LEADER 05389nam 2200661 450 001 9910828090703321 005 20210625235350.0 010 $a0-691-00455-2 010 $a1-4008-5063-0 024 7 $a10.1515/9781400850631 035 $a(CKB)3710000000331549 035 $a(EBL)1538257 035 $a(SSID)ssj0001431762 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11893880 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0001431762 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)11387585 035 $a(PQKB)10485885 035 $a(OCoLC)903954136 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse49018 035 $a(DE-B1597)450899 035 $a(OCoLC)979881892 035 $a(DE-B1597)9781400850631 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL1538257 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr11003610 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL689083 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1538257 035 $a(EXLCZ)993710000000331549 100 $a20150124h19991999 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurun#---|u||u 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aBaseball's all-time best hitters $ehow statistics can level the playing field /$fMichael J. Schell 210 1$aPrinceton, New Jersey ;$aWest Sussex, England :$cPrinceton University Press,$d1999. 210 4$dİ1999 215 $a1 online resource (320 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 0 $a1-322-57801-X 311 0 $a0-691-12343-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tList of figures --$tList of tables --$tTechnical notes --$tPreface --$tIntroduction: In the Dugout --$tPART I. The Method --$t1. On Deck with the Qualifying Players --$t2. First Base - Adjusting for Late Career Declines --$t3. Second Base - Adjusting for Hitting Feasts and Famines --$t4. Third Base - Adjusting for League Batting Talent --$t5. Home Adjusting for Ballpark --$tPART II. The Findings --$t6. The Adjusted Top 100 Hitters --$t7. Top Hitters by Position --$t8. Best Single-Season Batting Averages --$t9. The Ballparks --$t10. On Base Percentage --$t11. On Base Percentage --$t12. Where Would the Current Stars Rank? --$tAFTERWORD: Post-Game Wrap-Up --$tAPPENDIX I. Abbreviations and Glossary --$tAPPENDIX II. Right- vs. Left-Handed Hitting --$tAPPENDIX III. League Batting Averages --$tAPPENDIX IV. Ballpark Effect Batting Averages --$tAPPENDIX V. League Base on Balls Averages --$tReferences --$tIndex --$tBackmatter 330 $aTony Gwynn is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. That's the conclusion of this engaging and provocative analysis of baseball's all-time best hitters. Michael Schell challenges the traditional list of all-time hitters, which places Ty Cobb first, Gwynn 16th, and includes just 8 players whose prime came after 1960. Schell argues that the raw batting averages used as the list's basis should be adjusted to take into account that hitters played in different eras, with different rules, and in different ballparks. He makes those adjustments and produces a new list of the best 100 hitters that will spark debate among baseball fans and statisticians everywhere. Schell combines the two qualifications essential for a book like this. He is a professional statistician--applying his skills to cancer research--and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball. He has wondered how to rank hitters since he was a boy growing up as a passionate Cincinnati Reds fan. Over the years, he has analyzed the most important factors, including the relative difficulty of hitting in different ballparks, the length of hitters' careers, the talent pool that players are drawn from, and changes in the game that raised or lowered major-league batting averages (the introduction of the designated hitter and changes in the height and location of the pitcher's mound, for example). Schell's study finally levels the playing field, giving new credit to hitters who played in adverse conditions and downgrading others who faced fewer obstacles. His final ranking of players differs dramatically from the traditional list. Gwynn, for example, bumps Cobb to 2nd place, Rod Carew rises from 28th to 3rd, Babe Ruth drops from 9th to 16th, and Willie Mays comes from off the list to rank 13th. Schell's list also gives relatively more credit to modern players, containing 39 whose best days were after 1960. Using a fun, conversational style, the book presents a feast of stories and statistics about players, ballparks, and teams--all arranged so that calculations can be skipped by general readers but consulted by statisticians eager to follow Schell's methods or introduce their students to such basic concepts as mean, histogram, standard deviation, p-value, and regression. Baseball's All-Time Best Hitters will shake up how baseball fans view the greatest heroes of America's national pastime. 606 $aBatting (Baseball)$zUnited States$vStatistics 606 $aBaseball players$xRating of$zUnited States 606 $aBaseball players$zUnited States$vStatistics 615 0$aBatting (Baseball) 615 0$aBaseball players$xRating of 615 0$aBaseball players 676 $a796.357/0973 700 $aSchell$b Michael J.$f1957-$01641236 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910828090703321 996 $aBaseball's all-time best hitters$93985247 997 $aUNINA