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It is nothing less than a revolution in baseball statistics. G. Scott Thomas has developed a series of mathematically precise, computer-generated formulas that adjust the statistics of every team. The results "level the field," creating a fair basis of comparison among generations of players-and the new picture that emerges is staggering. Here are just a few of the book's conclusions:
- Babe Ruth hit ninety-four home runs in a single season, shattering Bonds' record (Maris, McGwire, and Bonds don't even make the list).
- Pete Rose has still played more games than anyone in baseball history.
- Ricky Henderson never really broke Ty Cobb's record of runs scored.
- Cy Young holds the record for most wins (and most losses) of any pitcher.
- Lou Gehrig made the equivalent of $48,300,000 in 1931.
Leveling the Field adjusts the statistics in all the major categories in which fans make comparisons, including the best performances, the best players, the best teams and adjusted career stats for 254 hitters and 177 pitchers. Thomas even assembles his twenty-six-man "dream team" of the sport's greatest players since 1901, and takes them through a simulated 162-game season.
Easy to follow and use, this book is sure to become a must-have for every die-hard baseball fan, and will undoubtedly change the nature of baseball debate forever.
Anonymous
Posted July 26, 2004
This Book attempts to Normalize baseball statistics for all players since 1901 across time for the period 1996-2001. Unfortunately, the statistitical methodology is seriously flawed. What Thomas does is to seek out the performance in each season relative to other performers in that season, and then normalize it by straight multiplication by the 1996-2001 norms without holding outs firm. You can't do that because if you increase the humber of home runs and doubles and triples etc. there's still 27 outs per team, per game; you have to normalize the stats while holding the outs the same. For this reason, the Runs Created method of Bill James is superior, because it normalizes statistics across each era while holding outs frozen, plus it adequately accounts for the defensive contribution of each player's glove, which thomas seems totally to ignore.
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Overview
It is nothing less than a revolution in baseball statistics. G. Scott Thomas has developed a series of mathematically precise, computer-generated formulas that adjust the statistics of every team. The results "level the field," creating a fair basis of comparison among generations of ...