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33 reviews for:
The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First
Jonah Keri
3.61 AVERAGE
33 reviews for:
The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First
Jonah Keri
3.61 AVERAGE
This book is really a collection of essays that meander through the period beginning with Stuart Sternberg's purchase of a minority share of the Devil Rays and continuing through the 2010 season. It lacks a solid structure that really ties the whole thing together, but the stories themselves can be entertaining. Some are good, and some are lacking.
The Wall Street backgrounds of Sternberg and Friedman, and some window into how that plays into the current management of the team, are covered. It would be good if this was explored in more detail. The Extra 2% is naturally compared to Moneyball. But in Moneyball, Michael Lewis tells anecdotes from the A's history and always relates them back to something about Billy Beane's approach. The Extra 2% doesn't really do that - the stories are told for the sake of including them.
The good:
-The area scout who really wanted the Rays to draft Albert Pujols (spoiler alert: they didn't)
-The antics of Vince Naimoli and his failures to rally the community or follow a coherent plan
-The history of Joe Maddon, the Rays' quirky manager who spent a career earning this gig
-The long journey that Naimoli took to get the team established in Tampa, and all the fits and starts along the way
-
The bad:
-Tropicana Field is a dump, we get it. If we didn't, it would be apparent by the 5th time that it comes up
-The inconsistent editing and tone. Some parts are almost documentary-like, well-written, structured, and professional. Others feature swearing and colloquial language - not quotes either, just a change in writing style.
-The lack of overarching story leads to changes in scope. At times, Keri is focusing on the results of individual games.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. I feel like I did learn a lot about the Rays' history and a little about their approach. But the best parts of the book were not the analytical parts, so I worry that the audience attracted to the book won't be the audience that enjoyes the book.
The Wall Street backgrounds of Sternberg and Friedman, and some window into how that plays into the current management of the team, are covered. It would be good if this was explored in more detail. The Extra 2% is naturally compared to Moneyball. But in Moneyball, Michael Lewis tells anecdotes from the A's history and always relates them back to something about Billy Beane's approach. The Extra 2% doesn't really do that - the stories are told for the sake of including them.
The good:
-The area scout who really wanted the Rays to draft Albert Pujols (spoiler alert: they didn't)
-The antics of Vince Naimoli and his failures to rally the community or follow a coherent plan
-The history of Joe Maddon, the Rays' quirky manager who spent a career earning this gig
-The long journey that Naimoli took to get the team established in Tampa, and all the fits and starts along the way
-
The bad:
-Tropicana Field is a dump, we get it. If we didn't, it would be apparent by the 5th time that it comes up
-The inconsistent editing and tone. Some parts are almost documentary-like, well-written, structured, and professional. Others feature swearing and colloquial language - not quotes either, just a change in writing style.
-The lack of overarching story leads to changes in scope. At times, Keri is focusing on the results of individual games.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. I feel like I did learn a lot about the Rays' history and a little about their approach. But the best parts of the book were not the analytical parts, so I worry that the audience attracted to the book won't be the audience that enjoyes the book.
Sucks pretty bad...
http://www.weberseite.at/sport/the-extra-2-lobhudelei-ohne-baseball-oder-wirtschaft/
http://www.weberseite.at/sport/the-extra-2-lobhudelei-ohne-baseball-oder-wirtschaft/
Its natural comparison is "Moneyball" and that's not really fair because the Athletics and Rays stories are so vastly different and there's very few people on the planet that can write like Michael Lewis. The focus here in Keri's book is the Rays, the Wall Street geniuses who bought them and how they turned a moribund franchise into a superpower in the toughest division in baseball (basically a miracle). The book's strength lies in the detail presented about how the Wall Street guys use their business savvy in how they analyze players and the sport in general. Keri does a great job showing how their strategies are applied, particularly viewing baseball players as investments and how they utilize baseball's free agency/draft/trade markets as if they are stock, looking for trends. Several other parts of the book are very well done, especially the Joe Maddon chapter - which I found fascinating - as well as the early dreadful days of TB. The negatives are few but glaring. The book is poorly structured and could use a better editor. Keri commits several redundancies, especially when it comes to Tropicana Field (saying that it's a "dump" repetitiously does not enhance the narrative), as well as the difficulty of playing in the American League East. But it's still a good book telling a great story. A little editing and it could've been great. But why dwell on that?
3.5, rounded down for inconsistency.
Following in the vein of, and frequently referring to, Moneyball, this is another tale of an underdog pro baseball team that achieved more than anyone expected because Guys, They're So Smart.
It may seem a little harsh but the tone of pretension was a little hard to shake. That could've been me, but I don't need to be reminded of how special TB is and how unfair it is they have to play Boston and New York every ten pages.
There are fun anecdotes, but my major beef is the book is hard to follow. It plays fast and loose with the chronology, but does not tie each section back to a running narrative. TB's post-season accomplishments are hinted at sideways amidst other stories and it's not clear where things are expected to climax. Large swaths of the book feel like little more than "Here's some stuff about some guys. So... yeah."
Parts were fun and Keri is clearly capable of writing well in the particulars. There just wasn't much to latch on to as a book.
Following in the vein of, and frequently referring to, Moneyball, this is another tale of an underdog pro baseball team that achieved more than anyone expected because Guys, They're So Smart.
It may seem a little harsh but the tone of pretension was a little hard to shake. That could've been me, but I don't need to be reminded of how special TB is and how unfair it is they have to play Boston and New York every ten pages.
There are fun anecdotes, but my major beef is the book is hard to follow. It plays fast and loose with the chronology, but does not tie each section back to a running narrative. TB's post-season accomplishments are hinted at sideways amidst other stories and it's not clear where things are expected to climax. Large swaths of the book feel like little more than "Here's some stuff about some guys. So... yeah."
Parts were fun and Keri is clearly capable of writing well in the particulars. There just wasn't much to latch on to as a book.
Clumsy flow. Doesn't tease revelations or narrative so it's often repeated.
When a book comes along that every single sportswriter you read religiously raves about, you have to pick it up. The Extra 2% is sorta like Moneyball except that it follows the decline and rebirth of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and how they're competing in a competitive AL East.
The book's writing may be its only downfall, as it doesn't flow wonderfully, but as a piece of informative sports journalism, it hits the mark. It's great in that it shows how there are a lot of ways to form a baseball club, and that the advanced statistics that have become the norm in baseball have a lot of different ways to work for teams.
As a Red Sox fan, it made me admire the Rays that much more. It also made me fear them, because they're clearly not going to be a flash in the pan team. This book is worth it if you care a lick about baseball, for sure.
The book's writing may be its only downfall, as it doesn't flow wonderfully, but as a piece of informative sports journalism, it hits the mark. It's great in that it shows how there are a lot of ways to form a baseball club, and that the advanced statistics that have become the norm in baseball have a lot of different ways to work for teams.
As a Red Sox fan, it made me admire the Rays that much more. It also made me fear them, because they're clearly not going to be a flash in the pan team. This book is worth it if you care a lick about baseball, for sure.
I came into this book with high expectations and left seriously disappointed. It was fun reliving the Rays rise to relevancy. Interesting to learn about a few of the behind-the-scenes details. But overall the book did not deliver an insightful discussion of the small edges the Rays cultivated to become a great team.
The book begins by comparing the Rays previous management to current management by saying the old just wanted results now while the new group focused on the "process" and let the rest (results) take care of itself. And the book ends with a lament of the Pat Burrell signing as a mistake that richer teams can afford while to the Rays it's a devastatingly costly error. But was the Burrell signing a mistake? Did their "process" go awry somewhere? Or was it a mistake just because of the results which seems to be just bad luck? Because if we're not supposed to focus on results, can we really call it a mistake? We don't know because Keri doesn't go into it. Keri lauds the process over results mentality but doesn't have access to the process making the whole premise of the book seem backward. He only has access to the results so that's what he focuses on. The whole reason this book was written was the new management had better results than the old. And while we all believe this is due to the use of a better "process", I was hoping Keri could do more than just restate how we all should continue to believe in the Rays and their mysterious ways.
The book begins by comparing the Rays previous management to current management by saying the old just wanted results now while the new group focused on the "process" and let the rest (results) take care of itself. And the book ends with a lament of the Pat Burrell signing as a mistake that richer teams can afford while to the Rays it's a devastatingly costly error. But was the Burrell signing a mistake? Did their "process" go awry somewhere? Or was it a mistake just because of the results which seems to be just bad luck? Because if we're not supposed to focus on results, can we really call it a mistake? We don't know because Keri doesn't go into it. Keri lauds the process over results mentality but doesn't have access to the process making the whole premise of the book seem backward. He only has access to the results so that's what he focuses on. The whole reason this book was written was the new management had better results than the old. And while we all believe this is due to the use of a better "process", I was hoping Keri could do more than just restate how we all should continue to believe in the Rays and their mysterious ways.
This book was recommended to me by a brand-new friend who is now batting 1.000 (get it?) on reading recommendations. This includes a baseball article by Jason Parks he emailed me a few days ago too. He's 2 for 2. I can't wait to hear what he recommends next. He DOES say that Moneyball - which I'm starting today - is really good. But everyone says that, so he doesn't get credit for it.
ANYWAY, seriously. The Extra 2% is about the baseball management philosophy of the Tampa Bay Rays, why it works, and how new ownership and leadership literally changed the course of this team and propelled it toward greatness. Jonah Keri is a respected sportswriter and did a superb job with this book. There's a lot of technical baseball terminology that he explains and makes accessible to the non-baseball reader, but he does it without angering/annoying the baseball reader.
I also liked this book because it makes passing mentions of my favorite team, the Kansas City Royals, and actually manages to comment on their below-average yearly performance without being sarcastic or snarky about it, which I deeply appreciated. The book also discusses James Shields, who is basically Kansas City's 2013 MVP after something we in the Royals community refer to simply as "The Trade." It was the off-season move that brought Shields to our club. So it was fun to read about how he contributed significantly to Tampa Bay's success just a few years ago.
The book has a slow pace and LOTS of in-depth information, especially about the history of the Tampa Bay organization and the politics surrounding its birth and continued existence. At no time was the book NOT interesting, but there were times that the pages turned more slowly than others. It took me longer than I would've liked to finish the book, but overall it was still a great read.
ANYWAY, seriously. The Extra 2% is about the baseball management philosophy of the Tampa Bay Rays, why it works, and how new ownership and leadership literally changed the course of this team and propelled it toward greatness. Jonah Keri is a respected sportswriter and did a superb job with this book. There's a lot of technical baseball terminology that he explains and makes accessible to the non-baseball reader, but he does it without angering/annoying the baseball reader.
I also liked this book because it makes passing mentions of my favorite team, the Kansas City Royals, and actually manages to comment on their below-average yearly performance without being sarcastic or snarky about it, which I deeply appreciated. The book also discusses James Shields, who is basically Kansas City's 2013 MVP after something we in the Royals community refer to simply as "The Trade." It was the off-season move that brought Shields to our club. So it was fun to read about how he contributed significantly to Tampa Bay's success just a few years ago.
The book has a slow pace and LOTS of in-depth information, especially about the history of the Tampa Bay organization and the politics surrounding its birth and continued existence. At no time was the book NOT interesting, but there were times that the pages turned more slowly than others. It took me longer than I would've liked to finish the book, but overall it was still a great read.
An interesting look at how the Rays went from the laughing stock of Major League Baseball to perennial playoff contenders. It is a bit dated though as it only covers up to the 2010 season.
Everything you've ever wanted to know about good strategy in Baseball management can be found in this book. It's a fun read mostly for those who care about baseball and advanced statistics. I wouldn't recommend it to those who are unfamiliar.