Futility Infielder Blog » books

The Cooperstown Casebook

Jay Jaffe — Thu, 04 May 2017 20:28:32 +0000

Coming July 25, 2017 from Thomas Dunne Books: THE COOPERSTOWN CASEBOOK Who’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In, and Who Should Pack Their Plaques By Jay Jaffe With a Foreword by __(TBA)__ 464 pages Tucked away in a small central New York village called Cooperstown, the National Baseball Hall of Fame ...

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The Best of Baseball Prospectus (1996-2011)

Jay Jaffe — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:43:17 +0000

“15,200 ARTICLES ENTER. 152 ARTICLES LEAVE. WE ARE THE 1%.” — actual sales pitch In a project that’s been long in the works, Baseball Prospectus is publishing a two-volume set covering the best work that’s run on the site in its long history — over 900 pages in all. I’m pleased to report that I’ve ...

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That Seventies Vibe

Jay Jaffe — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:50:16 +0000

Before I catch up with this week’s batch of Baseball Prospectus links, a just wanted to give a quick shout-out for a book I haven’t yet read but am looking forward to cracking, Dan Epstein’s Big Hair and Plastic Grass. Earlier in the week a friend of mine suggested I hit the book release party ...

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Ballgame Barbie She Ain’t: Emma Span’s 90% of the Game is Half Mental

Jay Jaffe — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:24:00 +0000

What happens when a baseball outsider lands what seemed to be the job of her (yes, her) dreams, covering the two New York baseball teams as a beat reporter? What happens when that job is just as suddenly yanked away when her publisher goes through yet another regime change? Having crossed the line into professionalism, ...

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Jim Bibby (1944-2010)

Jay Jaffe — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:24:00 +0000

Former major league pitcher Jim Bibby passed away on Tuesday at age 65. I remember Bibby fondly from the baseball cards of my youth, and particularly the fact that he shared the sporting spotlight with his younger brother Henry, an NBA point guard. Bibby’s best years came with the Pirates, particularly the “We Are Family” ...

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Say Hey, Kid!

Jay Jaffe — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:03:00 +0000

When I was maybe 11 years old, my parents took me to a giant supermarket expo down at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, where none other than Willie Mays was putting in a personal appearance and signing autographs, one of several athletes to be making appearances at the show. Though too young to ...

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Some Dodger Thoughts

Jay Jaffe — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:30:00 +0000

Earlier this month, my pal Jon Weisman migrated his great Dodger Thoughts blog from the Los Angeles Times to the new ESPN Los Angeles family. Among his first posts is one which directly involves me. Jon is the editor of the forthcoming Dodgers 2010 Annual from Maple Street Press, the same folks who publish Bombers ...

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Friday’s Child (The Return)

Jay Jaffe — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:56:00 +0000

So I’m finally finished with what I refer to as my winter workload, my contributions to the Baseball Prospectus and Fantasy Baseball Index annuals as well as Maple Street Press’ Dodgers Annual, edited by Dodger Thoughts‘ Jon Weisman. All of that stuff is about a month away from hitting the shelves, but I’m back in ...

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Highs and Lows of 2009

Jay Jaffe — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:51:00 +0000

As the 2009 season heads into its final weekend, the editors at ESPN Insider invited me to create a list of sabermetrically-themed highlights and lowlights. The piece runs here and here. A few of the high points were obvious, centered around the accomplishments of Joe Mauer (who’s on his way to becoming the 16th player ...

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Friday’s Child (Slight Return)

Jay Jaffe — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Three things: • A hearty congratulations to Pete Abraham, who is leaving The Journal News for The Boston Globe and in doing so will move from covering the Yankees to the hated Red Sox. As any Yankee fan with an Internet connection knows, Pete’s been THE go-to beat reporter for all things Yankees for the past ...

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