Brushbacks and Knockdowns: The Greatest Baseball Debates of Two Centuries

By Allen Barra

Book Overview

Allen Barra is back withBrushbacks and Knockdowns, his newest retrospective of baseball history and folklore. Barra, whose weekly sports column "By The Numbers" earned him millions of readers inThe Wall Street Journal, offers solid answers based on exhaustive research and analysis. But Barra risks inciting barroom riots with essays covering such topics as "Who was a better hitter, Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds?," "Is Barry Bonds been the best player over 35 in baseball history?," "Who is the best player not in the Hall of Fame,?" "Who was the most valuable team player in baseball history?" (Hint: His name rhymes with 'Yogi'), and "Is baseball's talent pool shrinking?" He also casts his eye at the current state of Major League Baseball in his insightful essay titled "The Myth of Competitive Balance, or How Bud Selig Almost Suckered You Into Ruining the Baseball Season." And for the first time Allen Barra will make some projections on the greatest players and most innovative new trends in the first half of the 21st century. In addition to his usual comparisons and arguments, Barra opens the door to even more controversial subjects, using statistics to give decisive answers to such questions as "Who's Right, The Owners or The Players?" and telling readers, step-by-step, how the new Basic Agreement is going to affect baseball every year up to 2006, when baseball is due for its ugliest labor showdown yet. He also addresses the issue of steroids in baseball -- how they undermine statistics and the fan's faith in the integrity of the statistics that have been the game's lifeline for more than a century. InBrushbacks and Knockdowns, Barra takes on baseball's toughest arguments. Readers will never think about baseball's greatest stars, situations, and match-ups in the same way again.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031232247X
• ISBN13: 9780312322472
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.2" x 5.7"

Customer Reviews

Sensational!

This book is really sensational! It's the most stimulating baseball book of the year. I loved Clearing The Bases, but I think this book is even better. The chapters on Yogi Berra and Barry Bonds are terrific, but the chapter on the New York Yankees and the myths surrounding them is alone worth the price of the book.

Fun and Daring

A wonderful baseball book that combines personal reminiscence, statistical analysis and even some social commentary. Barra is not afraid to tackle some controversial topics. I particularly enjoyed the essays about Yogi Berra, competitive balance, Barry Bonds' unprecedented performance, and the degree to which luck and "scrappy" play, rather than brute dominance, enabled the Yankees to win so many championships over the past few years.

My review

I got this book for my father and he loves it. The chapter on the Yankees makes more sense than anything I've ever read on them. This is the most entertaining baseball book I've read all year.

Don't drink and read this book

Drinking and driving isn't a good idea. Also not a good idea: drinking and reading this book -- and then driving. The chapter about the Yanks is first-rate. His thoughts about Yogi Berra are right on. This is a great read. A prep book for those bar room discusions of who's better, i.e., Bonds or Ruth. Folks, this book is loaded!