Mat Olkin’s Baseball Examiner 2004
Each year Mat sends me a copy of his book, and each year I enjoy it and give it a plug here. You know Mat from his Mat at Bat column in Baseball Weekly. It says in his bio in the book that his first published writing was in Bill James’ 1987 Baseball Abstract, which is cool.
Mat’s book is a great resource. He publishes Major League Equivalancies for a great many young players. MLE’s are the single best way to guage how a minor league player did in any given year. He also writes concise and helpful comments about quite a few young hitters. About Adam LaRoche he says:
You might not have heard about him yet, but he can hit. The Braves know it, and will give him a chance to prove it to everyone else.
Clearly Mat knows his stuff.
You can order his book at his website, or write to him at Baseball Weekly, where he is an editor, too. Or send him an email at molkin@usatoday.com.