50 at 50: The Fifty Most Important Contributions to the Game ed. by Bill Nowlin

Reviewed by: 50 at 50: The Fifty Most Important Contributions to the Game ed. by Bill Nowlin David Pegram Bill Nowlin, editor. 50 at 50: The Fifty Most Important Contributions to the Game. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2020. 608 pp. Cloth, $49.95. In his foreword to SABR's new anthology, 50 at 50, John Thorn admits that to be a baseball researcher is to be a nerd, though only in disguise. In fact, Thorn suggests that, like Clark Kent, the baseball researcher's true identity is that of Superman, carrying out a "never-ending quest for fresh baseball data" [End Page 209] (ix). The comparison to Superman makes perfect sense, especially when taken a step further: like Superman, baseball research could also be considered a search for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. In some respects, this appears to be the underlining theme of the anthology: truth in what data reveals to us; justice in bringing players and events to light; and the American Way in celebrating the National Pastime. Edited by Bill Nowlin, 50 at 50 coincides with SABR's fiftieth anniversary. It is a wellconceived collection of "the fifty most important contributions" to baseball research. But the book is more than just SABR's greatest hits. Nowlin (with help from Thorn, Mark Armour, and Leslie Heaphy) has carefully selected material that presents the spirit of baseball research: diverse, sometimes nerdy, and ultimately informative for any baseball fan. Furthermore, the book functions as a chronology, as the reader is (re)introduced to the themes, stories, issues, and concerns of researchers over the past fifty years. Nowlin's selections focus on biographies that shed light on forgotten players, evaluate teams and performances, and provide deep statistical analysis. Suffice to say, the breadth of the anthology is staggering. Thorn, of course, kicks things off with his Foreword. As the Official Historian for Major League Baseball, a position he has held since 2011, perhaps nobody knows the full scope of baseball history as well as Thorn. But he is also somewhat of an anomaly in research circles: both a noted historian and an early promoter and advocate of sabermetrics (a term created in reference to SABR). His unique ability to navigate those two worlds, and do so effectively, is noteworthy. His Foreword highlights how sabermetrics reinvigorated the research of baseball—a shout out to quantitative data and large amounts of it; but he is clear that baseball research has a qualitative purpose, as well. In his own work featured in the collection, "Pots & Pans, Bats & Balls," based on a speech he gave at the 2007 SABR convention in Cleveland, Thorn is clear about the important role of history (and the historian) in baseball. He asserts that we should embrace the subjective nature of it. He states, "There may be no 'I' in 'team'—nor in 'research,' not in 'SABR,'—but there is one in 'history' … and there ought to be one in the writing of it" (376). Much of 50 at 50, therefore, vacillates between those two poles: history and statistical analysis. Some pieces, such as Mark Armour's "The Effects of Integration, 1947–86," do a little bit of both. But overall, those aware of the relationship between SABR and sabermetrics may be surprised at the amount of history that the book covers. We get fresh looks at historical figures John McGraw, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Urban Shocker, and Honus Wagner. Bill Kirwin, founder of NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, gives a nod to Cy Seymour, one of the few players to ever be both a successful [End Page 210] hitter and pitcher. Larry Lester zeroes in on one game in particular: an epic pitching duel in 1930 that, as Lester recounts, demonstrates the power of history and its narrative. And Robert K. Fitts's "Babe Ruth, Eiji Sawamura, and War" points out some bitter ironies stemming from the 1934 Goodwill Tour. Readers might also be drawn to "Zooming in on an Old Great Photo" and "The Georgie Peach: Stumped by the Storyteller." Both are beautifully told accounts (accompanied by artifacts) of the authors' investigations into the past. However, the quality of the writing is not...

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