Ahead of the Curve, Brian Kenny
Ahead of the Curve, Brian Kenny
2 Rating(s)
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Ahead of the Curve
Inside the Baseball Revolution

Author: Brian Kenny

Narrator: Brian Kenny

Unabridged: 10 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/20/2016


Synopsis

Most people who resist logical thought in baseball preach "tradition" and "respecting the game." But many of baseball's traditions go back to the nineteenth century, when the pitcher's job was to provide the batter with a ball he could hit and fielders played without gloves. Instead of fearing change, Brian Kenny wants fans to think critically, reject outmoded groupthink, and embrace the changes that have come with the "sabermetric era." In his entertaining and enlightening book, Kenny discusses why the pitching win-loss record, the Triple Crown, fielding errors, and so-called battling titles should be ignored.

Kenny also points out how fossilized sportswriters have been electing the wrong MVPs and ignoring legitimate candidates for the Hall of Fame; why managers are hired based on their looks; and how the most important position in baseball may just be "director of decision sciences."

Ahead of the Curve debunks the old way of analyzing baseball and ushers in a new era of straightforward logic. Illustrated with unique anecdotes from those who have reshaped the game, it's a must-listen for fans, players, managers, and fantasy enthusiasts.

About Brian Kenny

Brian Kenny is an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and host for the MLB Network. The foremost proponent of analytics on sports television, he founded the first and only TV program devoted to sports analytics, Clubhouse Confidential. He currently hosts the daily panel shows MLB Now and MLB Tonight, and is a columnist for Sports on Earth. Previous to his tenure at MLB, he spent fourteen years at ESPN hosting SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, The HotList, Friday Night Fights, and The Brian Kenny Show on ESPN Radio and on NBC Sports Radio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jessica

I received this book for free through Goodreads’ First Reads. Overall, I enjoyed this book. This book is all about sabermetrics. I didn’t find all of the author’s arguments to be convincing (like the one against bunting), but others made a lot of sense (Kill the Win!). This book really makes you thin......more

Goodreads review by Danny

Brian Kenny is a sabermetrics zealot. I am not. Kenny routinely rips the BBWAA for backwards thinking (or a total lack of thinking). I've been a BBWAA member since 1991. His new book, Ahead of the Curve, reminded me of how many things we disagree on. But also of how often we actually agree. Kenny is a......more

Goodreads review by Chris

I like this a lot more than I expected to. The advance word I heard about Kenny's book was that it was a self-congratulatory screed - and I could see how that would be the case, based on the title and all. But I thought I'd give it a try. Yeah, it's better than I expected. On the face of it, this is......more

Goodreads review by Jay

I was a bit disturbed when Kenny started the book off with his diatribe on the detrimental impact sacrifice bunting has on a team’s chances to score. Why did this disturb me? I grew up a Cub fan, and one of the often repeated phrases by Harry Carey that was burnt into my memory is his slow, slightly......more

Goodreads review by Ken

At first, I thought this would be the rantings of just one more guy questioning the tradition of baseball thinking. But as I got into the book, I loved it. I totally agree with Brian Kenny's concept of "herd thinking," the idea that since it's been done this way for decades, we'll keep doing it. I se......more