In writing "Power Ball," author Rob Neyer has very cleverly, and very effectively, chosen to dissect the details of a single baseball game as a way of examining the state of Major League Baseball as a whole. The result is an inning-by-inning, sometimes a pitch-by-pitch,, chronicle of a game that was played late in the 2017 season between the Houston Astros and the Oakland A's. This book stands of the shoulders of Michael Lewis's iconic "Moneyball." In choosing to examine one game as a microcosm of baseball, Neyer also follows in the footsteps of Arnold Hano, who wrote "A Day In The Bleachers," and Dan Okrent, who authored "Nine Innings."
This is simply one of the most engaging baseball books I have read in recent memory. The author uses specific situations in the unfolding game between the Astros and the A's to highlight significant changes in baseball: the emergence of a whole generation of power pitchers who can hurl over 100 MPH, the role of the defensive shift, the disappearance of the bunt, the changing perception of strikeouts by batters, the pace of the game, the out sized dominance of players of short stature, the new generation of super statistics, launch angle, exit velocity, etc.
Having attended literally thousands of baseball games in my lifetime, and having taken in thousands more via radio and TV, I am more than a casual fan of the game, Yet each chapter of this book offered me new insights into aspects of the game I had not previously considered.
Enjoy!
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