2009 Who's Who in Baseball


Annual Publication of Baseball Statistics


Love getting acquainted with each year's new version! I've been buying--and loving--these little volumes since the 1960s (I think I still have the 1964 book somewhere in my library). To get ready for the new baseball season, this jam-packed book of facts and figures is a great resource as you prepare to watch the games of the new year unfold. The concept is simple: list players with their batting and pitching statistics back to their first entry into professional baseball. The first entry is Bobby Abreu. 241 home runs, 1084 RBIs, .300 life time batting average. First played in the big leagues in 1997 (Houston). Last entry--Joel Zumaya (batters are first and pitchers second in the book). Lifetime record is 8-8 with a 2.76 ERA. One of ,my favorite juxtapositions. . . On pages 170-171, we have Frank Thomas, followed immediately by Jim Thome. Fascinating comparison. Thomas: 8199 at bats, 2468 hits, 495 doubles, 521 home runs, 1704 RBIs. Thome: 7344 at bats, 2048 hits, 397 doubles, 541 home runs, 1488 RBIs. And that's part of the fun of this book. Comparing players, trying to develop your ratings of who are the best and who remain the rest. . . . So, if you enjoy baseball statistics and want the basics of who has done what with their careers, this is a portable and useful volume. Highly recommended! Purchased this for my dad As the title suggests, I bought this for my dad. He, like any other Baseball aficionado, will love this book. I personally am not a big fan of Baseball, but I would pick up a copy for myself if I were. a must-have I've been buying this since I was about 12. Unfortunately, it gets harder to find every year. If you love baseball, then you love baseball statistics and records. Open this little volume up to any page, sit back...and suddenly it's an hour later. Just like when you were 12. What a treasure it is, same format, same red cover, same total lack of pretension or glitz. Perfect.