Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game

Written by Rob Neyer

Narrated by Rob Neyer

The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways in which Major League Baseball has changed over the last few decades.

On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passing of the Moneyball mantle. Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book.

Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft.

As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062865892

Rob Neyer

Rob Neyer has written about baseball for ESPN.com since 1996 and appears regularly on ESPNews. He has written four baseball books, including The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers (with Bill James) and Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Lineups. His website, RobNeyer.com, contains additional material related to these and his other books.

Reviews for Power Ball

[jeremy Eggleston · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The baseball parts were amazing, compelling and fun to listen to. I had to eventually bail out without getting to the end. The left wing politics become too much to swallow. Then I saw the author had worked for ESPN and it all made sense. I don’t watch ESPN for the same reason. People watch sports to get away from all that crap. More baseball, less preaching about global warming, sexual orientation and race. Write a book about those thing of you feel that strong about those subjects.

[kcshankd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Solid narrative of an September 2017 baseball game, using the ebb and the flow to tell the story of today's game. I've been reading Neyer since the ESPN days of 99-00 and this is near his best work.

One false note to this reader was his aside on race & baseball, and his odd insistence on questioning who is African-American. I think Neyer and his editor could have used some introspection or perspective from a person of color to understand how wrong his failed attempt to be a race gatekeeper was.

[alexabboud-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An utterly joyful read. Neyer has been one of my favourite baseball writers for a long time, and in this book he explores the contemporary game through following a late season Astros-A's matchup. Reading it is like listening to one of the great commentators, who animate the action and fill the quiet moments in the game with stories. Baseball fans will enjoy this part, and more casual fans will learn about how the game is changing.