Brushbacks and Knockdowns : The Greatest Baseball Debates of Two Centuries

by Allen Barra

• ISBN13: 9780312322472
• ISBN10: 031232247X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-04-24
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Summary

n his newest examination of baseball fact and fantasy, Barra incites barroom riots with his essays covering such topics as 'Who Was Better, Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds' and 'Who Was the Greatest Lefthander of All Time?' He also casts his eye at 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.' Allen Barra, whose weekly sports column 'By The Numbers' earned him millions of readers in The Wall Street Journal, offers solid and sensible answers based on exhaustive research and analysis.

Author Biography

Allen Barra has written for The Wall Street Journal since 1995 and has been a regular contributor to The New York Times for more than fifteen years. He also writes for "The Sports Nut" on Slate.com and is a regular on NPR. He lives in South Orange, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
Sultan of Swat vs. Splendid Splinter; or If Ted Is the Greatest Hitter, Why Is Babe the Greatest Player?	p. 1
The Greatest Team Sports Player of the Twentieth Century; or Half This Chapter Is 90 Percent Mental	p. 29
Robin Roberts (and Eddie Mathews and Ernie Banks and Whitey Ford) and the All-Star Team of the 1950s; or Me Versus 200 Writers	p. 57
Two Guys From Chicago; or Why Ron Santo and Minnie Minoso Are the Two Best Players Not in the Hall of Fame	p. 101
Competitive Balance 2; or Wrath of the Con	p. 111
Where Have All the All-Stars Gone?	p. 139
Don't Blame the Yankees; or Yankees Town, Red Sox Press	p. 205
The Strange Case of Barry Bonds	p. 259
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