Preface to the Paperback Edition; Introduction; Ch01: Simple Models from Tabletop Baseball Games; Ch02: Exploring Baseball Data; Ch03: Introducing Probability; Ch04: Situational Effects; Ch05: Streakiness (Or, The Hot Hand); Ch06: Measuring Offensive Performance; Ch07: Average Runs per Play; Ch08: The Curvature of Baseball; Ch09: Making Sense of Baseball Strategy; Ch10: Measuring Clutch Play; Ch11: Prediction; Ch12: Did the Best Team Win?; Ch13: Post-Game Comments (A Brief Afterword); Appendix: Baseball Games; Glossary; Bibliography; Index
From the reviews: "...a most interesting and useful introduction to
the subject. It should make enjoyable reading for physicists who
are also baseball fans, and it ought to be required reading for
baseball managers, executives, and commentators."
PHYSICS TODAY
"...a smart and energetic collection of essays on baseball
statistics. Curve Ball doesn't play misty-eyed homage to baseball's
traditions and conventional wisdoms....This is great stuff....Curve
Ball makes clear how pleasurable [stats] can be, and arguably how
important, to view the great American game with real precision." --
The Wall Street Journal "Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Must own!" --
Baseballnotebook.com "In [Curve Ball] Albert & Bennett explain the
game in ways the conventional press - even titans such as Bill
James - cannot." -- Baseball America "[The book] illustrates how
statistical reasoning can be useful in teasing out the role of
chance from performance in baseball to better assess
ability....Curve Ball represents another advance in the genre of
baseball and statistics books." -- Journal of the American
Statistical Association "This is a very good, fun and highly
interesting book, applying some straightforward, and some more
difficult, statistical estimation and modeling concepts to
baseball. … I am a statistician, and mostly Bayesian at that, and
this definitely enhanced my interest and enjoyment of the book. …
Initially this book starts out as a sneaky introduction to
statistics and Bayesian concepts, however, it turns into a delight
for sports fans and statisticians alike. Highly recommended … ."
(Richard Gerlach, Gazette, Vol. 31 (5), 2004) "This book treats a
wide variety of topics, including: comparing measures of batting
ability; the impact of situation on performance; streaks; measuring
a player’s clutch performance; and did the best team win the World
Series. This book has the appealing quality that you can start
reading at almost any chapter and enjoy and understand the journey.
And for those of us who are not statisticians by training, we can
also learn some statistics." (Zentralblatt für Didaktik der
Mathematik, September, 2003) "Curve Ball … is a necessary addition
to any library. … Written for all followers of baseball, this book
caters to those who find joy in reading (and if you are like me,
memorizing) the statistics on the backs of baseball cards or who
played baseball simulation games … . For readers possessing no
knowledge of statistics, this book is a great way of learning how
to view and interpret data from a statistician’s standpoint.
Readers with statistics backgrounds will enjoy the book … ."
(Jonathan L. Templin, Chance, Vol. 15 (4), 2002)
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