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Total Baseball
includes a register of every player in postseason history, a history of the college game, and an in-depth look at cause and effect in the changing game of baseball. New information has been added to familiar sections on awards, the minor leagues, and the great streaks and feats in the game's history.
New to this seventh edition is a groundbreaking change to the historical record by Major League League Baseball and Total Baseball regarding the 1876 and 1887 seasons. Total Baseball will follow the rules of the day, which charged an at bat for a walk in the National League's first season, lowering the averages that year. The scoring practice of 1887, to count walks as hits, creates eight new .400 hitters, a new single-season batting leader and increases the 3,000-hit club by one member.
This edition also has much new information of a more recent vintage, featuring situational statistics for the past 22 years. For the first time, Total Baseball will feature summaries and box scores on every tiebreaking playoff game, highlighted by Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World to win the 1951 pennant and Bucky Dent's famous homer at Fenway Park in 1978.
New statistical information is included for all 15,416 players in major league history; now readers can find out how many times Babe Ruth played center field in his career (64 games) and how often Willie Mays played an outfield position other than center (31 games in 22 years). Not surprisingly, Ruth and Mays lead the way in the Total Player Rating Top 100, with detailed biographies explaining who makes the list - and why. Read about baseball's popularity both before and during the Civil War. And along with the rosters of every manager, coach, umpire, and owner back to 1871 is a roster of baseball announcers over the past 80 years.
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"This is the one you'll find by the cash register of the best bars -- there to settle the most heated and arcane disputes among ardent fans. More than 2,300 pages of statistics and history for every player and team in the major leagues from the beginning of organized baseball. The best book on stats and history" - Phil Rizzuto
"Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia, has published an updated seventh edition that is a tremendous addition to any sports library." - Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe
"The ultimate source for baseball information." - David Plaut of USA Today Baseball Weekly
"If I'm ever stranded on a Pacific island, I hope a copy of Total Baseball washes up on the beach." - Rob Neyer of ESPN
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