State of Play; The Old School Guide to New School Baseball

New York: Diversion Books, 2020. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xxix, [1], 209, [1] pages. Illustrations. Tabular data. Foreword by Ken Rosenthal. About the Author. Index. Signed by the author on the half-title page. The chapter titles are: Cal Ripken Sr.; The Ripken Way; Pitch Framing; Launch Angle; Spin Rate; Pitching Winds; Tunneling; Batting Average Versus On-Base Percentage; Wins Above Replacement; Defensive Runs Saved; Overshifts and Defensive Positioning; Errors; Automated Strike Zone and Ball-Strike Umpires; Runs Batted In; On-Base Plus Slugging; The Designated Hitter; The Game Being Played; The Control Group; Positional Versatility, Bench Players, and Platooning; Unwritten Rules; Run Differential; Lineup Construction; Weather and Baseball; Phases of the Game; The Future. William Oliver Ripken (born December 16, 1964), nicknamed Billy the Kid, is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987–1998 for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Detroit Tigers. He currently serves as a radio host for XM Satellite Radio and an Emmy-winning analyst for MLB Network. Ripken was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1982 MLB draft. He reached the MLB in 1987, creating the first situation in baseball history that a father had managed two sons on the same team, as his brother played for the Orioles and his father, Cal Ripken Sr. managed the team. Ripken led the Orioles in batting average with a .291 mark in 1990. He served as their starting second baseman most of his first stint with the team. He played his final game in 1998 for the Detroit Tigers. Advanced statistics and new terminology have taken hold of baseball today, but do they accurately reflect the reality of the game? A baseball lifer states his case. America’s favorite pastime is undergoing an operations-to-field transformation. In recent years, the sabermetrics and analytics craze has infiltrated Major League Baseball—from its front offices to dugouts to clubhouses to media covering both, inciting a baseball culture war. New phrases like “launch angle,” “spin rate,” and “pitch framing” have entered the vocabulary, often with little real meaning when it comes to how the game is actually played on the field. No more. In State of Play, twelve-year Major League veteran, Emmy Award–winning MLB Network analyst, and bestselling author Bill Ripken breaks down these modern statistical methods to explain which ones make sense in the game’s historical context, bringing them together with proven old-school strategies. He simplifies those sabermetric terms hastily added to the baseball lexicon without being fully realized, taking new-school confusion out of old-school baseball’s tried-and-true common sense. In the end, he unites the teachings of each school to show fans of both how to listen to and understand the game as it’s played today and how it should be played moving forward. From a true baseball lifer and member of baseball’s first family, State of Play offers a fascinating insider’s look at how to reconcile years of historical tradition with the rules and trends of the new millennium. As Ripken sees it: the game inside the game cannot be measured by a spreadsheet—but it can be measured by a qualified, crusty baseball man. Play ball. Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Baseball, RBI, Pitching, Fielding, Ripken Way, Batting, Overshifts, Strike Zone, On-Base, Slugging, Designated Hitter, Run Differential, Lineup, Line-up, Coaching, Earned Run, Sabermetrics, Umpires

ISBN: 9781635766592

[Book #86107]

Price: $125.00

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