Anybody wanna buy the rights to this book?

February 17, 2008

Unless I’m reading this wrong, that’s what this announcement is saying. Shouler, who already wrote this book a few yeas ago, is seeking a comeback of sorts. Thanks to the shadow of steroids, he’s suggesting taking a fresh look.

The Arabic number 609 exceeds 586. But can anyone say with a straight face that Sammy Sosa was a greater home run hitter than Frank Robinson, who hit 586 and played his last game 32 years ago? Is McGwire’s 583 mark greater than Harmon Killebrew’s 573, or Willie McCovey’s 521? Note your hesitation in answering. Hold on to that hesitation. Embrace it. For if you paused, even for a split second, then you’ve already conceded. That momentary hesitation is an irrefutable index of your own visceral “gotcha” admission that the higher of two numbers has been rendered meaningless. Harmon Killebrew led the 1960s in homers, hitting 393 in the decade, beating out some pretty stiff competition—Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, and McCovey, four first ballot Hall of Famers. Who did Sosa ever beat out?

How lucky for authors. The situation gives a new shot and ranking the players, with all the assumptions can carry.

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