The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract

Book Summary

Reading a non-fiction book that's nearly 1000 pages long and heavier than a brick should feel like reading an encyclopedia, but in this case it doesn't feel like that at all. It's a fantastic reference book and an absolute must-read for anyone who is a fan of the history of baseball.

James takes a look at every decade of baseball starting from 1870 and going up until the 1990's. He talks about the interesting players of the decade, the way the game was played, who it was played by, where it was played, and even what the players were wearing when they played the game. There are interesting stories and even a little humor thrown in. James also takes a look at minor league players. It's not a comprehensive look at minor league baseball, but when there was a great minor league player, James is sure to talk about him.

The second half of the book is a list of the top 100 players to ever play the game at the major league level. Those pages alone could be debated forever. Is Barry Larkin really the 6th best shortstop in the history of the game? Is Ozzie Smith 7th? Where do the modern day players fit in?

It's a great book that makes you want to look deeper into the history of the game.