ERROR CHECK: 'The Baseball 100' by Joe Posnanski

[clydepepper]

I couldn't even get past the cover (well, the back cover) without finding an obvious error albeit by George Will who forwarded the book.



Quoting from the forward by George F. Will:

'Willie McCovey did something that neither Babe Ruth nor Lou Gehrig nor Barry Bonds did - hit .300, score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs, and walk 100 times in seven consecutive seasons.'


That feat was accomplished by Frank Thomas.



The book publishing business fails the game of Baseball once again.

If anyone would like to run their final drafts by me, I'll be glad to help.


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[commishbob]

George Will's gaffe notwithstanding, it's a terrific collection of Posnanski's essays. I enjoyed it a great deal as I did when they were published on The Athletic last year.

BTW...I agree, those types of mistakes should never get past the editors.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by commishbob

George Will's gaffe notwithstanding, it's a terrific collection of Posnanski's essays. I enjoyed it a great deal as I did when they were published on The Athletic last year.

BTW...I agree, those types of mistakes should never get past the editors.

Though I haven't started reading it yet, I did check out the rankings. What do you think?

I'd have Yastrzemski and Boggs lower and Seaver and Griffey, Jr. higher.


Kind of a curiosity that at least four of the players would have the same rank as their uniform number.


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[John1941]

Yikes. I didn't even notice that. I think it's a great book, second on my baseball book list only to the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. It's so well- written even my mom enjoys reading it (no kidding).

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Though I haven't started reading it yet, I did check out the rankings. What do you think?

I'd have Yastrzemski and Boggs lower and Seaver and Griffey, Jr. higher.


Kind of a curiosity that at least four of the players would have the same rank as their uniform number.


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Any '100 Best..." list of anything is fun to argue about. I had plenty of quibbles with where he ranked certain players. But he's such a great writer I just kind of got lost in the bios, skipped to a few of my favorite players first, and didn't think too much about where he had them.

Having said that I would agree with you on the four you mentioned. Me, I'd have had Ty Cobb higher than 8 but who do you bump down? I was prepared to skip the Bonds entry but Posnanski wrote it so cleverly addressing both sides of the usual Bonds debate, that I thought it was one of the highlights of the book.

Posnanski's Buck O'Neil book is not to be missed either.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I couldn't even get past the cover (well, the back cover) without finding an obvious error albeit by George Will who forwarded the book.



Quoting from the forward by George F. Will:

'Willie McCovey did something that neither Babe Ruth nor Lou Gehrig nor Barry Bonds did - hit .300, score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs, and walk 100 times in seven consecutive seasons.'


That feat was accomplished by Frank Thomas.



The book publishing business fails the game of Baseball once again.

If anyone would like to run their final drafts by me, I'll be glad to help.


=

Ummmmmmm.......that is't any kind of an error on George Will or Joe Posnanski's part if the quote is exactly as you printed it. All it says is McCovey did something that Ruth, Gehrig, and Bonds did not do, which is 100% true. As I'm reading it, nothing is stated that says no one else like Frank Thomas ever did it, just that those three didn't. Is there more to the quote that you didn't put in your post that would prove/show Will made an erroneous statement??? If not, you may need to rethink your original accusation.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by BobC

Ummmmmmm.......that is't any kind of an error on George Will or Joe Posnanski's part if the quote is exactly as you printed it. All it says is McCovey did something that Ruth, Gehrig, and Bonds did not do, which is 100% true. As I'm reading it, nothing is stated that says no one else like Frank Thomas ever did it, just that those three didn't. Is there more to the quote that you didn't put in your post that would prove/show Will made an erroneous statement??? If not, you may need to rethink your original accusation.

The quote says McCovey accomplished those stats, one look at his record and anyone can see he didn't, therefore it is a erroneous statement.

[cjedmonton]

I committed myself to reading this in order rather than just skipping to my favorite players. I’m only just past the halfway mark, but so far, each essay has been a delight (spoiler alert to the gent who revealed Cobb at #8 a few posts above! ha).

Each essay provides a deeper glimpse into the man himself rather than just the player. I almost consider them to be an abridged version of what you would find on SABR’s BioProject. I love that because with all due respect, regular rankings can be found anywhere on line or in print.

As for the rankings themselves, Joe mentions in the introduction that many players were matched with a number most identifiable to him rather than an ordinal all-time ranking. For example, If you haven’t read the book, you can imagine where he places DiMaggio. That doesn’t mean he actually ranks him that low, just that there is an instant connection between the player and the number.

Another example is my current chapter. Just barely made bis top 50, but it’s laughable to suggest he would actually be ranked that low in a conventional list.

At any rate, this is top notch baseball reading, and if you can look past the actual number assigned to a player, it is WELL worth your time.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Jim65

The quote says McCovey accomplished those stats, one look at his record and anyone can see he didn't, therefore it is a erroneous statement.

Okay, my bad, I thought he meant something else. That's what I get for staying up too late.

[roarfrom34]

I find factual errors in virtually every baseball book I read.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

I find factual errors in virtually every baseball book I read.

Reading baseball card price guides again?

[clydepepper]

I've now read ten chapters and am impressed by the writing. I'm jumping around with the order of my reading - just letting the book fall open at certain spots as it were.

I'm definitely not hung up on the 'rankings' as everyone has their own opinion for that and I've seen a lot of 'professional' writers take up that thankless task. The essay included here do not link #54 to either #55 or #53, but rather reflect a very individual appreciation for each player.


Thanks to my sister Susan for getting this gem for me at Christmas.


and BobC, she also sent a heating pad...so, we're all staying up too late.

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[BobC]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I've now read ten chapters and am impressed by the writing. I'm jumping around with the order of my reading - just letting the book fall open at certain spots as it were.

I'm definitely not hung up on the 'rankings' as everyone has their own opinion for that and I've seen a lot of 'professional' writers take up that thankless task. The essay included here do not link #54 to either #55 or #53, but rather reflect a very individual appreciation for each player.


Thanks to my sister Susan for getting this gem for me at Christmas.


and BobC, she also sent a heating pad...so, we're all staying up too late.

.

LOL

Hallelujah brother! Happy holidays and here's to finally catching up on some sleep.

[egri]

Originally Posted by commishbob

Posnanski's Buck O'Neil book is not to be missed either.

He also had a column about the Army-Navy game that ran about ten years ago that is worth a read.

[Seven]

I love Posnanski's writing, and actually followed the articles as they were being published during the pandemic, just out of curiosity, are they 1-1 copies of the articles he published during his tenure at The Athletic, or is more detail added?

I respect his baseball opinion, and I enjoyed the mix of stories and stats, that we received from his articles. I didn't personally agree with a few of his rankings, but there was nothing truly egregious in my book.

[clydepepper]

Can you spot the error?

Lefty Bob.jpg

[BobC]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Can you spot the error?

Attachment 494772

Is it that is a reversed image since Gibson threw right handed?

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by BobC

Is it that is a reversed image since Gibson threw right handed?

Nope, not a reversed image : Cap and Uniform are correct.

Bob certainly wasn't a lefty...perhaps he was pranking the photograph, but, just like the previously mentioned error, it should have been caught.

Again- I'm available for any writers in need.


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[clydepepper]

Well, I'm done to the final three...


several chapters back, I found another error:

Page 477: 'Under McGraw's watchful eye, Mathewson won 253 games with 77 shutouts....'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He won 345 wins with 71 shutouts under McGraw.

27 wins before McGraw and the single one with the Reds; 5 shutouts in 1901 and three in 1902 before McGraw took over.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000

STILL, I have really enjoyed 'The Baseball 100'.

Agree with more than I disagree with...learned a few things as well:


I've lived in Columbus, GA almost my entire life and attended the same high school as Frank Thomas...and yet, I never heard that he was cut from the team at any time.


I will have to do some research on my own to verify that. Since Frank was already the 'victim' of an error in the forward of this book, perhaps the author is thinking of Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team...I mean, they both played for the Birmingham Barons and both were 6'5" and black...so who knows.

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[sixpointone]

This book is currently on my Audible wish list.

Might someone be able to let me know if Johnny Bench is listed, and if yes as i hope, what number he is ranked?

Thanks as always!

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by sixpointone

This book is currently on my Audible wish list.

Might someone be able to let me know if Johnny Bench is listed, and if yes as i hope, what number he is ranked?

Thanks as always!

JB is #30. Among catchers, only Josh Gibson (#15) is ranked higher. Yogi at #43 is the only other catcher in the top 50.


EDITED to add...as noted above, Posnanski got a little 'cute' with some of his assigned ordering of players (Joe D at #56 is one example) so I don't put much stock on the specific ranks. It's a great read however you approach it.

[sixpointone]

Originally Posted by commishbob

JB is #30. Among catchers, only Josh Gibson (#15) is ranked higher. Yogi at #43 is the only other catcher in the top 50.


EDITED to add...as noted above, Posnanski got a little 'cute' with some of his assigned ordering of players (Joe D at #56 is one example) so I don't put much stock on the specific ranks. It's a great read however you approach it.

Thanks sincerely for that insight! I will now likely have to buy it.

Much appreciated, and stay safe, Bob!

[clydepepper]

Finished this behemoth last night - WHEW!

The author stated that, at over 300,000 words, it's longer than Moby Dick, but I've seen that movie. LOL

Over 800 pages, and though it has a few errors, very enjoyable.


As far as the rankings are concerned, I tried to go in with an open mind and, as a result, I have a greater appreciation for some of those listed.


Any players not ranked would probably be a push IMO.



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[roarfrom34]

you can always contact the author and share with him the errors you found just in case the book goes into a 2nd printing or is re-printed in paperback (I've done that in the past)