Maximizing the two man system

[Triguy29]

Does anyone have a copy that they are looking at selling? I really want the book, right now, but I don't want to put out 70 bucks for any book.

[johnnyg08]

Does anyone have a copy that they are looking at selling? I really want the book, right now, but I don't want to put out 70 bucks for any book.

I wasn't too excited about paying that much either, but many of us did. Based on what I've learned so far, it was worth the money. The book has only been out for a couple of years so unless somebody has two books for whatever reason you might not have much luck finding one on the secondary market.

[Richvee]

I pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered the book. After reading these boards for a few months, it seems like a "must have". Yes, the price is pretty steep for my budget, but judging from the posts on these boards from people who's opinions I've come to respect, I'm sure I'll enjoy the book and learn a whole lot! Looking forward to it's arrival :D

[Triguy29]

I am planning on buying it I just wanted it now rather than in a few weeks when I have a few extra dollars. I've checked everywhere ebay, amazon, half, etc and there aren't any used copies. So it lloks like I will be paying full pop soon.

[yawetag]

I think that's testament to the quality of the book. I don't own a copy, but I've heard nothing bad about it.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I think that's testament to the quality of the book. I don't own a copy, but I've heard nothing bad about it.

Come on. The quality of the book?

Anyone who buys this book solely for the wealth of information on mechanics, techniques and biblical umpiring standards will be thrilled. But it is a very low quality publication whose $70 price tag is an insult to its purchaser. Once you get over the insult and wade through the countless style mishaps and punctuation mistakes, you'll gain as much information on umpiring as you might have expected from one of umpiring's luminaries.

It costs something to edit a book. That necessary expense was bypassed in the production of this amateurish desktop publication.

As a testament to its value as an umpiring resource, I freely and eagerly spent $70 for this book. But as part of the cost savings, Evans needs to shoulder a strong dose of criticism for its laughable publication standard.

[yawetag]

I think that's testament to the quality of the book. I don't own a copy, but I've heard nothing bad about it.

Come on. The quality of the book?

Anyone who buys this book solely for the wealth of information on mechanics, techniques and biblical umpiring standards will be thrilled. But it is a very low quality publication whose $70 price tag is an insult to its purchaser. Once you get over the insult and wade through the countless style mishaps and punctuation mistakes, you'll gain as much information on umpiring as you might have expected from one of umpiring's luminaries.

It costs something to edit a book. That necessary expense was bypassed in the production of this amateurish desktop publication.

As a testament to its value as an umpiring resource, I freely and eagerly spent $70 for this book. But as part of the cost savings, Evans needs to shoulder a strong dose of criticism for its laughable publication standard.

I'm sorry. When I said "quality," I meant the information inside, not the editorial style. I agree that, generally, the best documents for umpires are written by umpires whose umpiring abilities far exceed their grammar abilities.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I think that's testament to the quality of the book. I don't own a copy, but I've heard nothing bad about it.

Come on. The quality of the book?

Anyone who buys this book solely for the wealth of information on mechanics, techniques and biblical umpiring standards will be thrilled. But it is a very low quality publication whose $70 price tag is an insult to its purchaser. Once you get over the insult and wade through the countless style mishaps and punctuation mistakes, you'll gain as much information on umpiring as you might have expected from one of umpiring's luminaries.

It costs something to edit a book. That necessary expense was bypassed in the production of this amateurish desktop publication.

As a testament to its value as an umpiring resource, I freely and eagerly spent $70 for this book. But as part of the cost savings, Evans needs to shoulder a strong dose of criticism for its laughable publication standard.

I'm sorry. When I said "quality," I meant the information inside, not the editorial style. I agree that, generally, the best documents for umpires are written by umpires whose umpiring abilities far exceed their grammar abilities.

It's not Evans's writing skills that are relevant. An astonishing percentage of popular writers lack polish and style, and are heavily edited. It's Evans's utter refusal to go through customary publishing channels and make the necessary expense to justify charging $70 for what amounts to a text book.

A cut-rate publication of this kind should cost $25-$30.

[AZump78]

Not singling out K-Fin by any means, but I sometimes find it funny how umpires can justify certain, shall we say, indulgences in some areas relating to umpiring but be so dead set against overpaying or splurging in the slightest bit in others.

Sometimes I have found myself in the same trap....Penny-wise and pound foolish I guess as the saying goes.

[yawetag]

It's Evans's utter refusal to go through customary publishing channels and make the necessary expense to justify charging $70 for what amounts to a text book.

Have you seen the costs of textbooks? $70 is cheap. While I agree the price is steep (and is one of the reasons I haven't bought it yet), people are willing to pay it. I think you can argue the same for his balk video.

[JaxRolo]

What is the format of the book. Hard Bound? Spiral?

[johnnyg08]

Unfortunately not spiral. Not sure of the terminology, but basically a large paperback book.

[JaxRolo]

Unfortunately not spiral. Not sure of the terminology, but basically a large paperback book.

Is it something that Staples could convert into a spiral book?

[johnnyg08]

Unfortunately not spiral. Not sure of the terminology, but basically a large paperback book.

Is it something that Staples could convert into a spiral book?

Yes, but you don't want plastic, you want metal binding. The guy at FedEx kinkos (who doesn't have metal binding) said that would be the way to go...that being said, I'm not a great book binding mind so it might work.

[Haid D' Salaami]

Kevin is right $70 is too low... I know it is hard to think? Do I really want to pay 70 flipin dollars for a Umpire book.... it is well worth the money, not even the mechanic part of it, but the other small things in there as well.

[johnnyg08]

Kevin is right $70 is too low... I know it is hard to think? Do I really want to pay 70 flipin dollars for a Umpire book.... it is well worth the money, not even the mechanic part of it, but the other small things in there as well.

I think you mean yawetag. Kevin has the book, but dislikes the $70 price for his reasons.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Nike takes shortcuts in the manufacturing of its products, yet still charges the high price it would warrant if it went to the expense of taking all the traditional steps, like paying a living wage or properly insuring the Third World women and children it exploits as its factory workers. But in the end, there is no discernible difference in the shoes or shirts.

That profiteering model has been embraced by our society to the point that most everyone feels entitled to have artificially bloated margins on the sale of their products. The problem is, there is a discernible difference when cost-saving shortcuts are taken in the publishing of a book. That's why you simply can't get away with foregoing the step of having a book edited before it is printed and released. You certainly should not be pricing it as though those costly steps were taken.

That's what Evans has done, and that's why he has sold a few hundred of these books, rather than tens of thousands.

[yawetag]

That's what Evans has done, and that's why he has sold a few hundred of these books, rather than tens of thousands.

I'd suspect he hasn't sold "tens of thousands" simply because there's not tens of thousands of people that want to buy the product in the first place.

[sdix00]

That's what Evans has done, and that's why he has sold a few hundred of these books, rather than tens of thousands.

I'd suspect he hasn't sold "tens of thousands" simply because there's not tens of thousands of people that want to buy the product in the first place.

This is my argument.

I just don't think there is a market out there.

We are a niche within a niche within a submarket within a market.

At any price point, this can't be much more than a passion project.

I mean, there are basically two, maybe three major umpire suppliers and a couple dozen minor ones? And while every umpire owns a blue shirt, only a sliver of those actually invest any additional money in to their personal development.

If you don't believe those numbers, consider that the BRD is #1,000,000 (that's one million) on the Amazon seller list (and Amazon is the only way you can buy this title). In other words, there are nearly 1 million titles that have sold more books than the BRD.

For relativity, consider that Dirk Hayhurst's "Bullpen Gospels" ($10) is at 26,000 and Bruce Weber's "As they see em" ($6) is at 788,000. And they came out within 14 days of each other. And no one cares about Minor League ball, but Hayhurst still has an audience that is an order of magnitude larger than Weber.

And to really drive it home, I looked up one of my Statistics textbooks from College. It is written by my professor and was a required purchase for her class. Professor Barbara Beaver's "Introduction to Probability and Statistics" runs $143 in the student store and is still #200,000 on Amazon's list.

So I will revise my earlier estimate - The umpire market is a sliver within a niche within a niche within a submarket within a market

[Kevin Finnerty]

This is my argument:

It is an insult to foist an amateurish, unedited publication on all of us, irrespective of how many of us there are.

Jim Evans claims a place as one of umpiring's premier instructional minds. It's a shame he didn't fulfill his responsibilities when it came to publishing this book. To call oneself a professional at something carries with it some key responsibilities. He failed to take the necessary steps to fulfill those responsibilities. If you release a written work in any field, you run it through an editor. Other than making it a professional publication, it helps sell more copies.