, and we kind of like this quote:
The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006 could easily be sold as two independent publications — one a statistical tome encapsulating 2006 from a numerical point-of-view; the other a work of stunning literary baseball analysis unrivaled even by the respective annuals of Bill James or Baseball Prospectus.Here are a couple of quotes from the Nats Blog review:
The book is terrific, and well worth the purchase... As A.E. Housman said, some like to use statistics the way a drunk uses a lamppost -- for support, not illumination. The Hardball Times Annual 2006 is full of illumination.And Steve Lombardi wrote a nice review, including this comment:
I must confess, on my third night of thumbing through the book, that's what it felt like for me - like it was 1982 all over again and I was reading a "Baseball Abstract" for the first personal time.
Plus, there was a nice review by the Stick and Ball Guy. And these are some of the comments we've recieved via e-mail:
I got my copy of the Annual a couple days ago and I'm loving it. I was anticipating this for a while and so far it looks like it's even better than I was hoping for.
Just wanted to let you know that The Hardball Times Baseball Annual looks even better than advertised. Just when I thought a new baseball annual couldn’t be created, Voila !! you have gone and done it.
The original essays are terrific and on fresh subjects.
I'll definitely bring the Hardball Times with me when I curl up to the hot stove fireplace this winter.
You can buy your copy here.
Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.