16 Monday, April 5,1993 UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Vanderbilts saves YOU money everyday with low prices on all of your favorite LEVI'S Levi's Shorts Levi's Shorts •Silver Tab $29.99 •501 $29.99 •Colors $29.99 •550 $24.99 Stephen Pingry / KANSAN Lawrence author Bill James sits surrounded in his office by a collection of baseball books. James writes books which critically analyze more than 1,100 professional players and predicts their performances for the coming year. Author's books don't strike out. By Todd Selfert Kansan staff writer The Major League baseball season starts today for fans everywhere. But for Lawrence author Bill James, the season began in late October with the conclusion of the 1992 World Series. James writes books that analyze more than 1,100 professional baseball players' performances in the previous year and predicts how they will do in the upcoming season. "My busiest time of the year starts with the end of the season and ends with the salary arbitration hearings in the winter," he said. "People want their books on the shelf before the season starts. You have to work like hell to get done in time." His books have appeared on bookstore shelves every spring since 1977. James earned undergraduate degrees in 1973 in English and economics and a master's in 1975 in education, all from KU. He started his professional writing career the same year by writing an article for the October edition of Baseball Digest. His real goal, though, was to write books about the national pastime. "Ialways wanted to write books," he said. "I just always assumed it was impossible." A writing career did not to turn out to be as impossible as finding a teaching position. "The odds of finding a professorship at the time were about the same as winning a Nobel Peace Prize," he said. James considered going back to school and earning his doctorate in education but changed his mind when an adviser told him it could take as long as 10 years. "I figured I might as well be doing something to earn money if it was going to take that long," he said. The books' successes have surprised James. n seemed obvious to me that this was going to be a failure," he said. "Most of the time I'm surprised." James said the process of compiling the information for his books had gotten easier with each book. He had no computer when he started out and compiled statistics using daily box scores in newspapers. Now, the statistics usually are compiled by STATS, Inc., a Chicago-based company, of which James is a director. James receives some additional information from magazines and personal observations he makes while attending games. One source he particularly values is his friends. ple tell me. When you're trying to say something about 1,100 players, you need help from other people. "I rely on their input," James said. "The stuff I read doesn't necessarily stick with me. I remember things peostory idea? 864-4810 James said that he especially needed help because he could not manage his time well. James insists he is not as much of a workaholic as he was before Susan McCarthy, his wife of 14 years, gave birth to their children, Rachel, 7, and Isaac, 4. Before we had the kids, we both worked at home," McCarthy said. "Now it's easier to separate work from home, because his office is outside the home." James has an office many baseball fans would envy. Figurines of such Hall of Famers as Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson share space with thousands of books on wooden shelves supported by bricks. His books' covers, enclosed in glass frames, hang on the walls of his office. One wall next to his desk is decorated with McCarthy's paintings of George Brett and Royals Stadium. I wasn't much of a baseball fan before we were married," she said. "I'm a true baseball fan now." 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