Baseball Myths

An honored member of the society for American Baseball Research, former senior research associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and author of six books and numerous articles and book chapters about baseball, Bill Deane has outstanding credentials....Readers unfamiliar with baseball myths will find this book a useful starting point. * American Reference Books Annual *
Bill Deane, who lives in Cooperstown and spent eight years working at the Hall of Fame, has written a book called “Baseball Myths: Debating, Debunking, and Disproving Tales from the Diamond.” It clears up a lot of misconceptions about our national pastime. Deane deserves a lot of credit because to disprove many of the myths of baseball requires detailed analysis of baseball statistics, box scores and historical records of the game. The author clearly is a statistical junkie. He belongs to an organization called Society of American Baseball Research, which includes people like himself who have an extraordinary love for the game, its statistics and its history. For anyone who loves baseball this is an enlightening read. It covers so much ground that you are bound to learn something you didn’t know before. Like Babe Ruth’s “called shot” baseball provides a lot of intrigue. Deane just brings it out. * The Cooperstown Crier *
Baseball Myths is . . . interesting, sensible, and readable . . . primarily because the method used by Deane is historical, rather than statistical, analysis. The more than 85 myths shattered by Deane are arranged by era, with those related to Babe Ruth making up a chapter by them-selves. If you still believe that the rarity of the most valuable baseball card is due to Honus Wagner’s objection to tobacco, that ‘A Headache Cost Wally Pipp His Career’ that ‘Tony Conigliaro Was the Youngest Man to Hit 100 Homers’ or that ‘Billy Martian Died While Driving Drunk;’ then reading this book will elevate your baseball reality quotient. * Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine *
I have known Bill Deane ever since his days at the HOF, and no one is better qualified to separate baseball fact from fiction. Here, he uncovers its nearly two centuries of growth with confidence, accuracy, and superb writing. For the baseball purist, this book is like mining gold. -- Wes Parker, Dodger first baseman, 6-time Gold Glove Award winner, and 1965 World Series champion
Bill Deane is a master sleuth and myth-buster. He knows more about the game, from beginning to end, than anyone, and all baseball experts stand in his debt. Now he has written the most deliciously provocative baseball book ever. -- John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball