The Best of By the Numbers

Do catchers learn to handle pitchers better as they get older? Do some batters have a greater ability than others in the clutch? Does good hitting beat good pitching? These and many other questions that fans ask are answered in this collection of more than two dozen analytical research studies from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). The provocative conclusions, based as much as possible on objective data and statistics, often fly in the face of conventional baseball wisdom. These articles are the best published over the past decade in "By the Numbers," the newsletter of SABR's respected statistical committee.Phil Birnbaum is the author of 'The Best of By the Numbers', published 2003 under ISBN 9780910137904 and ISBN 0910137900.