Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game - Hardcover

by Rob Neyer (Author)

"Winner of the 2018 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year."

The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A's and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.

On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A's faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis' classic book.

Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing--purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft.

As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead--culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth--Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.

Front Jacket

Spend a day at the ballpark seated next to one of the smartest analysts of the game--and learn how baseball really works these days.

On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A's hosted the Houston Astros in a game that might have epitomized the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was just one largely meaningless regular-season game, the matchup of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early tenure of A's general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis's classic book.

Today, seemingly every pitcher throws mid-90-mph heat while seemingly every hitter is swinging for the fences. Today, pitchers and hitters alike can access reams of data and endless video in their relentless pursuits of perfection.

It's not just the players, either. Armed with information, management has adopted revolutionary strategies and tactics, from radical positioning of fielders to teams essentially giving up on whole seasons even before the season.

Does the shift work? What does throwing 100 miles an hour get you? Can you win with a homer-happy offense? Why would a baseball team need a supercomputer? Will umpires be replaced by robots? Why have home runs spiked lately? Have the baseballs been juiced, even as fewer players are juicing?

While chronicling each inning as these two franchises battle, Neyer considers these questions and many more, with the help of dozens of interviews with players, managers, scouts, and front-office executives. It all adds up to this century's finest look at what's become of modern baseball.

Back Jacket

Spend a day at the ballpark seated next to one of the smartest analysts of the game--and learn how baseball really works these days.

On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A's hosted the Houston Astros in a game that might have epitomized the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was just one largely meaningless regular-season game, the matchup of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early tenure of A's general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis's classic book.

Today, seemingly every pitcher throws mid-90-mph heat while seemingly every hitter is swinging for the fences. Today, pitchers and hitters alike can access reams of data and endless video in their relentless pursuits of perfection.

It's not just the players, either. Armed with information, management has adopted revolutionary strategies and tactics, from radical positioning of fielders to teams essentially giving up on whole seasons even before the season.

Does the shift work? What does throwing 100 miles an hour get you? Can you win with a homer-happy offense? Why would a baseball team need a supercomputer? Will umpires be replaced by robots? Why have home runs spiked lately? Have the baseballs been juiced, even as fewer players are juicing?

While chronicling each inning as these two franchises battle, Neyer considers these questions and many more, with the help of dozens of interviews with players, managers, scouts, and front-office executives. It all adds up to this century's finest look at what's become of modern baseball.