The Baseball Economist

As I have noted, we are not the only economists interested in studying sports.  And, we are also not the only economists who have attempted to craft a book on the subject.

I have been told that in a couple of months I will get my hands on the next draft of The Baseball Economist. This is the first book by JC Bradbury (of Sabernomics fame and an economist at the University of the South, and soon to be Kennesaw State University). 

Here is a tiny picture of the cover. JC has a full size picture at his website.

 I have already seen an earlier draft of this book so I have some inside knowledge of the details.  Of course, Bradbury is not keeping this a secret.  At Sabernomics he has already listed the many topics he will cover.  These include·                    

Why are there more hit batters in the AL?                    

What happened to the left-handed catcher?                   

Are steroids truly a problem in baseball?                    

What are the best/worst managed organizations in baseball?

What is the dollar value of every player in Major League Baseball?

How good is Leo Mazzone? (an updated analysis)

Is Major League Baseball a monopoly?

In addition, Bradbury will discuss the merits of traditional scouting versus the approach of those familiar with statistics.  In sum, this looks like one hell of a good book.

As noted, I get to see this fairly soon because I am lucky enough to be one of his reviewers.

For everyone else, though, there is a bit of a wait before it finally ships.  The expected publication date is March, 2007.  In the meantime, though, check out Sabernomics and The Wages of Wins Journal for comments and perhaps, if we are lucky, a sneak preview or two.

- DJ