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The Shift
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The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking by Russell A. Carleton - 4 stars
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Yes, it does! She is in the Baseball Book Club with me, so I'm sure she's aware of it. :-)
Joy D wrote: "Yes, it does! She is in the Baseball Book Club with me, so I'm sure she's aware of it. :-)"A baseball book club? I did not know such a thing existed.
Does Jason know about this review? I know he’s reading less these days but knowing our guy, this could be right up his alley.
So nice to see you (or your little guy’s face) around....
J.W. wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Yes, it does! She is in the Baseball Book Club with me, so I'm sure she's aware of it. :-)"A baseball book club? I did not know such a thing existed."
Yes, it's another Goodreads Group. Here's the link if you're interested:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Joy D wrote: "J.W. wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Yes, it does! She is in the Baseball Book Club with me, so I'm sure she's aware of it. :-)"A baseball book club? I did not know such a thing existed."
Yes, it's anothe..."
Thanks.
Non-fiction about sabermetrics, which the author defines as “a term that loosely refers to the study of baseball through the scientific method.” Carleton provides an analysis of the recent shifts in baseball strategy and tactics due to the application of in-depth analytics in recent times. The author poses stimulating questions and walks the reader through the mathematical analysis to arrive at a conclusion grounded in facts. Examples include (paraphrased):
- Should the batter try to bunt a runner to second with no outs?
- Should a batter try to beat the defensive shift? If so, how often?
- How important are stolen bases?
- How often should the coach send the runner from third?
- How much difference does the manager make?
- How important is momentum?
The author assumes the reader is reasonably knowledgeable about the game and its history. I’m not sure how much the casual fan would enjoy it, unless particularly drawn to baseball statistics. The math itself does not take up a lot of space and, I thought, was well-explained by the author. Carleton has a knack for taking a complicated topic and breaking it down into easily digested pieces. He also uses meaningful analogies to enhance the reader’s understanding. The narrative is sprinkled with humor and memories from his life, which was a nice break from the sections involving mental gymnastics.
Carleton is focused on numbers, but does not ignore human factors. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, and he includes many observations about human nature, particularly noting that humans often do not behave logically or rationally due to a variety of biases.
I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it to avid baseball fans, especially those that want to understand more about the latest metrics. I also think it would serve as a great tool for mathematics teachers that desire to demonstrate real world applications of probability and statistics to their students.
Link to my full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...