Baseball Myths

Baseball followers have been perpetuating, debating, and debunking myths for nearly two centuries, producing a treasury of baseball stories and “facts.” Yet never before have these elements of baseball history been carefully scrutinized and compiled into one comprehensive work—until now. In Baseball Myths: Debating, Debunking, and Disproving Tales from the Diamond, award-winning researcher Bill Deane examines baseball legends—old and new.This book covers such legendary players as Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Pete Rose, and Derek Jeter, while also looking at lesser-known figures like Dummy Hoy, Grover Land, Wally Pipp, and Babe Herman—not to mention people who found fame in other fields, such as Civil War General Abner Doubleday, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Deane’s original research and logic will educate, amuse, and often surprise readers, revealing the truth behind such legends as the inventor of baseball, the first black player in the major leagues, and even the origin of the hot dog.With photographs, stats, and more than 80 myths examined, this book is sure to fascinate everyone, from the casual baseball fan to lifelong devotees of the sport.

An honored member of the society for American Baseball Research, former senior research associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and author of six books and numerous articles and book chapters about baseball, Bill Deane has outstanding credentials....Readers unfamiliar with baseball myths will find this book a useful starting point., “Bill Deane, who lives in Cooperstown and spent eight years working at the Hall of Fame, has written a book called “Baseball Myths: Debating, Debunking, and Disproving Tales from the Diamond.” It clears up a lot of misconceptions about our national pastime” “Deane deserves a lot of credit because to disprove many of the myths of baseball requires detailed analysis of baseball statistics, box scores and historical records of the game. The author clearly is a statistical junkie. He belongs to an organization called Society of American Baseball Research, which includes people like himself who have an extraordinary love for the game, its statistics and its history.” For anyone who loves baseball this is an enlightening read. It covers so much ground that you are bound to learn something you didn’t know before. Like Babe Ruth’s “called shot” baseball provides a lot of intrigue. Deane just brings it out., Baseball Myths is . . . interesting, sensible, and readable . . . primarily because the method used by Deane is historical, rather than statistical, analysis. The more than 85 myths shattered by Deane are arranged by era, with those related to Babe Ruth making up a chapter by them-selves. If you still believe that the rarity of the most valuable baseball card is due to Honus Wagner’s objection to tobacco, that ‘A Headache Cost Wally Pipp His Career’ that ‘Tony Conigliaro Was the Youngest Man to Hit 100 Homers’ or that ‘Billy Martian Died While Driving Drunk;’ then reading this book will elevate your baseball reality quotient., I have known Bill Deane ever since his days at the HOF, and no one is better qualified to separate baseball fact from fiction. Here, he uncovers its nearly two centuries of growth with confidence, accuracy, and superb writing. For the baseball purist, this book is like mining gold., Bill Deane is a master sleuth and myth-buster. He knows more about the game, from beginning to end, than anyone, and all baseball experts stand in his debt. Now he has written the most deliciously provocative baseball book ever.

Bill Deane was Senior Research Associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame from 1986 through 1994. He has authored six books on baseball and was managing editor of Total Baseball. Deane won the SABR-Macmillan Baseball Research Award for his book, Award Voting, and in 2003 he won the Utica-Cooperstown SABR chapter’s “Cliff Kachline Award.”