Baseball Obscura — now in its third year — follows in the footsteps of Bill James’ Baseball Abstracts. Its author, David Fleming, comes by his publication honestly since he was a frequent contributor to James’ website over the years.
One of the things we discussed in our Bookshelf Conversation is the slow death of the baseball annual. Used to be I would buy upwards of five different publications a year. These days you’re hard pressed to find any. Thank you, internet. Because of the immediacy your provide, print has become a dinosaur, almost immediately obsolete because it can’t possibly include the latest information. Free agent signings, trades, and injuries often take place after the item has gone to press. Case in point, the Baseball Obscura has nothing about the Tucker and Bichette signings.
That said, we need thoughtful publications like the Abstract and Obscura because…well, they’re just fun. Fleming has a light and often humorous touch in his narratives, much like James. Sure, there are plenty of statistics, but you can get numbers from places by Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs. What we need are more amusing essays on the state of the game.
You can find updates on Fleming’s aptly-named site, BaseballObscura.com.
And here’s the audio version.
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