The Physics of Baseball by Robert K. Adair

I've always enjoyed playing baseball.  As I grew up, I played every position, though shortstop was my favorite.  I was a solid hitter, an excellent fielder, and a fast runner.  I had a strong but erratic arm, and I never had the size to play even college baseball.  I played for about eleven years, mostly during the summer.  This is my background as I began reading The Physics of Baseball, a book that really ought to appeal to me.  And it did.  Sort of.


The author, a Yale professor of physics, has the perfect credentials to write the book: a love of baseball, an understanding of the game, and a Ph.D. in physics.  I was looking forward to reading it, but I often found myself disappointed.  Parts were really interesting, as when he discussed pitch velocity, air resistance, and the challenges of batting.  There were other times when he seemed to get caught up in the particularities of an aspect of the game and didn't spend enough time pulling everything together.  I found myself thinking, "Now that's really interesting, but what are the implications for players and fans?"  There was a little of that, but not enough for me.  He did not include his calculations (thankfully), and he went into enough depth to convey a thorough understanding and fulfill the book's promise.  He seemed to know enough about the game to couch the ideas in clear examples, even if they were a bit dated.  I guess I was looking for him to take the next step and discuss what his theorizing meant for the manager or the fan.  How did his calculations impact game strategy?  How might a player use the book?  Who is the real audience for the book, anyway?


This is one of several baseball books I've read (or tried to read).  Ken Okrent's 9 Innings, which documents in great detail, a mid-summer game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles, is another.  It's a good book, but it moves away from the game to explore the personalities of the players and managers and bit too often and for too long a time.  However, I did get a real appreciation for the Oriole Way, Earl Weaver, and Paul Molitor.  The Curious Case of Sid Finch, a fiction novel which was as forgettable as the author, is a third.  I'm looking forward to reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis.  The movie was fun to watch, and hopefully the book will develop the ideas in more detail.