Here are two descriptions of the plot of The Phantom Shortstop, a 1960s book authored by Wilfred McCormick:
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“Rocky’s baseball team has been asked to play in a special Invitational Tournament being held at an atomic installation. The Ghost Ranch scientists have perfected a Millivac machine capable of computing baseball odds and advising instant baseball strategy.”
“Rocky McCune, fiery high-school coach, pits his men in a tournament against a team of scientists’ sons who rely on a giant computer named Millie for their strategy.”
Without actually reading it, can we just assume that gut instinct and grit triumph over science in the end? Was this book written with the sole purpose of snuffing out sabermetrics in the womb?
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