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Bill James

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Author

The Resume

    (October 5, 1949- )
    Born in Holton, Kansas
    Birth name was George William James
    Author of the annual books 'The Bill James Baseball Abstract' (1977-88), 'The Baseball Book' (1990-92), 'The Player Ratings Book' (1993-95) and 'The Bill James Handbook' (2003- )
    Known for his statistical innovations (called 'sabermetrics') in analyzing baseball
    Hired as a special advisor to the Boston Red Sox (2003- )

Why he might be annoying:

    Just in case baseball nerds were not already overly obsessed with stats, he created dozens of new numbers they can argue over.
    He dismissed as 'extremely weak' the mountains of evidence that Pete Rose bet on baseball.
    His attempt at reorganizing the Red Sox bullpen was a failure, until Boston brought in traditional closers Byung-Hyun Kim and Keith Foulke.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His sabermetrics make it easier to compare players from different teams and different eras.
    Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane adopted many of James' ideas to field a successful team despite serious budget constraints.
    The Red Sox have had considerable success, including two World Series wins, by following his emphasis on on-base percentage.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 38 Votes: 34.21% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 22 Votes: 18.18% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 14 Votes: 92.86% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 23 Votes: 69.57% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 23 Votes: 60.87% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 23 Votes: 69.57% Annoying