Books vs. Online Content

by ufoboy90 on Jan 1, 2007 8:21 PM EST Comment 11 comments

Hey Guys.

I'm just sorting out which baseball books I'll be purchasing for the 2007 season. Seeing as this site is free, I'm definitely going to be purchasing John's book.

The two other books I'm looking at purchasing are probably BA's prospect handbook, and possibly BP's as well.

The thing is, BA and BP both sell a prospect book, but then to access their websites you have to fork over cash again. What is the better deal? Getting the comprehensive book at the beginning of the season, or getting full access to the websites throughout the season?

Also how does John's newsletter compare to his book, and if you had to buy one, which one would it be and why.

Thanks Guys

0 recs | Comment 11 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Hey

BA, I have both. The book covers the top 30 prospects per organization where as the site does the top 10 but, its the same as they put in the book. I Personally get both but, the books great if you want indepth prospect info. Baseball Prospectus. I've heard their book isn't centered on prospects therefore it may not be what your looking for. I recently discovered a book that I recently purchased:

http://www.baseballhq.com/mlba.shtml

by nate050904 on Jan 1, 2007 8:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

ron shandlers baseball forecaster is the best

year after year

by krgrecw on Jan 1, 2007 8:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

BP

BP's annual isn't prospect focused, but imo it is the best annual out there.

by chri5 on Jan 1, 2007 9:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

My Experience

I got both the online version and annual version of BP and BA last year.

This year, when my BA subscription ran out, I didn't renew. Just too expensive, and I get really all I need from the prospect handbook.

BP online, on the other hand, I renewed as soon as it ran out. And the book is always worth it.

I'm going to try Sickels' book this year for the first time, at the least because I should be paying SOMETHING for this site.

The Hardball Times annual looks pretty good too, might pick that up. I only recently discovered their (free) site, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

by abbreviatedman on Jan 1, 2007 10:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Fanboy alert!

I can look to my left and see every book John has written since the 1996 Minor League Scouting Notebook published by...well, I'm sure I've done enough damage already ;-). This includes his outstanding Feller biography. I've subscribed to his newsletter since at least 2003, since I can find every issue, but I thought I started in 2002. In the newsletter, you get serious intra-season prospect updates including insights on his scouting trips. If I had to choose one...wow, I really dunno. The book is all-encompassing but yearly while the newsletter is a couple of times a week during the season. Tough call.

Now, you can call me a brown-noser (kiss arse!) or whatever, but I fully believe in his products. In return, the only thing I have received is his wife, Jeri, insulting my wife for her taste in men. Frankly, I agree with Jeri :-))) I know a big reason I enjoy John's writing so much is that he understands history. Nothing is taken in a vacuum, and it shows.

I have an online sub to BA (subbed to that since 1990!), so I don't buy the book. My only other must have is BP's book and sub. I'm strongly considering Roto Authority's book (anybody have an opinion?), and I may buy The Hardball Times book again (outstanding writers).

To actually answer your question, not knowing your budget or goals, I would get John's book and sub and BP's book and sub. A BA sub would be next (vs. the book). And let's just hope that the rumor Will Carroll is bolting to ESPN is false, and the rumor he's "seeing" Jenn Sterger is true. Pretty good for an aggie :-)

by bigfatdrunk on Jan 1, 2007 10:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Books

I yearly buy the BP book and John's prospect book. I enjoy reading both. There's a wealth of good information told through an interesting and humorous writing style in both that really appeals to me. I subscribe to John's newsletter as well and recommended it, but if I could chose between book or newsletter it's the book.

Don't subscribe to the BP service so no idea if it's worth it or not.

by eastin on Jan 1, 2007 10:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

John & BP

Depends what you are trying to do.

If you're trying to understand all minor league players John is #1.

But then you could argue BA (I prefer the book: the fact it is published yearly has pluses & minues - less likely to over-react to a small sample size, but will take longer to catch something new), but I prefer BP.com.

BP has superior projection methods & now with Kevin Goldstein hijiked from BA they have great writing that focuses on prospects.

The BP book only lists the top 50 prospects. While my analysis indicates they have been more accurate on the top 50 than BA, they only go 50 deep.

by kschell on Jan 2, 2007 8:24 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

But

They do list about 10 or so prospects under each team, either guys on the 40-man or guys who did well under pecota...

BP's isn't really for prospects, but it does have a ton of information in it not on the website, and I don't believe any of the player commentary is on the website, and that's hundreds of pages right there.

by Brickhaus on Jan 2, 2007 10:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

True

There are comments on the book not on the website. However, projections for every player (even one's not in the book are in the website). And comments on players in the book will be reflected in the Kevin Goldstein articles for each teams top 10 prospects on the website.

One strange thing about BP is that there are moany different authors. And the person who writes a team write-up may have a different perspective than KG. So you could lose that by not buying the book. But if my goal is to understand prospects I prefer BP.com more than the book.

Another thing about BP is it can be confusing until you become accustomed to their terms.

by kschell on Jan 2, 2007 2:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

Great feedback so far, awesome.

Somebody asked about my budget... It's probably between 60-100 for this season, could be more if the content is too good to resist.

I'll be the first A+ prospect... www.myspace.com/posingforpennies

by ufoboy90 on Jan 2, 2007 4:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

John's book, BP's online service

I get more out of reading John Sickels and Kevin Goldstein than I get from any other writers on the prospect beat. Used to get both BP and BA, but dropped the latter when Goldstein moved over to BP (and I didn't want to pay for the "expertise" of Phil Rogers anymore). Goldstein, to my mind, was the major reason why BA's coverage improved this century, and he's now made BP's prospect coverage much better.

I like BP's book for the pithy player comments, but it's best for statistical analysis. Much of that you can get from the website with nicer charts and graphs. If you are on a budget, I would subscribe online instead of getting the book.

by asinwreck on Jan 2, 2007 6:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs