What's up Dan Blewett here and I've got another book review this one is called
"The Only Rule Is It Has to Work." So I don't have a physical copy here so I'm
just gonna point to this graphic that I'm gonna put up here mmm
book graphical oops book graphic I've read this one Kindle and I actually read
it back in 2016 because the antagonist in the story was actually my locker mate
so this book is really interesting it's by Ben Limburg and Sam Miller and it
basically details these two baseball analytics stack guys Ben and Sam they
got to take kind of control over this really low-level independent team called
the Sonoma stompers based on a Sonoma I guess wine country California and their
manager was a player coach my former teammates a lot Lentini so when I was
playing for Long Island Ducks infield in 16 I was sitting right next to fail on
he's a really interesting kind of West Coast vibe he's a phenomenal base
stealer phenomenal baseball player in general I mean he played a long time
think he's still playing just one of those guys at just him and baseball just
are in harmony they love each other I think he's still like 500 bases in the
minor leagues but anyway so I was reading this book because a it was an
interesting premise that these two stats guys got to take control over team and
kind of play the team out like a like a fantasy baseball team they got to try
out some new stuff you know using a closer in a non-traditional way doing
different things at lineups just manipulating things like they might
their own fantasy team in accordance with some of the new stats things and
analytics things and sabermetrics things that were kind of floating around as
interesting thoughts like different ways to reorder the lineup and construct your
team and ways to analyze players and find good talent and especially
under-the-radar talent stuff like that so they did all this stuff and what
ended up happening was they butted heads a lot with my buddy fail on who is more
of like a classic old-school baseball guy so I actually had a lot of fun
reading passages out to him I was like reading it aloud sometimes in the
clubhouse that weren't super friendly to him
because it was like getting him really mad and flustered and I thought was
really funny but it was interesting for me because I initially wanted to take
fail outside you know as my teammate he's a really nice guy
he's a really good ball player really knows the game and I felt like some of
the book was unfair to him but at the same time he does have sort of an
old-school mindset and some of the thoughts processes by the two Analytics
guys were sound and smart and also kind of like hypotheses and not necessarily
completely tested but they need to be tested right so there was his butting
heads because it was sort of a new school versus old school and untested
versus tried-and-true not to say that was always the best way to do it
but that was a dynamic in the book and that's kind of why if a lot was made out
to be sort of the antagonist sort of the villain of the book because there just
was there just was conflict and so as I read the book I'm always I always try to
be objective and even though I want to take my buddy's side fail on I saw the
the merit in both dynamics so the stats guys they were definitely making a lot
of intelligent moves that were really thought-provoking and fail on at times
had some good points about stuff that he felt like they didn't understand because
they weren't players so it was a really interesting book about the gap between
the front office and the analysts and guys her down the dugout sliding in the
dirt so when I finished the book I was gonna leave a review and I didn't I
really liked it it's really well-written I thought the story was interesting and
it was really thought-provoking in a good way because again we do need to
have our ideas challenged more ideas than ever in baseball being challenged
and this book is a really thought-provoking way to do that so the
more distance I got from it after I read it and I was still you know in the
locker room with fail on the more I just I didn't really pick a side I just felt
like I enjoyed kind of back and forth I feel like it was unfortunate that Fei
Long was vilified a little bit but at the same time I understood the struggle
from both sides it was just baseball has been going through some growing pains
you know conflict between players and analysts whose
you should play the game this way they're like don't tell me how to play
it I've been playing it my whole life that kind of thing and that was kind of
the way the book went but I think the the biggest value that the book provides
is that it gives you again a reason to have your common notions challenge like
why not use the clothes on this role why not structure the lineup this way
why not find players who are like this rather than traditionally having them
you know fit this mold when we're looking at more recruiting and scouting
so I think for any coach who really likes playing the numbers who really
likes some of the geekier side of baseball who wants to be current with
baseball I think it's a really thought-provoking read and definitely
worth your time it's a book that I would definitely give five stars to I think
it's really interesting and really well-written and even though I had the
sort of like my teammate here on one side and the authors on the other that
didn't it didn't like change the fact that it's a really worthwhile book to
read and I think important just for any coach player who's just trying to
understand the way baseball is changing all right so I would say definitely give
it a check out or check it out here's the graphic somewhere next to me again I
read it on Kindle but I think it's available in all different a hardcopy
Kindle and probably audiobook - I don't know but check it out links are below in
the description get your own copy and and see what you think!