My Book

    This blog is a lot of fun. I am writing to learn more about baseball, people's opinions of certain candidates, and to teach others from my extensive baseball knowledge. However, it is not my signature work. I consider The Cooperstown Advocate "practice" for something bigger - a book. The blog is also useful because (1), I can publish ridiculous April Fool's pranks (see The Three Stooges and Curious George, two entertaining but embarrassing "articles" of mine); (2), I get comments; and (3), If I make a  mistake, I can learn from it before publishing day. My (as of now, untitled) book will feature a comprehensive study of what the Hall of Fame is, its voting rules and history, who is in, trivia, and the differences between a player's value, greatness, and skill (three separate factors that determine Hall of Fame candidates). I will also show how to evaluate a candidate, explain individual statistics, and give a basic rundown of MLB history. It will also include a lot of these player articles - not all, but most - once they have been fully revised. I also will include players about whom I have yet to publish on this blog, as well as the Lucky Hall of Famers section. I plan to publish it in 2036, for the 100th anniversary of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class, giving me 15 years to complete a roughly 500 page book. Piece of cake. My only concern is that some of my candidates may be inducted by then, which means that I can't include them. Always remember - I am only adding players to the Hall of Fame discussion. If any one of the players on this blog were inducted (except for a few who I "Took Back" in a post), they would fit right in. However, if every single player were inducted, then the Hall of Fame would grow by about 60%, which is not my goal. 

What Makes a Good Baseball Book 

There are major differences between a good baseball book and a bad one. I hope to make mine as good as possible. I plan to (1) offer many statistics; (2), let the reader have his own opinions of each candidate, remembering that this debate is merely a matter of opinion, and never solid fact; (3) treat all statistics and eras with respect to the facts; (4), not get carried away with advanced statistics; (5), not incorporate any team bias; (6), always stay prudent and moderate in language. At the end of the book, I also plan to offer charts comparing my players to the real Hall of Famers, kind of like seeing who on the B team could play for the A team. 

What Makes a Bad Baseball Book 

Just recently I was reading some awful baseball books. Book 1 was about the 100 most qualified players to make the Hall of Fame. The main problems with it are (1), terrible language; (2), the statistical analysis isn't thorough, nor very good; (3), there were many inconsistencies with players' statistics; (4), there were too many grammatical and spelling errors; and (5), it didn't stay focused on its goal, veering from topic to topic throughout the entire book. Moreover, it cost $30, which made it all the more disappointing. Book 2 was about who should be in the Hall of Fame, but also who's in it and who shouldn't have been inducted. It was very informative, but a very unattractive read for the following reasons: (1), abhorrent language all throughout the book; (2), some tolerance and excuses in favor of steroid cheaters; (3), WAY too much focus on advanced stats that almost nobody knows how to work with; and (4), much uncalled for political bias that had nothing to do with baseball (not surprisingly, when discussing Curt Schilling's candidacy). Its pricetag: $25.99. Another terrible book that I was very excited about. Oh well. 

    My book will try not to have these drawbacks (believe me, language and advanced stats will not be a problem), and I hope to make it informative, entertaining, completely factual, humorous, and well written, as most of my writings, on baseball or not, currently are, and I hope that I won't have to charge too much for them. I'm excited, and I can't wait to get started.