Baseball analysts often criticize pitcher win-loss records as a poor measure of pitcher performance, as wins are the product of team performance. Fans criticize WAR (Wins Above Replacement) because it takes in theoretical rather than actual wins. Player won-lost records bridge the gap between these two schools of thought, giving credit to all players for what they do--without credit or blame for teammates' performance--and measuring contributions to actual team wins and losses. The result is a statistic of player value that quantifies all aspects of individual performance, allowing for robust comparisons between players across different positions and different seasons. Using play-by-play data, this book examines players' won-lost records in Major League Baseball from 1930 through 2015.

Baseball analysts often criticize pitcher win-loss records as a poor measure of pitcher performance, as wins are the product of team performance. Fans criticize WAR (Wins Above Replacement) because it takes in theoretical rather than actual wins. Player won-lost records bridge the gap between these two schools of thought, giving credit to all players for what they do--without credit or blame for teammates' performance--and measuring contributions to actual team wins and losses. The result is a statistic of player value that quantifies all aspects of individual performance, allowing for robust comparisons between players across different positions and different seasons. Using play-by-play data, this book examines players' won-lost records in Major League Baseball from 1930 through 2015.

Tom Thress's Baseball Player Won-Lost records do what no other statistic does: credit players for their contributions to actual team wins and losses game by game and play by play. In this book, Thress uses his statistic to identify 150 key players from the first 50 seasons since major-league expansion (1961 - 2010). He shares fun facts about these players' careers, looks at what made them elite players, and introduces you to what he hopes will some day be the definitive baseball statistic: Baseball Player won-lost records.

Since the first pitch was thrown, MLB has tracked the performance of every team and player, documented every hit and measured every home run. And while some plays are part of the everyday game, there are moments in baseball when a player's performance reaches a new level of greatness and new records are made. The Major League Baseball Ultimate Book of Records catalogs the game's most remarkable achievements, as well as some of the less traditional and quirky stats that all play a part in the game. MLB's team of in-house writers, researchers and historians have scoured the history of the game and written the most accurate, complete and definitive record of baseball stats and achievements. Major League Baseball Ultimate Book of Records documents the absolute best of the best and packs each achievement into this lavishly illustrated book where fans will be treated to never-before-seen photographs of their favourite players. Double-page spreads will show Henderson racing to second base to claim the stolen base record, while another full color spread celebrates Bond's crushing hit that set a new threshold for most home-runs. All the records are here, each with an account of events and spectacular photographs that make this truly the most spectacular baseball book ever published.

Unbreakable gives fans the fascinating stories behind incredible records and the players who made them and provides a basis for comparing players of the Deadball era with those of today. Most importantly, it gives the true baseball fan quantitative objective data to bring to arguments about players and their records. It is almost impossible to fathom how Jack Chesbro could have won 41 games in 1904 when pitchers today don’t even make that many starts in a season. Ed Walsh pitched 464 innings in one season and many times pitched more than 400 innings during his 14-season career, while pitchers today seldom throw more than 100 pitches a game. And yet, we must wonder why pitchers today seem to have more arm troubles than workhorses like Ed Walsh. This and other questions are explored in a book that is so much more than a simple listing of unusual records—it is a re-creation of a time when the game was different and when it was played differently. The book provides a baseball fan with a different perspective from which to watch today’s players and to have a reasonable basis to compare them with players of yesteryear. Covering players such as Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth, and also including an extended analysis of pre-1900 baseball, Unbreakable is perfect for any fan of our national pastime. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

This book profiles forty major league ballplayers who engineered remarkable comebacks to salvage fading careers. Details of each comeback is provided along with a summary of the player's career. The comeback players range from Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Stan Musial; to near-greats like Tommy John and Luis Tiant; to journeyman performers like George McQuinn and Tony Cuccinello. In the absence of statistical standards to evaluate or even define comebacks, the selection of the top comeback players was based on the following criteria: historical significance, uniqueness, dramatic content, degree of difficulty, and the player's overall reputation and standing.