Being a baseball and New York Yankees fan, many of the books that I read are about the game of baseball and about the New York Yankees. I have a shelf of Yankees playoffs programs and many, upon many newspapers in my basement that celebrate many of the great Yankees moments of the past 15 years. I love getting the post-season reviews and then I get excited when I read the pre-season previews for the upcoming season.
Recently I received a copy of the Maple Street Press Yankees 2010 Annual, and was so impressed I wanted to tell you about MSP and their Yankees annual and other editions. If every preview is as thorough and enjoyable as the Yankees edition is, there will be many happy sports fans who order from MSP.
Directly from their website, “Maple Street Press LLC is a privately-held, independent publishing company supporting the trade sports market. We publish high quality, authoritative, analytical, and insightful sports publications for involved and serious fans. The publications aim to provide insight into various aspects of sports and debunk commonly held beliefs and thoughts.” What does this mean? This means that they are a group of people who truly analyze information and present it to you the way that you want it, complete and thorough. MSP further details that each edition is 120 pages long and had NO advertisements.
My first impression when I flipped through the magazine when I received it (before I read it) was that is was on high quality glossy paper that really made the photos and the text stand out. It also had the feel of a annual yearbook as opposed to a magazine. Imagine holding your favorite team’s yearbook as opposed to a Sports Illustrated. It looked like and felt like it had substance. Now, I look at the substance.
There are nine stories about the 2010 Yankees, four stories about the future of the Yankees and five stories about the Yankees past.
In the preview of the 2010 Yankees, MSP give one of the most complete breakdown of each player expected to be part of the 2010 Yankees (Curtis Granderson, Randy Winn, Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez are included in this edition). The is a breakdown of each player, statistics for the hitters against each type of pitch, how well they hit pitches inside and outside of the strike zone, percent of balls hit to the different sections of the infield and the outfield and the a variety of statistics and splits (home/away, vs. LHP/RHP and 1st Half/2nd Half) for 2009. The breakdowns for the pitchers include strength and weaknesses of types of pitches, strengths of pitch zones, types of pitches in different counts and their success and splits of 2009 as well. If you are a fan of statistics, there are twenty pages to keep you busy for hours and hours.
There is a complete review of the 2009 season, starting with the three big free agent signings, the issues, departure and return of Alex Rodriguez, the building of the bullpen with the addition of Phil Hughes, travels from Brian Cashman’s trip to Atlanta through the Yankees sweeping Boston, through the victories through the playoffs. In addition, what review of the 2009 season would not speak about the “Walk-off Wins”. MSP does, broken down by date and walk-off hit.
There are further stories about Manager Joe Girardi, from his 2008 season through his World Series Victory. It was one of the most complete stories about Joe I have read. A story about Phil Hughes details his fall and rise as a Yankees pitcher. There is an interesting story about the Yankees and Plan B. What is Plan B and how was it successful? Buy the annual and find out. I cannot tell you everything that is in its pages.
There (of course) is a story about Alex Rodriguez. However this is not about Kate Hudson, PEDs or his hip, it is about how well A-Rod hits in the clutch and his home runs in clutch situations. There are also comparisons to Albert Pujols and David Ortiz. An interesting statistical breakdown into A-Rod, this story is unlike any I have read. There is a story that breaks down the Yankees fielders and how well they compare to other fielders using balls hit towards them, plays made, outs recorded and three other variables. The UZR/150 may be the defensive statistic of the future.
The last two stories about the 2010 Yankees discuss if a championship can be purchased and a look at the Yankee Captain and how he compares to The Iron Horse.
Instead of detailing the rest of this Annual, go out and get it if you are a Yankees fan. There are stories about the Top ten Yankees Prospects, a breakdown of Catcher Jesus Montero, a look at Staten Island and the Yankees farm team there and a look at minor league dream teams going back 60 years. The last part in the Annual is the history of the Yankees. First is a look at the best seasons for walk-off home runs, then there is a look at the new Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, a story of Johnny Mize and there is a ranking of the Yankees teams from 2000 through 2009. The top team is 2002. Lastly, there is a story about Yankee Fantasy Camps and the first ever Kosher Fantasy Camp.
What if you are not a Yankees fan? Maple Street Press publishes annuals for the Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, Cardinals, Phillies and new for 2010 the Dodgers, Mariners and Twins. If you are a football fan, the Patriots, Cowboys, Steelers have published annuals and new for 2010 the Packers and Broncos have published annuals. There is a Toronto Maple Leafs annual and the new annuals include the Red Wings, Canucks and the Canadians. College Football is well represented by Maple Street Press. Notre Dame, Texas, Ohio States, Michigan, Alabama, Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, Tennessee and Oklahoma have annuals for their fans. If you enjoy the college hoops (and March Madness is right around the corner), go get the North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky or UConn annuals.
So, how can you get these annuals? Go to www.maplestreetpress.com and look through all of the annuals. They cost only $12.99 per annual. Seriously, value of the annual when compared to the cost is ridiculous.
The best seller as of today is Maple Street Press Mariners 2010 Annual. Go and make your team the top seller!
