Baseball Ratings

Book excerpt: In this third edition of Baseball Ratings, author Charles Faber combines the second edition ("great fodder for arguments"--Booklist) with his book on 19th-century greats, Baseball Pioneers ("very impressive"--Reference and User Services Quarterly; "a notable and ... worthwhile addition"--ARBA), updating the ratings and expanding the commentary in each. The result, Baseball Ratings: The All-Time Best Players at Each Position, 1876 to the Present, is that rarest of rankings books--a time-tested, comprehensive reference work that invites reading. Batters, fielders and pitchers from all major leagues since 1876 are ranked by position and, for pitchers, according to role (e.g., starter, middle reliever, closer) according to career, peak, and per-season achievement. All big league players with at least five years of eligibility are rated, and appendices identify underrated and overrated players, rate multiposition players, and sort the great by handedness.