The Baseball Economist

the long version

Freakonomics meets Moneyball in this provocative expose of baseball's most fiercely debated controversies and some of its oldest, most dearly held mythsProviding far more than a mere collection of numbers, economics professor and popular blogger J.C. Bradbury, shines the light of his economic thinking on baseball, exposing the power of tradeoffs, competition, and incentives. Utilizing his own "sabernomic" approach, Bradbury dissects baseball topics such as:• Did steroids have nothing to do with the recent homerun records? Incredibly, Bradbury's research reveals steroids probably had little impact.• Which players are ridiculously overvalued? Bradbury lists all players by team with their revenue value to the team listed in dollars—including a dishonor role of those players with negative values—updated in paperback to include the 2007 season.• Does it help to lobby for balls and strikes?Statistics alone aren't enough anymore. This is a refreshing, lucid, and powerful read for fans, fantasy buffs, and players—as well as coaches at all levels—who want to know what is really happening on the field.