Lonnie Wheeler explores the intangible qualities with which certain players make other players better. These PEQs—Performance Enhancing Qualities—have been swept aside by the explosion of statistical analysis in baseball. Now, with the help of countless players, managers, and baseball executives, Wheeler draws on a lifetime of observation to demonstrate that playing the game the right way does indeed have its rewards.
A veteran sportswriter’s refreshing ode to the little things that, as Joe Torre once put it, represent baseball’s heartbeat, INTANGIBALL is not designed to debunk Moneyball, but rather to sketch in what it left out. Wheeler thoroughly examines the human dynamics of baseball by exploring how culture changes on the Cincinnati Reds following the departures of star players Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn enabled the team to snap out of its losing ways. Making the case for teams that transcend statistics because of their deference to values, he introduces the concept of “teamship” and identifies it in such successful organizations as the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Ray, and recent World Champions St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Wheeler traces this team-first philosophy from legendary figures such as Hall-of-Famer Branch Rickey to contemporary managers such as Joe Maddon and ballplayers such as Scott Rolen and future Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter.
Descritpion written and distributed by Leah Johanson Senior Publicist, Simon & Schuster
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