Book: The Complete Boston Red Sox
Written by Derek Gentile (Black Dog & Leventhal)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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The world of baseball has been, by a book, Moneyball shaken, and every subsequent release has paled in its midst. It's rare that any single book can effectively revolutionize its subject in less than a year, but the thorough examination of boy wonder General Manager Billy Beane and his theories in assembling the Oakland A's franchise has done just that. Statistics mean something different to the casual fan than they did last year and it is feasible that baseball dialogue will be tempered by the subject of Moneyball for the next five years, easily.

For all of the revolutionary quality of that single book, there have been a few really solid releases since spring that unfortunately pale in comparison. One of those books is The Complete Boston Red Sox by Derek Gentile. Essentially a culmination of every statistic and record accumulated by a Red Sox player since the franchise's inception, the 600 plus pages are chock full of sacred information for fans of the tragic franchise. The statistics are complimented by short bio's of the 100 greatest Boston legends, from current stars Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez to the black and white legends Babe Ruth and Cy Young. Gentile has gathered post season box scores, interesting top 10 lists and the requisite lore that comes with writing about such a franchise.

While The Complete Boston Red Sox isn't the revolutionary that its season contemporary Moneyball has been, it is a fine volume for a baseball collector.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz