SABR Giving Away “The Emerald Guide to Baseball 2009” For Free

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) has made The Emerald Guide to Baseball 2009 available for download at its web site.  The Guide is packed with 586 pages of baseball goodness and it’s FREE!

Thankfully the good folks at SABR decided to pick up the torch dropped by The Sporting News when TSN decided to discontinue its Baseball Guide series after 2006.  The Emerald Guide is loaded with information including front office personnel, minor league affiliates, spring rosters, broadcasting teams, 2009 schedules, and leaderboards for every major league team.

Once you get past the extensive information contained in the Guide’s first 65 pages, you’ll be treated to a fascinating review of the 2008 season by acclaimed baseball historian Gary Gillette, who is also one of the Guide’s editors, and Doug White.

Following the essay are pages jammed with standings, batting, pitching, and fielding statistics for every major league player, league leaders, and award winners.

I don’t want to give anything away because part of the joy of exploring the Emerald Guide comes in finding unexpected nuggets of information.  And I don’t want to overuse the word “extensive,” but it’s just that.

One spoiler I will divulge is that the award lists include “Ex Post Facto” recipients, and it’s fun to see Babe Ruth listed as the 1916 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, and that Lefty Grove is listed as the winner every year from 1928-1933.  Those are just two of many examples.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; more than 400 pages of information, including a review of the 2008 minor league season, follow.

The Emerald Guide is edited by Gillette, who’s also worked on The ESPN Baseball
Encyclopedia and ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia, and authored several books, including his upcoming Diamonds in the Grass; Pete Palmer, co-editor of several books, including the above, and most notably co-author of The Hidden Game of Baseball; and Rod Nelson, former SABR research services manager, and co-chair of the SABR Scouts Committee.

You don’t have to be a member of SABR to obtain a free copy, but if you’re a baseball fan (and since you’re here reading this, I assume you are), you really should consider joining.  While you’re chewing on it, you can get your free copy of the 2009 Emerald Guide here.