Vol. VI,
Issue # 1 -
February 2018
**
Books to Die For and Become a Baseball Guru
**
(on this page are special books linked to the
game of baseball or Strat-o-matic)
{
Wolfman:
This
webpage contains various books we have uncovered that provide a
greater knowledge of the game of Baseball or Baseball Statistics.
So far there has only been one book published specifically about
Strat-o-matic by Glenn Guzzo but there are other books written by
other individuals who are involved with the game of baseball who
have played
Strat-o-matic. To assist our members, we have a special
agreement with Acta Sports, a sports book publisher in Chicago
that any books they sell or distribute, our members receive a
10% discount. We intend to add more books to this page in
future Issues.}
Books that we Recommend
Acta Sports
This publisher specializes in publishing books about all
type of sports and has been around since 2003. They are
the publisher for example for two books by Glenn Guzzo
(including "Strat-o-matic Fanatics"), the amazing books by Bill
James and John Dewan - "Fielding Bible". They have been involved
with Baseball Statistics since 2006 and have a connection with
the organization called STATS which also features the most indepth
statistics related to Baseball. We have negotiated with
Acta Sports to give our members a 10% discount on all of your
purchases with them. To find the specific book you want, just
click on the link below and it will take you to the webpage of
that e-book, of course you can look around for the other books
too.
How does this discount work?
We are told if you go to the page link we provide below our
discount code of
"SOMB" will automatically be entered for you
but when you go to your shopping cart, underneath the last book
to order is an area titled "Promo Code", if "SOMB" is not shown
in that area, type it in and hit submit, the price of all your
books will be updated to include the discount. This special
discount is only for our members. And if you visit the ACTA
Sports website (www.actasports.com)
and see other baseball books you like, again use this Promo Code
to continue to receive a discount on any books you order.
Below are eight important
baseball or SOM related books (two by Glenn Guzzo) that we
recommend for you to take a special look at:
Strat-o-matic Fanatics -
Glenn Guzzo
(Normal Price:
$14.95 with Newsletter Discount
$13.45)
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/WolfmanRecommends/Guzzo-SOMFanatics.htm
(The History of Strat-o-matic as told through its
creator Hal Richman and the baseball board game became the icon
of the industry opening the company up to create other sports
games plus stories from various gamers)
-- Wolfman Note:
A Review copy is coming and we will review this book in a future
issue of our newsletter to give you our perspective - but this
is the only book we know that has ever been written exclusively
about Strat-o-matic!
----------------------
The New Ball Game - Glenn
Guzzo
(Normal Price:
$14.95 with Newsletter Discount
$13.45)
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/WolfmanRecommends/Guzzo-NewBallGame.htm
(Understanding Baseball Statistics of the Causal Fan -
as the use of statistics becomes more popular as well as
complex, Mr. Guzzo takes the reader in hand providing a friendly
explanation of such.)
----------------------
How Bill James Changed
Our View of Baseball - Bill James
-- Subtitle: The Inspiration Behind Moneyball
(Normal
Price: $19.95 with Newsletter Discount
$17.95)
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/WolfmanRecommends/BillJames-ChangedBaseball.htm
(Stories by various Baseball Authors and Sports
Writers, General Managers and more how their view on baseball
and life was changed by the legendary theories of Bill James)
-- Wolfman Note:
A Review copy is coming and we will review this book in a future
issue of our newsletter - many people have told us that Bill
James is a master about discussing baseball and looking at it in
a unique and different way - this is one of his new books!
Also in our November 2015 issue, John Dewan shared with us a
chapter he wrote for this book (click
here)
----------------------
The Bill James Handbook
2018 - Bill James
(Normal Price:
29.95 with Newsletter Discount
$26.95)
http://actasports.com/the-bill-james-handbook-2018-free-shipping/
(type in when you order, the promotion code: SOMB for
your 10% discount)
(The first, best, most complete annual baseball
reference guide available. Full of exclusive stats, this book is
the most comprehensive resource on every hit, pitch, and catch
in Major League Baseball's 2017 season--and includes player
projections for 2018. There also exists a spiral bound version
for $5 more.)
-- Wolfman Note:
We hope in the future to get
a copy of this book to review for our members. For any of our members who are in a
draft league with the new 2018 cards coming out next year, this
is and will be a key key book to help you prepare for building your team
as his handbooks have been every year before and each year, they
add new information and insights.
I personally look forward to pour through its amazing contents
and especially look at the projections for 2018!!
----------------------
Coulda Woulda Shoulda -
Chris Williams
(Normal Price:
$10.95 with Newsletter Discount
$9.85)
http://actasports.com/coulda-woulda-shoulda/
(type in when you order, the promotion code: SOMB for
your 10% discount)
(12 stories from special baseball events from the early
1900's to the finish of the 2016 World Series that if
circumstances could have been different, what outcome might we
have seen. Chris Williams is a strat gamer himself and in
our March 2017 issue we interview Chris to meet him and find out
how he came to write this book. A great read and very
entertaining!!)
----------------------
The Fielding Bible Volume
III - John Dewan & Ben Jedlovoc
(Normal Price:
$24.95 with Newsletter Discount
$22.45)
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/WolfmanRecommends/FieldingBible3-Dewan-n-Jedlovec.htm
(The Fielding Bible -- Volume III is a thorough
compilation of the latest breakthroughs in defensive analytics
from Baseball Info Solutions. With information previously
exclusive to major league teams, Volume III is 100% new material
that builds on the well received Volumes I and II. Included are
comprehensive defensive evaluations, a study on the
effectiveness
of the "Ted Williams shift", the new Timer Plus/Minus system,
and updated Defensive Runs Saved numbers that estimate the value
of each fielder in Major League Baseball.)
----------------------
Other Key Books
by Other Publishers/Authors
Special E-book from
Wolfman Shapiro
"Secrets of the
Wolfman"
(Offered by
donation, to read more go to:)
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/Secrets-of-the-Wolfman-d.htm
(This is the first e-book written by Ultimate Strat
Baseball editor Wolfman Shapiro which provides a very
comprehensive telling of how he built his championship team, the
Skokie Wolfmen, to become the CBA (Cyber Baseball Association)
champion in 2012, also feature on the SOM website where they
show pictures of other SOM gamers who were champions with
trophies. He holds nothing back and reveals all of his
strategies which have led his team in the CBA to 6 out of 7
playoff appearances (missing out once in an extra death match by
one game) and three World Series appearances. In honor of the
first SOM On-line Baseball Convention in September of 2013, he
is offering this book to anyone just for whatever donation you
wish to give. The e-book is in a PDF format.)
----------------------
The BABS Project by Ron
Shandler
(E-book:
A part of being a member at Mr. Shandler website, PDF format)
http://ronshandler.com/the-babs-project-download/
(Mr. Shandler is
considered to be the #1 authority on how to win in Fantasy
Baseball. This newbook released in the early part of 2017,
offers a new perspective on how to draft the best players for
your Fantasy Baseball team as he states all other systems of
making predictions are not reliable. To be able to get this
e-book, and have access to the BABS database and other extra
resources, one must be a member of his services offered at his
website at:
http://ronshandler.com - Mr. Shander was interviewed and
discussed this new system in our March 2017 edition, the first
part of a two part interview.)
----------------------
Hardball Retrospective by
Derek Bain
(in a printed and e-book
edition, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Koboo)
(Would your favorite
baseball team make the playoffs if player X had not been traded?
Imagine your team's roster from any particular year. Remove all
of the players that your team acquired through trades and free
agency. Would you be able to field a competitive team? All
right, let us re-populate the roster with every player that the
organization originally drafted and signed. Yes, we will include
undrafted free agents and foreign players who signed with their
first Major League team, as well. How does the team stack up
now? Is the club better or worse than the squad that you
imagined at first? In Hardball Retrospective, Derek Bain places
every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their
original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and
methods, I generated revised standings for each season based
entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players.
Derek discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at
length along with organizational performance with respect to the
Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent
signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season
standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams
are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to
assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general
management skills. Foreword by Don Daglow.)
----------------------
Signed Book by Willie
Mays Aikens to the USBN Members
"Safe at Home: Willie
Mays Aikens by Gregory Jordan"
(This is the first book we, at the USBN, have received
as a gift from an ex-baseball player. In our November issue,
2014, Wolfman will give a review of this book. We have
received signed copy #24. The note from Mr. Aikens to USBN:
"To Wolfman Shapiro and the members of the Ultimate Strat
Baseball Newsletter. Best of luck to the team at the Ultimate
Strat Baseball Newsletter. I pray God will continue to bless the
whole group. Willie Mays Aikens 09-23-2014."
Now let's
share a bit about the book from its book jacket:
In 1980, Willie Mays Aikens became the first major league
baseball player to hit two home runs in two separate games in
the same World Series. But ignoring the advice of his
savvier teammates, Aikens drove himself out of baseball and into
one of the longest prison sentences ever given a
professional athlete -- 20 years and eight months. ...
Safe at Home is one of the most intimate and culturally
relevant biographies of an athlete ever written. Using extensive
interviews with Aikens himself, his family, friends, teammates,
cellmates and dealers. We found this book available on
Amazon. Also the book is available directly through Mr.
Aikens via his website at:
www.willieaikens24.com.
or you can contact him by email at:
aikenswillie24@yahoo.com , he is also on facebook and
twitter as well. )
----------------------
Baseball America:
Prospect Handbook 2018
(Normal Price:
$32.95/printed edition)
https://store.baseballamerica.com/products/2018-baseball-america-prospect-handbook
(The 2018 Prospect Handbook, a handbook done each year by
Baseball America, gives you all the information you need to know
about the top 30 prospect of each major league baseball team.
There is a full analysis of each player with the last three
years of their performance in the minor and major league.
This book is a key to help you build your league teams which use
the latest card set offered by SOM. We thank Matt Eddy for
providing our editorial staff with a review copy. Mr. Eddy is
now a contributor for the newsletter.)
----------------------
Shoeless Joe by
W. P. Kinsella
https://www.amazon.com/Shoeless-Joe-W-P-Kinsella/dp/0395957737
(This is the book written by W. P. Kinsella that the movie
"Field of Dreams" is based upon. The webpage given is how to
order the book via Amazon.com although you might also want to
find it via the library. We interview Mr. Kinsella in our
July 2016 edition. Other baseball books written by W. P.
Kinsella include "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy", "The Thrill of
the Grass", "Further Adventures of Slugger McBatt", "Japanese
Baseball", "The Dixon Cornbelt Leauge" and "Shoeless Joe comes
to Iowa Stories".)
----------------------
2018 USBN
Essential Draft Guide
http://www.ultimatestratbaseball.com/2018USBN-Essential-Draft-Guide.htm
(The second annual Draft Guide published by USBN which ranks
and evaluates all the new players in the 2018 SOM Baseball Card
Set, based on the 2017 MLB season, who are getting a card for
the first time and would be available in a Keeper League's 2018
Draft. This guide is done as a microsoft excel
spreadsheet, ranks 311 players in various statistical views and
is easy to use and sort the players in any fashion you chose.
To get your copy just click on the page link shown above.)
