Tony Gwynn is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. That's the conclusion of this engaging and provocative analysis of baseball's all-time best hitters. Michael Schell challenges the traditional list of all-time hitters, which places Ty Cobb first, Gwynn 16th, and includes just 8 players whose prime came after 1960. Schell argues that the raw batting averages used as the list's basis should be adjusted to take into account that hitters played in different eras, with different rules, and in different ballparks. He makes those adjustments and produces a new list of the best 100 hitters that will spark debate among baseball fans and statisticians everywhere. Schell combines the two qualifications essential for a book like this. He is a professional statistician--applying his skills to cancer research--and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball. He has wondered how to rank hitters since he was a boy growing up as a passionate Cincinnati Reds fan. Over the years, he has analyzed the most important factors, including the relative difficulty of hitting in different ballparks, the length of hitters' careers, the talent pool that players are drawn from, and changes in the game that raised or lowered major-league batting averages (the introduction of the designated hitter and changes in the height and location of the pitcher's mound, for example). Schell's study finally levels the playing field, giving new credit to hitters who played in adverse conditions and downgrading others who faced fewer obstacles. His final ranking of players differs dramatically from the traditional list. Gwynn, for example, bumps Cobb to 2nd place, Rod Carew rises from 28th to 3rd, Babe Ruth drops from 9th to 16th, and Willie Mays comes from off the list to rank 13th. Schell's list also gives relatively more credit to modern players, containing 39 whose best days were after 1960. Using a fun, conversational style, the book presents a feast of stories and statistics about players, ballparks, and teams--all arranged so that calculations can be skipped by general readers but consulted by statisticians eager to follow Schell's methods or introduce their students to such basic concepts as mean, histogram, standard deviation, p-value, and regression. Baseball's All-Time Best Hitters will shake up how baseball fans view the greatest heroes of America's national pastime.

A revealing biography on the last .400 hitter in baseball.

Meet the members of the most exclusive club in Major League Baseball. There is no award, there are no ceremonies, but nothing can compare to the pride and glory felt by a player as he hits that miracle milestone: 3,000. Since Cap Anson first reached the mark in 1897, only twenty-eight baseball players have ever heard the crack of ball and bat over 2,999 times; this newly updated edition of The 3,000 Hit Club captures the unique stories and career highlights of each one. In this distinctive collection of history and stats, veteran sportswriter Fred McMane takes readers onto the field and up to the plate with baseball’s greatest players. From Pete Rose and Willie Mays to Ricky Henderson and Derek Jeter, The 3,000 Hit Club has it all.

Young ball fans can now get the stats on the champions of the bat in this companion to the best-selling Baseball's Greatest Pitchers. Lively illustrations accompany fact-filled profiles of the legendary hitters of the game, including Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams.

A feast of stories and statistics about players, ballparks, and teams--all arranged so that calculations can be skipped by general readers but consulted by statisticians eager to follow Schell's methods or to introduce students to the basic concepts of statistics. Illustrations.

"A collective biography of the top 10 home run hitters, both past and present, which includes accounts of game action, career statistics, and more"--Provided by publisher

The tape measure home run is the greatest single act of power in the game of baseball, and the tales of these homers are the most cherished legacies players and fans hand down through the generations. Fully illustrated with photos of the players and aerial ballpark photos showing the landing spots of each stadium's longest homers.