The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers

The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers is the result of a collaboration between Bill James and his protege Rob Neyer. It was published in 2004. The book consists of three parts:

• Part I: Pitches: A discussion of pitches, including a list of every pitch name the authors could find (and discussion of the imprecision of the names), essays about the most common pitches, and lists of the greatest exponents of each pitch.

• Part II: Pitchers: Brief biographies of about a dozen pitchers who had been historically overlooked, lists of knuckleballers and submariners, and a "census" of over 1000 pitchers.

• Part III: Pitching: A series of essays on topics that didn't fit into either of the first two sections.

Over 60% of the book is devoted to the pitcher census. The census gives information about the pitching styles and repertoires of well over 1000 pitchers. The list includes every pitcher with at least 1000 innings or 400 games for whom the authors could find information, some other pitchers whose careers were shorter but for whom good information is available, and a handful of fictitious pitchers (such as Sidd Finch). All of the information is backed by references to primary sources and, in many cases, direct quotations rather than paraphrased information.

Further Reading

• Bill James and Rob Neyer: The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches, Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2004. ISBN 978-0743261586