Beyond Batting Average Update

With the holidays coming up, I wanted to give an update on my book Beyond Batting Average. You can buy it for 25% off at Lulu.com by entering the coupon code when you order the book: BUYMYBOOK305. This means you can get the e-book for $5.25 or the printed version for $10.50. The offer expires on December 14.


Beyond Batting Average was published in 2010 and I believe it is the most up-to-date and comprehensive sabermetrics primer available. It is accessible to fans who are trying to learn sabermetrics and would like a more organized and broader presentation of the subject than you'll typically find on the internet.  It serves as a good introduction to more advanced books such as The Book by Tom Tango, Mitchell Lichtman and Andrew Dolphin

Some of my favorite reviews of Beyond Batting Average are listed below:

Dan Dickerson (Detroit Tigers broadcaster)

I really love Beyond Batting Average - it makes the cut for the "suitcase" library that I take with me on the road...definitely a handy resource

James Bailey Baseball America's Top Ten Books of 2010 

For fans who want to learn more about new sabermetric statistics, Lee Panas' "Beyond Batting Average" is a great resource that can easily be followed by any student of the game...
What the book does particularly well is explain complicated concepts in simple terms.  . 

Neil Paine (Baseball-Reference)

I have no doubt that you'll find it easy to keep up with the stats that Panas presents. I was also impressed with how comprehensively Panas covered each topic; on several occasions, he delved into metrics that even I would not have thought to include in the discussion. Simply put, after reading this, you will be able to converse about sabermetrics with pretty much anybody and hold your own.

Tom Tango (The Book Blog)

If you are a non-mathy guy, but want to understand sabermetrics better, then a huge thumbs up for this book. If you are pretty much comfortable with sabermetrics, but still not there yet (you haven’t run any of your own studies), then a regular thumbs up.

David Gassko (The Hardball Times)


There has not really been a comprehensive resource that explains all the sabermetric statistics you need to know in one simple package. Well, at least there wasn’t until Lee Panas published Beyond Batting Average. 

Dan Szymborski (Baseball Think Factory)


Panas hits all the basic issues quite well and seems to be very up-to-date on what measures are generally used by the statnoscenti of the internet, which is extremely helpful to people who want to jump in with both feet. The author is also very good at telling the reader where these stats can be found and has focused on stats that are readily accessible to the public.

Steve Slowinski (DRays Bay)

Lee's writing is clear and concise, but also quite engaging for a topic that can sometimes get quite nerdy and dull. If you're looking to learn more about sabermetrics and want a book to start you off on the right foot, this is a great book to look into. And even if you already know a good deal about sabermetrics, it's a really handy reference tool. I consider myself well versed in baseball statistics, but I learned a decent bit from the book and I'm sure that I'll be referring to it whenever I have questions over the course of the season. Thanks Lee, this is a keeper.

Justin Inaz (Beyond The BoxScore):

Lee Panas published a terrific sabermetric primer. It's extremely current, with great scope, and will be an awesome resource for those interested in learning more about sabermetrics--especially player valuation statistics. I'm linking to Tango's review of it, but you can find the book on Lulu. If I do my baseball class again next year, I'll probably assign Lee's book.

U.S. Patriot (Walk Like A Sabermerician)

Lee's straightforward approach and knowledge will make it a good resource for those who are just getting into sabermetrics.

Kurt Mensching (Bless You Boys)

With his book, Lee gives the reader a step-by-step guide through how stats were developed and how to best apply them.

Beyond Batting Average Makes Baseball America Top Ten

I recently learned that my book Beyond Batting Average has made Baseball America's list of  best baseball books of 2010.  It ranked number 10, so that makes it the Jose Ortega of baseball books.  I am very grateful to book reviewer James Bailey for taking the time to read my book and for including it on the list.  I really didn't expect it to make any top book lists, so this is a pleasant surprise.  It was the only self-published book included in the ranking:

Not all of these titles were big budget releases, for sure. In fact, we found a spot at No. 10 for Lee Panas' self-published guide to sabermetric statistics, the bookshelf's version of a non-drafted free agent who makes it to the big leagues.  

His write up of the book includes the following blurbs:

For fans who want to learn more about new sabermetric statistics, Lee Panas' "Beyond Batting Average" is a great resource that can easily be followed by any student of the game.

and

What the book does particularly well is explain complicated concepts in simple terms. 

It is available at Amazon, Lulu and Banes & Noble.

Prediction Contest: Winter Meetings Edition

I have another copy of Beyond Batting Average to give away, but first I want to remind the last winner (KGB) to give me his address so I can send him the book.  If anyone knows KGB, please let him know that he needs to e-mail me at TIGER337 (at) COMCAST (dot) net.

Now, for the new contest.  The winter meetings will be held from December 6-9.  There are two questions, the second one being a tie breaker:

(1) What move will the Tigers make during the meetings which affects their 40 man roster.  It could be a trade , free agent signing or release. The person who most accurately guesses the player or players involved in the move will win a book.  

(2) Since the Tigers may not make a move or two people might correctly guess the same move, there is a tie breaker question: What will be the first move made by another team?

If there is still a tie based on the two questions, then the first person who guessed correctly on (1) and (2) wins.

Please put your predictions in the comments section below by Sunday night.

Book Contest Winner

We finally have a winner in the book contest.  KGB guessed that Victor Martinez would be the first player from outside the organization added to the Tigers 40-man roster.  Since nobody guessed Joaquin Benoit or Alberto Alburquerque (Shame on you guys!), KGB wins a copy of Beyond Batting Average.  Congratulations KGB!

KGB, Please e-mail me at Tiger337 (at) comcast (dot) net with your address, so I can send the book to you.   

Prediction Contest: Win a Free Book (Updated)

UPDATE: Since nobody selected Joaquin Benoit or Alberto Alburquerque as the first new Tiger, the book contest described below is still open.  Your old predictions are still valid going forward.  However, new guesses are welcome this weekend.  Also, if anyone wants to change their previous guess, that is allowed this weekend.  Again, if two people select the correct player, the first person who made the guess wins.  Please enter you prediction for the next player added to the Tigers roster from outside the organization in the comments below. 

As many of you know, I published the book Beyond Batting Average earlier this year.  It is a comprehensive and accessible sabermetrics primer for knowledgeable baseball fans, who want to learn more about all of the old and new baseball statistics.  You can read more about the book at Lulu.com and Amazon.com.   

I am going to give away a free book to the first person to correctly predict the first player added to the Tigers 40-man roster from outside the organization this off-season.  Please put your answer in the comments below.  If more than one person guesses correctly, then the first person who answers correctly gets the book.

What's a Good OPS?

Many fans like the traditional statistic batting average because they are so familiar with its values.  They know right away that a .300 average is excellent, a .220 average is poor and a .400 batting average is both fantastic and rare.  One problem many fans have when they are introduced to a new measure is that they don't know what values of the statistic are good and bad.  When they hear about OPS for the first time, for example, they might ask: "What's a good OPS?"  

One of the most popular features of my book Beyond Batting Average is a series of simple percentile charts which help give an idea as to which values of a statistic are good and bad by comparing them to batting average.  The table below shows the percentiles for  some of the less traditional statistics and puts them next to the equivalent percentiles for batting average.  This makes it easier for fans to grasp some of the newer statistics.  The chart includes all MLB regulars or semi-regulars with 400 or more plate appearances in 2010.

One can see from the table that the 75th percentile for batting average was .286.  This means that 75 percent of these players hit below .286 and 25 percent hit better than .286.  A player with an Isolated Power (ISO) of .197 would also be at the 75th percentile.  So, we can say that an ISO of .197 is as good as a batting average of .286. Similarly, an ISO of .081 would be bad because it's equivalent to a .243 batting average (10th percentile).  One might also call this a batting average equivalency chart.   

The statistics in the chart can be found on FanGraphs.com. They are defined as follows:

BA = Batting Average
OBP = On-Base Percentage
SLG= Slugging Average
OPS = On-Base Percentage Plus Slugging Average
ISO = Isolated Power = Number of Extra Bases Per AB = (2B + 2 x 3B + 3 x HR)/AB
BB%= Base on Balls Percentage = % of PA resulting in walks
K%= Strikeout Percentage = % of AB resulting in strikeouts

I'll provide batting average equivalency charts for more statistics in later posts.  

Table 1: Batting Average Equivalencies for 2010

Another Book Review

Self promotion is one of the necessary evils of a self published book, so I'm going to post another review of my book Beyond Batting Average.  This time, Charles Euchner, author of Nine Innings and other books was kind enough to say a few words.  Here is what he had to say:

Mathematicians see beauty and truth in numbers. They see an inner logic,  a simplicity that captures life's ineffable complexity. Baseball fans have always loved numbers too. As a kid -- before ESPN and regional sports networks -- I remember studying the box scores to recreate the previous day's games. (I wish box scores still abbreviated the long names of players like this: "Ystrzski.") But the PC and the Internet have brought baseball statistics to a sublime new height, which makes my youthful number-gazing seem as sophisticated as Hop On Pop. 

In Beyond Batting Average, Lee Panas brings baseball's bold new world of statistical analysis to life. He is comprehensive, clear, and even clever. He examines every aspect of the game -- hitting, pitching, fielding, special situations, team-building -- with fairness and enthusiasm. The task is not simple, because  statistics can lie as well as reveal hidden truths. Like other serious baseball people, Panas is on a mission, to find baseball's digital version of the Holy Grail. But he also understands that the game changes constantly, so that Grail will forever elude our reach. Change and constancy, of course, are two values we baseball fans embrace. 

Let's all get up and give Lee Panas a wave around the stadium (I know some purists loathe waves, but I love 'em) for his all-star effort.    
                
 --Charles Euchner, author, The Last Nine Innings

Win a Free Copy of Beyond Batting Average

There will be a series of contests this week where you can win a free copy of my book Beyond Batting Average.  I will keep track of them in this post which I will update throughout the week.  Three of them are up now at the following sites:

Crashburn Alley, a Phillies blog written by Bill Baer.

Crawfish Boxes, an Astros blog authored by David Coleman.

Talking Chop, a Braves blog written by Martin Gandy

You can get more information about the book including a 30-page preview here.

On another note, Michael Street reviewed my book at his site LoveMyTeam last week.  Here is an excerpt:

Lee Panas, a baseball writer, Detroit Tigers fan and research analyst at Brandeis University, has written Beyond Batting Average, a book that breaks down every baseball statistic you can think of (and many you may never have heard of) to show what the stat measures, where it came from, and what problems it presents. This incredibly helpful guide needs to be on the bookshelf of every baseball fan, and should be required reading for anyone wishing to be a baseball analyst...