The Complete History of the Baseball Forecaster, and More

These ancient books and artifacts were unearthed from the inner recesses of Ron's basement by trained archaeologists and are available now as suppplies last. We are currently auctioning off the few available full sets of Forecasters. If you would like to be informed of future auction information, enter your email address on the home page. Details about the auction lots:

LOTS 1 and 2
Lot 1 auction was completed on eBay on July 16, 2012. Final price was $810.00.
Lot 2 auction was completed on eBay on March 19, 2013. Final price was $1,125.00.
Description: This is the mother lode -- a copy of every edition of the Baseball Forecaster, beginning with "1986 SuperSTATS." This package also includes the books, Forecasting Pitching Careers (1995), Pitchers Almanac (1997), Fantasy Baseball Workbook (1999) and Rotisserie Workbook (2000). This is every book ever published by Shandler Enterprises that Ron had a hand in writing. Copies can be autographed on request.

LOTS 3, 4 and 5
Description: Same as Lots 1 and 2, except with a reprint of the first 1986 edition (original cover, reprinted innards) and without the Rotisserie Workbook (completely gone). Auctions TBD.

To purchase any remaining individual copies, place your order using PAYPAL. Send payment to paypal@ronshandler.com. In the message area, make sure to indicate which books you want and where we should ship them. Any or all copies can be autographed on request. Minimum order is $5.

Prices and availablility as of August 12, 2013.

1986 Edition (Published November 1986)
Original title: Baseball SuperSTATS

Contents: Reports for all 26 teams, each listing the top 30 players. First publication of gauges from Bill James, Pete Palmer and Thomas Boswell, all in one place. Included secondary average, total average, linear weights, runs created, plus pitching effectiveness (forerunner of strand rate) and more.

Available only via auction.

1987 Edition (Published November 1987)
Renamed: Baseball SuperSTATS Annual

Changes: Same format as 1986. New stats included offensive winning pct., defensive differential, baserunners prevented avg., earned runs prevented avg (next iteration of strand rate) and total pitching effectiveness.

Available only via auction.

1988 Edition (Published November 1988)
Renamed: The Baseball Forecaster Annual Review.

Changes: Expanded format added situational records for teams, monthly and 10-year performance trends and monthly Pythagorean projections. Draft guide history debuts, including the first player projections, for linear weights and Rotisserie ratings.

Available only via auction.

1989 Edition (Published November 1989)

Changes: Same format as 1988. New stats included xERA. Team projections added, using Jamesian tools like the Johnson Effect.

Available only via auction.

1990 Edition (Published November 1990)

Changes: Expanded format included the debut of the first individual player boxes. Boxes listed monthly stats in one section, 5-year stats in another, plus a 2-line commentary.

Essays/Sections: Long Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...; Mostly Sunny, Increasing Darkness Towards Evening; Stats du Jour (early version of the Forecasters Toolbox); Compact, Handy Dandy Fantasy Draft Guide

Available only via auction.

1992 Edition (Published November 1991)

Post-dating of editions began
Changes: Over 50% more players included (over 700 in all), Revised format for player boxes included snapshot analysis section, major league equivalents, full stat projections and new stats like stolen base opportunity pct. and expected linear weights.

Essays/Sections: Decomposing Idols and Near Sleep, Not Quantum Physics, Fast Food News, Fantasy Draft Guide vs. Mr. Bill, Eternally Yours

Available only via auction.

1993 Edition (Published November 1992)

Changes: Debut of Pure Pitching Potential (PVal), the forerunner of BPV. Addition of more analytical essays. Burnout potential added to pitching charts.

Essays/Sections: Cocktails, Leading Indicators and the Art of Creative Discrepancy Analysis, The Key to Unlocking Pitching Performance, This Question of Predictability, A History of a Forecast, Early Bird Fantasy Draft Guide, Our Guaranteed Forecast for 1993

Available only via auction.

1994 Edition (Published November 1993)

Changes: Full commentary boxes added to player analyses, introduction of power and speed ratings

Essays/Sections: Harsh Realities; Official Glossary of Abbreviations, Acronyms, Obscure Formulas, Arbitrary Concepts, Inside Jokes and Government Secrets; New Frontiers in Creative Discrepancy Analysis; Leading Indicators: Leaders and Losers; Age and Performance; Early Bird Head Start Fantasy Draft Guide; The 10 Most Dangerous Mistakes Fantasy Leaguers Make

Available only via auction.

1995 Edition (Published November 1994)

Changes: Introduction of forecast risk, strand rate reappears in pitcher boxes

Essays/Sections: Canned Philosophies, Encyclopaedia of Important Stuff, The Ventura Effect, The BPV Trilogy, The Truth Behind "Inside Information," Early Bird Head Start Fantasy Draft Guide, The Beginning

Available only via auction.

Forecasting Pitching Careers (Published March 1995)

Co-written with Rick Wilton, this was the first book to break down pitching performance, combining both observational and sabermetric research. The seeds of the LIMA Plan were planted here.

Single copies: $10 (4 left outside of auction)

1996 Edition (Published November 1995)
10th Anniversary Edition.

Changes: Introduction of normalized gauges

Essays/Sections: Not all bad things happen in Pittsburgh, Challenging the Core Concept, Top Ten Reasons Why Projecting Playing Time is a Thankless Job, Finding Normalcy in an Abnormal World, Another Step Closer to Nirvana, Official Baseball Forecaster Encyclopaedia in the Back of the Book, Early-Bird, Head-Start Fantasy Draft Guide

Single copies: $5 (15 left outside of auction)

1997 Edition (Published November 1996)

Changes: Introduction of minor league prospect analysis.

Essays/Sections: Hillbillies, Top Ten Theories Why Brady Anderson Hit 50 HRs in 1996, Stranded With the Wild Steer, BPV - The Next Generation, 30 HRs is Just Another Day at the Office, Encyclopaedia, Early Bird Fantasy Draft Guide, Baseball Stats Go To Court

Single copies: $15 (2 left outside of auction)

Pitchers Almanac (Published March 1997)

An update of the principles originally published in Forecasting Pitching Careers along with in-depth, team-by-team scouting reports on all pitchers for the 1997 season.

Single copies: $5 (6 left outside of auction)

1998 Edition (Published December 1997)

Changes: No significant changes

Essays/Sections: The Ancient Legend of TOG, Sabermetric Encyclopaedia, Forecaster's Toolbox, Top 50 Prospects for 1998, Early Bird Fantasy Draft Guide

Available only via auction.

1999 Edition (Published December 1998)

Changes: Runs above replacement replaces linear weights, introduction of 2-year major league equivalents for all AA and AAA players,

Essays/Sections: Crickets, Forecaster's Toolbox, Top 50 Prospects, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Sabermetric Glossary

Single copies: $5

Fantasy Baseball Workbook (Published March 1999)

The forerunner of the RotoHQ.com archive, FBW is a repository of dozens of strategies and tools you need for fantasy draft preparaton and in-season roster management. Includes essays on all aspects of fantasy play, charts and worksheets that you can use manually or set up as digital versions, and an appendix with a draft guide.

Single copies: $3

2000 Edition (Published December 1999)

Changes: Introduction of injury update, LIMA Plan

Essays/Sections: Revelation, Forecaster's Toolbox, MIAs and Late Breakers, Top 50 Prospects, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Legumes, Sabermetric Glossary

Single copies: $10 (8 left outside of auction)

Rotisserie Workbook (Published March 2000)

The second edition of the Fantasy Baseball Workbook, focusing exclusively on the Rotisserie format. This is a repository of dozens of strategies and tools you need for fantasy draft preparaton and in-season roster management. Includes essays on all aspects of fantasy play, charts and worksheets that you can use manually or set up as digital versions, and an appendix with a draft guide. Final edition before the content became RotoHQ.com.

COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.

2001 Edition (Published December 2000)

Changes: Introduction of walk and contact rates, expanded summaries for prospects, addition of Baseball HQ essay archive

Essays/Sections: Propaganda, Off-Season Injury Report, Top 50 Prospects for 2001, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Number Games (Time to Toss the Numbers, Pedro Martinez and the LIMA Plan, The .300 Hackers, Skills Ownership Revisited), Forecaster's Toolbox, Sabermetric Glossary

Available only via auction.

2002 Edition (Published December 2001)

Changes: Introduction of pitching logs, Pure Quality Start (PQS) ratings, Domination/Disaster Pcts, full forecast boxes for top prospects. Addition of hit pct (H%) to pitcher boxes, Cheater's Bookmark

Essays/Sections: Catharsis, Foundation Philosophies, Forecaster's Toolbox, PQS Pitching Logs, Top Prospects for 2002, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Greatest Hits (The Truth About Predictability, Refining LIMA, The Gambler's Fallacy, Aces in the Hole, Fine-Tuning the Quest for BA), Glossary, Cheater's Bookmark

Single copies: $5

2003 Edition (Published December 2002)

Changes: Condensed pitching logs, bullpen indicator charts. Addition of ground ball/flyball ratios, expected batting average, 5-year platoon data, pitching run support

Essays/Sections: Pilgrimage, Batting Eye: Playing the Percentages, Expected Batting Average, Fly Ball Tendency and Power, Foundation Philosophies, Forecaster's Toolbox, New Perspectives in PQS, Are We Losing the Bullpen Battle?, Top Prospects for 2003, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Greatest Hits (LIMA Grading, 8 Myths of the LIMA Plan, How to Beat the LIMA Plan, Troubleshooting LIMA, Fixating on Today), It's Time to Kill Off Fantasy Baseball, Glossary, Cheater's Bookmark

Single copies: $10 (6 left outside of auction)

2004 Edition (Published December 2003)

Changes: Analysts from Baseball HQ contributed to the player commentaries, addition of batting hit rates, risk table, ERA/batting average percentage plays, closer volatility analysis

Essays/Sections: Fanalytics, Command: Playing the Percentages, Expected Batting Average - Take 2, Misery Index, The Next Esteban Loaiza, Batter Hit Rates, The Next Bret Boone, Foundation Philosophies, Forecaster's Toolbox, PQS Logs, Bullpen Indicators, Top Prospects for 2004, Major League Equivalents, Draft Guide History, Greatest Hits (Addressing Deficiencies, The Pitching Matrix, Got MILC?, Why We Still Fixate on Today, Legitimizing the Other 20%, The Rocky Path to Stardom, The Realities of Cynicism, Realities of the "Process", The Lesson from Loaiza), Glossary, Cheater's Bookmark

Single copies: $10 (7 left outside of auction)

2005 Edition (Published December 2004)

Changes: Reliability scores replace risk tables, DL days, Ball in play rates, 5x5 values replace 4x4, New formulas for several gauges, New fanalytics section, New gaming section including overhaul of draft guides

Essays/Sections: Relevance, Foundation Philosophies, Forecaster's Toolbox, Forecasting runs created, Finding in-season RBI, A look at saves conversion rates, Homerrific, Avoiding line drives, Expected strand rate, xERA2, Prospecting with BPIs, Minor league BPVs and fast starters, How important are initial PQS scores?, When command is not enough, "26", Taking April more seriously, Blurring the lines of absolutes, The power continuum, The gravity principle, Fanalytics takes on the disabled list, Abandoning command?, PQS Logs, Bullpen Indicators, Top Prospects for 2005, Major League Equivalents, Gaming section (LIMA Plan, RIMA Plan, Stars & Scrubs vs Spread the Risk, Looking ahead to 2005, The pitching matrix, Rotisserie7, Auction draft psychology), Draft guides, Glossary, Cheater's Bookmark

Single copies: $10 (6 left outside of auction)

Available only via auction.

Still available at BaseballHQ.com here and via online booksellers

Available at BaseballHQ.com here and via online booksellers

The Shandler Company, P.O. Box 20303, Roanoke, VA 24018 - scowling@ronshandler.com