Commentary : ‘Historical Baseball Abstract’--It’s Both Fun and Opinionated

The first thing people are going to look at should be the last.

After all, if you need the “Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract” (Villard Books, $24.95) to tell you Babe Ruth was the best baseball player ever, then chances are you need somebody else to drive your car.

James, who writes of serious stuff but should most often be taken in the same tongue-in-cheek vein in which he writes, presents his lists of the 100 greatest players ranked according to peak seasons and overall career.

Babe Ruth tops both lists, with Honus Wagner second.

Mickey Mantle sits third on James’ ‘Peak Value’ list, due to his superlative mid-1950s seasons. Then come Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Joe Morgan, Stan Musial and Ted Williams.

Grove is third in James’ ‘Career Value’ rankings with Musial fourth. Henry Aaron is fifth, followed by Ty Cobb, Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Williams.

He has 102 players on his ‘Peak Value’ list (Al Kaline, Dave Winfield and Bill Dickey tie for 100th) and an even 100 on his career listing.

James compiles his lists from a position-by-position ranking of this century’s players. Reading how he arrives at these involves more surprises than a high speed drive through a southern Montana “whiteout.”

Did you know James is convinced Yogi Berra was a better catcher in his day than Bill Dickey was in his?

His reasoning basically is that Berra produced better statistics “in the context of their time and place.” Berra’s superior MVP performance over the years was cited to show contemporary observers felt he was a better catcher in his seasons than Dickey was in his.

And Roy Campanella, had he been allowed to begin his major league career closer to age 20, would have been rated higher than anybody.

His essay on why Robert Moses (Lefty) Grove should rate higher than Koufax (or anybody else, left-handed or right-handed) is enough to persuade a camel to enter the Kentucky Derby.

Grove led the league in ERA nine times--pitching in hitters’ parks. The left-hander won 14 games by July 14 pitching in Fenway Park at the age of 38.

He won the league ERA title that year at 3.07 despite an arm injury that cut short his season. And came back the next year to win it again at 2.54. Grove’s career ERA at home was 3.09. His career ERA on the road was 3.07.

He rated Juan Marichal higher than Bob Gibson. From 1960-69 the San Francisco right-hander had a better record every year but one. Marichal was 37-18 lifetime against Los Angeles.

The best part of the book is the historical section, the first part. The part where you feel like a kid taking a guided tour of a gold mine--walking in with your pockets empty and coming out with them full.

James divides baseball history by decades and puts on a spotlight on various facets of the game, trying to show how it evolved and illuminating the nuts and bolts detail that often get overlooked.

--Walter (Jumbo) Brown, 6-foot-4, 295 pound pitcher for the Yankees and Giants, was the largest player of the 1930s.

--Platooning began in 1906, when Detroit catchers Boss Schmidt, John Warner and Freddie Payne were played according to who pitched against the Tigers. Platooning helped Boston win the 1914 World Series.

--Lefty Grove saved 55 games in his career but Washington’s Firpo Marberry (mid-1920s) was the first outstanding pitcher to be used primarily in relief. Hugh Casey of Brooklyn was the first flame-thrower type to have relief success.

You also get James’ nominations as the best unrecognized player of each decade, the best athlete, hardest thrower, the fastest and slowest players, a “Clint Hartung Award” as the most heavily promoted player who flops, and assorted other bests and worsts.

James does a good job with the war years, citing the tale of Ray Perry. He was a 5-foot-7 third baseman who got hurt right after the war and wound up putting up some astounding numbers in a Class D league in the 1950s, in his late 20s and 30s.

You also find out:

Moses Solomon was dubbed “The Rabbi of Swat” after John McGraw paid $4,500 for him following his 49 home run season for Hutchinson of the Southwestern League in 1923, a figure exceeded only by Ruth at any level up to that time.

So how come you haven’t heard of Solomon? Well, 3 for 8 might be a good reason. Solomon was not a good fielder, may have had trouble hitting curve balls and certainly was not up to beating out Bill Terry and Hack Wilson whom the Giants also had as rookies in 1924.

Orlando Cepeda had 191 home runs before his 26th birthday and was significantly ahead of Hank Aaron’s career home run pace (179 after age 25) but serious knee injuries ruined his chances.

Warren Spahn won 363 games--despite not winning a game in the majors until he was 25.

Bobby Thomson hit three home runs off Ralph Branca in 1951. Branca also served up five gopher balls to Monte Irvin that year. All told, New York touched Branca for 11 home runs in 1951 and beat him six times.

Through 1984, only Smokey Burgess had posted consecutive 20-pinch hit seasons. Burgess had 20 and 21 in 1965-66. Only five players had reached double figures the season after getting 20 or more pinch hits in a year.

Steve Gerkin was 0-12 for the 1945 A’s, had an ERA of 3.62 (league average was 3.36) for a team that average 3.29--and never got another big league shot.

And you get to know such names as Del Pratt (in 1913 drove in 87 of the St. Louis Browns’ 528 runs for 21 percent), Jimmy Shekard and why Harry Krause was the Mark Fidrych of 1909.

It should come as no surprise to readers of James’ annual Baseball Abstracts he regards Joe Morgan as the best second baseman for “Peak Value” ahead of Jackie Robinson and Rogers Hornsby and just behind Eddie Collins for “Career Value.”

Mike Schmidt, whom James places 13th on the “Career Value” top 100 list, beats out Eddie Mathews as the best third baseman.

Mantle was better than Willie Mays during the 1950s but not over their careers.

Ernie Banks’ image as a super-hit, so-so field shortstop is shot down by James. Banks had a range factor (assists plus putouts, divided by games played) near the top of the league at short and was only moved to first in 1962 because of knee problems. He won a Gold Glove in 1960.

l and his idea of evaluating players only within the context of their times is sound.

Take his opinions with a grain of salt. Two grains, even. But take some time with the book. It’s fun.