The Bill James Handbook: 2005

Simply put, the Bill James Handbook: 2005 is the best and most complete annual reference guide available today. It includes informative introductions to the different sections and an extensive glossary that includes explanation and even mathematical formulas for the multitude of statistics now used in baseball-many of them developed by Bill James himself. This books contains a myriad of stats on every hit, pitch and catch in Major League Baseball's 2004 season. Some of the most unique data include the Managers Record, which gives readers an edge in understanding the differences between managers during a game, and Win Shares, a statistic developed by Bill James evaluating a player's individual contribution to his team's wins. The Bill James Handbook releases November 1, months before any similar books. Buy it early and get an edge over the competition.