Leadoff Batters of Major League Baseball

Book excerpt: Every sport has its subtleties, and in baseball, one subtlety is the batting line-up. Leadoff batters can make or break a team. Who are the men who have taken that position, and how have they performed in their important role? From 1900 through 2005, the major leagues' leadoff batters for more than 160,000 games are covered in this reference work. The first of the book's five parts discusses the annual records of the principal leadoff batters. Part Two identifies the principal leadoff batter for each team in each year, as well as the top career leadoff batters. Part Three presents composite statistics for those players with five or more principal leadoff batter seasons. Part Four looks at leadoff home runs, and Part Five offers essays on assorted leadoff batter achievements, such as RBIs, runs scored, and awards and honors. Appended to the text is a discussion of the accuracy of the statistics and a list of "Make It Happen" award winners.