Intangiball
The Subtle Things That Win Baseball Games
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
A unique and refreshing ode to the “little things” that represent baseball’s heartbeat—the player who, in countless ways, makes other players better.
Intangiball tracks the progress of the Cincinnati Reds through five years of culture change, beginning with the trades of decorated veterans Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. It also draws liberally from such character-conscious clubs as the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays. Author, sportswriter, and eternal fan of the game, Lonnie Wheeler systematically identifies the performance-enhancing qualities (PEQs) that together comprise the “communicable competitiveness” that he calls “teamship.”
Intangiball is not designed to debunk Moneyball, but rather to sketch in what it left out: “What order is there to a baseball world in which a struggling rookie benefits not a bit from the encouraging words of the veteran who drapes his arm around the kid’s shoulders; in which Derek Jeter’s professionalism serves none but him; in which there is no reward for hustle, no edge for enthusiasm, no payoff for sacrifice; in which there is no place for the ambient contributions of David Eckstein, Marco Scutaro, or the aging, battered Scott Rolen; in which shared purpose serves no purpose?”
Intangibles, as it turns out, not only ennoble the game; they help win it. And this is the book every fan must read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Plenty of baseball books focus on sabermetrics and the application of statistical analysis to evaluate players. Far fewer are dedicated to such player intangibles as hustle, leadership, professionalism and passion character traits that elevate teams yet are impossible to quantify. Wheeler (who has collaborated with Hank Aaron and Mike Piazza on their autobiographies) explores how intangibles matter by tracking the Cincinnati Reds' transformation from a struggling team, revolving around selfish superstars Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, to champions of the National League Central Division in two out of three seasons. Wheeler attributes that success to the arrivals of Joey Votto and Scott Rolen, less renowned but more team-focused players. He uses the acronym TEAMSHIP (toughness, execution, accountability, moxie, supportiveness, history, intensity, and passion) to define his target "intangibles." Not surprisingly, Derek Jeter is the subject of an entire chapter, and the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles receive nearly as much attention as the Reds. Despite long-winded passages and an overemphasis on validating his premise, there's no denying Wheeler's found fertile ground here with a thoughtful companion to Michael Lewis' Moneyball.
