Let the Shameless Promotion Begin

Posted: February 16th, 2009 | Filed under: Media | 47 Comments »

Well, you could argue pretty persuasively that the shameless promotion began quite a while ago.

But, NOW, for obvious reasons, the full-court pressure begins.

09/09/09*

*Pay no attention to the release date on the page! Go before I lose my temper! The Great and Powerful Oz has spoken!

Update: Brilliant reader Sansho1 bring this up: “Joe Morgan attempted more stolen bases than Pete Rose in 1975. That in itself is not surprising, but the 77-1 difference seems like a bar bet waiting to be made. Why did Rose only attempt one SB all year?”

Ah, you want stolen base trivia from the 1975 Reds? My friend, you’ve come to the right place.

For instance: Tony Perez stole more bases than Pete Rose in 1975 (1-0).

This was the only season that Pete did not steal a single base. Shoot, he stole three when he was 45 years old. He had double digit steals four of the previous five years, and from 1977-1980 he stole 16, 13, 20, 12. We get into why Pete did not steal bases in 1975 in the book.

Johnny Bench was caught stealing FEWER times than Pete Rose in 1975 (Rose was 0-1 stealing while Bench was successful on all 11 of his attempts. Bench set an NL record for most attempts without getting caught … Tom Tresh held the American League and overall record by stealing 13 bases without getting caught for the Yankees in ‘64).

That Reds team not only led the National League in steals, they were successful stealing a staggering 82.4% of the time. That was a National League record.

Just imagine, the book will have all sorts of stuff like this in it!

I hope it has some good stuff in it too.

47 Comments on “Let the Shameless Promotion Begin”

  1. 1: Spud said at 8:13 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Thanks Joe. Counting the days until I can read it.

  2. 2: ck said at 8:16 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Looking forward to the book. Also highly amused by this Amazon ad on the book’s page:

    Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links (What’s this?)

    The A-Team 1-5 DVD $99
    http://www.MovieMartExpress.com A-Team Season 1-5 DVD Free Shipping Classic Special Edition DVD Boxset

  3. 3: Curtis said at 8:27 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Does this mean you have finished it? Way to go!!

  4. 4: Jeff M said at 8:38 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    That is a long, long title.

    Good luck to you. I’ll be buying a copy. I figure I owe that much for all the free enjoyment the blog gives me.

  5. 5: Old Man Duggan said at 8:49 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    But is it really going to be 320 pages? Are there going to be margin and font games played to adhere to the page length listed? What will happen when it finally happens? Will the world end?

  6. 6: Minda Haas said at 8:51 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    YAY!!!

  7. 7: B.E. Earl said at 8:53 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Wait…you wrote a book?

    What’s it gonna be about? ;)

  8. 8: Scotty said at 9:06 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series-The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds

    Wow, who knew you could write titles as long as your blog posts. The book must be 2,000 pages.

  9. 9: Devon Young said at 9:07 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    I recently looked at how many runs they scored that year…and how many teams since then have matched it. It’s really impessive. I could go on for an hour about why.

  10. 10: Spud said at 9:12 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    The A Team? Does that relate to the Machine or something in the title in the Amazon linker?

    I pity the fool that buys all five seasons of the A Team. Actually I can’t even believe that is available on DVD. VHS, maybe.

  11. 11: Justyo said at 10:07 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    8/18/09

  12. 12: Pope said at 10:37 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    As Raymond Chen would say, “Catchy Phrase: Longer Explanation of What the Catchy Phrase Means”

    ;)

  13. 13: sansho1 said at 10:46 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Joe Morgan attempted more stolen bases than Pete Rose in 1975. That in itself is not surprising, but the 77-1 difference seems like a bar bet waiting to be made. Why did Rose only attempt one SB all year?

  14. 14: George "Sparky" Anderson...I wish said at 11:00 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    Who knew Joe was writing a book?? 320 pages of twisted steel and sex appeal, I’m sure….

  15. 15: Danny D. said at 11:55 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    So, please tell me that there are wild accounts of Rawly Eastwick’s (or insert another player) wild greenie usage and that he will claim that you stalked him and broke into his home where his daughters sleep…or that Denny Doyle was high and that’s why he misunderstood third base coach Don Zimmer’s instructions with the bases loaded in Game 6 of the WS, and Congress will investigate.

    Regardless, I’ll pick up a copy–but it needs to go on sale first. I’ve been checking Amazon for it for about a month now.

  16. 16: devil_fingers said at 7:57 am on February 17th, 2009:

    C’mon, we all know why Rose didn’t steal more bases.

    It was to win a bet, right?

  17. 17: Chardon Jimmy said at 8:53 am on February 17th, 2009:

    I’m pretty sure it’s because he sucked and is the most wildly overrated player of all time, but maybe it’s just me.

  18. 18: PatGLex said at 9:04 am on February 17th, 2009:

    Congratulations. Being a worker in the other end of the process (design/production supervisor for a scholarly publisher) I can appreciate the delight in finishing the manuscript. (And as a person whose own lucky number is 9, the 9/9/09 date should be dang lucky for you.)

    To Old Man Duggan: Chances are that the publisher has already evaluated Joe’s ms. and figured out how many pages the book would be if set in font A at size B/C. And they will make it fit by tweaking B and C. (That’s what we pros do.)

    In honor of your book, Joe, I will make it to a Reds game this year for the first time. (Not that this team compares with the Big Red Machine of the 70s.)

    And now that the book is done…. will you be giving us some insights from the Royals’ spring training in future columns?

    P.S. My sister and her sister-in-law are going to Chicago to see Springsteen. The sister-in-law is a Springsteen groupie and has traveled all around the country to see him in concert. They were going to shoot for going to Europe, but couldn’t translate the online ticket sites. [LOL]

  19. 19: mojo nixon said at 9:09 am on February 17th, 2009:

    It’s just you. Rose was the ultimate baseball player.

  20. 20: Mark W. said at 9:45 am on February 17th, 2009:

    As a Pirate fan I never could pull very hard for the Redlegs, especially following the heartbreaking 1972 NLCS. That being said, I always marveled at how often Pedro Borbon would pull the Cincy pitching staff out of the soup by routinely pitching lengthy and quality relief 2-3 straight games. In my mind he was one of the most valuable guys on their roster in the mid ’70s. So often one never knew what to expect from the Reds starting staff but Pedro seemed to ALWAYS be there to get the game safely thru the middle innings. Talk about a rubber arm – It was maddening!

  21. 21: somebody said at 9:49 am on February 17th, 2009:

    obligatory Phillies reference. The Phillies continue to have some of the best stolen base percentages in baseball history. their first base credit gets much of the credit. he should be the highest paid non manager in the league and he’s probably not the highest on the staff.

  22. 22: Rob V. said at 10:13 am on February 17th, 2009:

    I can’t wait for the book, but man that’s a terrible title. And “hot team”?!?!? The ‘07 Rockies were hot; the ‘75 Reds were great. There’s a difference. Unless I’m misreading you, and you mean hot as in Johnny Bench in a speedo hot. If so, my bad.

  23. 23: Jerry-NJ said at 10:15 am on February 17th, 2009:

    publishers love Pre-orders on Amazon, so if you like this blog and are thinking about getting the book you should go on ahead and pre-order 09/09/09 (I just did!)…

  24. 24: Mikey said at 10:17 am on February 17th, 2009:

    Hey man, how about some pre-order opportunities for readers of this blog?

    I will gladly order the hard-cover via this site if I can get it delivered before the general release date. I bet a lot of people here would do the same.

  25. 25: Mr Punch said at 10:22 am on February 17th, 2009:

    09/09/09 for your book on the 1975 Reds. Interesting. Just 20 years later, the 1995 Cleveland Indians clinched thier first division title in … uh, … ever… on 9/9.

  26. 26: Marco said at 10:29 am on February 17th, 2009:

    I think you should have a special Snuggie/Book giveaway contest.

  27. 27: Mac said at 10:49 am on February 17th, 2009:

    My favorite Rose stat line is with the Phillies in 1980, when he had 44 extra base hits — 42 doubles, one triple, and one homer.

  28. 28: Wickethewok said at 11:17 am on February 17th, 2009:

    Begin, Joe? Ha! Also, it’s apparently already ranked #7,987 in Amazon’s books. With a release date of 08-18-09?

  29. 29: Tyler said at 11:46 am on February 17th, 2009:

    I already preordered it, but it’s not gonna be on Kindle? I would discuss that with my publisher.

  30. 30: Perry said at 11:49 am on February 17th, 2009:

    On Pete Rose, this guy gets it:

    http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/pete-rose-the-ballplayer/

  31. 31: David in NYC said at 12:23 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Pete Rose was a great ballplayer who (IMHO) should not be in the HoF because of his gambling. He was/is also quite overrated because of the Charlie Hustle image. Don’t forget he made the most outs in history (10,328), a mere 1,192 more than the #2 on that list (Aaron).

    He is also the author of one of my favorite baseball quotes of all time: “Every year, I lead the league in doubles, and half of them are singles.”

  32. 32: David Moriarty said at 12:31 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    If you want Rose quotes, my favorite is this:

    “I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to be able to play baseball.”

    Describes him to a tee in my view. Plus, I marvel at the mind that can conjure up the idea of a gasoline suit. You don’t know what it is, but you know exactly what he means.

  33. 33: JMac said at 12:41 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Hey JoPo,

    speaking of Morgan have you been able to find another website near the caliber of FireJoeMorgan? I know its counter-intuitive to post something bashing a great player in your book but hey it would really make the days go by easier until 09/09/09.

    Thanks!

  34. 34: Ray Jay said at 1:12 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Since Rose played in the most games, and had the most at-bats, he would probably also have the most outs. Just like Brett Favre—-most pass attempts, most completions, but also the most INTs. Just the by-product of having a long career and playing every damn day.

  35. 35: Mikey said at 1:36 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Just to clarify so I don’t look like a moron (again).

    I know we can pre-order via Amazon. But it would be cool if we could order here on this blog as well, get the book a little earlier, and cut out the middleman. Possible?

  36. 36: Kc1fan8569 said at 1:51 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Rose didn’t steal a single base because he had a bet that he would finish the season with Zero Bases stolen!!!

    Can’t wait for the book!!!

  37. 37: Josh in DC said at 4:27 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    I’m not sure how one would go about a reasonable discussion of the most overrated player of all time. One could pull out random quotes about many players — David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams — etc., but that wouldn’t prove much of anything.

    Maybe something with MVP shares versus what the win shares system says the player deserved? Pete Rose is 19th on this list of MVP shares, and I think one could find 19 better everyday players than he fairly easily. I’d guess win shares would back me up, but I’m not willing to do the work.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/mvp_cya.shtml

    Who else is out of place there?

  38. 38: Josh in DC said at 4:34 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    Oh, and I can’t wait to read the book. Can’t believe Bench stole 11 bases that year, and 13 the next!

    Greatest catcher of all time* and he got 96 percent of the vote for Cooperstown. Jeez.

    *Excluding Josh Gibson

  39. 39: David in NYC said at 4:51 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    *Excluding Josh Gibson

    And, according to Bill James and me (among many, many others), also excluding Yogi Berra.

  40. 40: Perry said at 5:16 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    @ Josh in DC:

    According to the article in Hardball Times I linked to above, which was written in Oct. 2005, Rose is 14th in career Win Shares. So if he’s 19th in MVP shares, maybe he’s UNDER-rated.

  41. 41: Kris M said at 7:39 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    JOE … what about Chuck Tanner’s A’s who stole an amazing amount of bases? Or Omar Moreno. Or the only 12 Pirates fans left? Or Miguel Dilone ?

    Not to Forget – Dick Williams and the Expos years? All those teams managed by Jimmy Dykes? Or the Joe Gordon(HOF) for Jimmy Dykes Trade?

    Or better yet – Whatever happened to Karl Malden?

  42. 42: G Young said at 9:33 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    At this moment – #1,571

  43. 43: Brent said at 12:13 pm on February 18th, 2009:

    Another team that knew when to steal bases was the 2001 Mariners, it is no wonder they won 116 games. They did all the small things really well, as well as some big things.

    Their team SB % was 80.6% (174 out of 216).

    Ichiro stole 56 of 70 (80%). Mark Mclemore stole 39 of 46 (84.8%). Mark Cameron stole 34 of 39 (87.2%). Stan Javier stole 11 of 12. (91.7%) Edgar Martinez and Carlos Guillen both stole 4 of 5 (80%). Al Martin stole 9 of 12 (75%) John Olerud stole 3 of 4 (75%).

    Only Bret Boone was a poor basestealer at 5 out of 10 (course he did some big things well like slug .578)

  44. 44: Brent said at 2:17 pm on February 18th, 2009:

    My guess on why Rose didn’t try to steal more bases in 1975. Early in the year, Morgan and Concepcion corner him in the showers and advise him that they want the team to break the SB% record that year and they don’t want his lifetime 57% career stolen base % messing up their plans. If he won’t agree, then they will let Borbon know who drank all his rum.

  45. 45: Kris M said at 7:39 pm on February 18th, 2009:

    Darn. I would’ve thought that DUGGAN would have weighed in on the Steroids Symphony free-for-all. Many have written on that one … AT LENGTH and AD NAUSEUM.

    It’s easy to surmise that the universe began with just dust and gas…i’ve seen quite a lot of it… on the Steroids blog.

    Joe – Hope the book is cool. Is it about Richie Zisk? or better yet… Richie Hebner? (i believe he was drafted in hockey and dug graves in the off-season(s)).

  46. 46: Josh in DC said at 2:06 pm on February 20th, 2009:

    Perry — Rose’s career win shares would have benefited from having a long career. Nothing wrong with that. He was a terrific player for a very long time.

    Here’s what I imagine: In Year X, the Win Shares system might have said Rose was the 5th-best player in MLB, while the BBWAA voted him 3rd. That would be [minus 2]. Etc.

    In Rose’s case, you’d have a zillion years in which he was among the top 10 players and zillion years in which the voters recognized it, but OVERestimated his value.

    Just a thought.

  47. 47: Casey said at 11:10 am on February 24th, 2009:

    Joe,

    Any wonder who led the league last year in SB %?

    You guessed it! The Philadelphia Phillies.

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