âA delight for baseball loversâ (Kirkus Reviews) and âone of the most significant baseball books of the yearâ (Bob Costas) Ahead of the Curve uses stories from baseballâs present and past to examine why we sometimes choose ignorance over information, and how tradition can trump logic.
Forget batting average. Kill the âWin.â Say goodbye to starting pitchers. And please, please stop bunting. MLB Network anchor and commentator Brian Kenny provides âan excellent, entertaining read for the all-around baseball fanâ (Library Journal) and shows how baseball has been revolutionizedânot destroyedâby analytical thinking.
Most people who resist logical thought in baseball preach âtraditionâ and ârespecting the game.â But many of baseballâs traditions go back to the nineteenth century, when the pitcherâs job was to provide the batter with a ball he could hit and fielders played without gloves. Instead of fearing change, Brian Kenny wants fans to think critically, reject outmoded groupthink, and embrace the changes that have come with the sabermetric era. In his entertaining and enlightening book, Kenny discusses why the pitching win-loss record, the Triple Crown, fielding errors, and so-called battling titles should be ignored. He also points out how fossilized sportswriters have been electing the wrong MVPâs and ignoring legitimate candidates for the Hall of Fame; why managers are hired based on their looks; and how the most important position in baseball may just be âDirector of Decision Sciences.â
âPrepare to have your brain and your assumptions challenged. Guided by data and a deep love of the game, Brian Kenny takes a cutting-edge look at where baseball is and where it is goingâ (Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated). Illustrated with unique anecdotes from those who have reshaped the game, Ahead of the Curve is âa great story about the game in the age of information and technologyâ (Billy Beane).