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Loading... Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringeby Sam Walker
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  TimV57 | Jun 25, 2008 |  A really fun book. I liked the times that the author tried to "coach up" his roto players by speaking to them in person. Ortiz, Jacque Jones, and Bill Mueller, and Miguel Batista all seem like fun guys. (  ) dvf1976 | Apr 23, 2008 | Hilarious Book. A bit over the top at times but still quite amusing. A look into the a Wall Street Journal Reporter as he tries to win one of the most difficult fantasy baseball leagues around - in his first season as a fantasy baseball manager. Found it much more entertaining than I thought it would be when I received it as a gift. (  ) jmcclain19 | Jul 28, 2007 | Walker spends the 2004 season playing Rotisserie (fantasy) baseball. The book gets a little overwhelming at times with stats. (  ) LesaHolstine | Jul 19, 2007 | Highly (or down the middle of the plate) recommended!! Interesting, well-written, & funny account of baseball, gamesmanship, and a wide range of human nature. After reading a library copy I reviewed it on Amazon when ordering copies for my brother and a friend. I then got an email from the author and corresponded with him for marketing feedback. Nice guy, great book!! (  )1  realdealjim | Jul 14, 2007 | 
 The best book on fantasy isn't a players' guide, but a lunatic adventure. It's Fantasyland, by Sam Walker, a sportswriter who has never tried fantasy, but joins its toughest league. This is, he writes, "like trying to learn the cello by joining the London Philharmonic."
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| Book description |
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In 2004, Sam Walker, a sports columnist for The Wall Street Journal, decided to explore this phenomenon by talking his way into Tout Wars, a private league generally reserved for the nation’s top experts. Using his baseball contacts and access to locker rooms, Walker spent a year trying to dredge up information that might give him a competitive edge over his eccentric cast of competitors. But in his quest for victory he also endeavored to settle the great question that divides modern baseball thinkers: Can excellence be predicted by statistics alone or is the human element more important?
Together with his crack research team, Sig (a statistician) and Nando (a baseball savant), Walker finds himself possessed by the game and determined to win at any expense, spending weeks on the road interacting with his real Major League players and trying to “manage” them. We follow his descent into sleeplessness, panic, triumph (temporarily), treachery, and even consultations with an astrologer as he keeps his ever-blearier eyes on his elusive goal. The result is one of the most entertaining sports books in years and a matchless look into the heart and soul of our national pastime.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:22 -0400)
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I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who plays fantasy baseball or is just curious as to why those who play it are so fanatical about it. (