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Stephen Hawking Pays Off Bet with Total Baseball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
publicity@sportclassicbooks.com
TORONTO (July 21, 2004) - Physics and baseball occasionally can be found in the same sentence, usually in the context of "What makes a curve ball curve?" or "Does corking a bat really help?" But today in Dublin, Ireland, physics and baseball shared a spotlight in a most unexpected way.

At the 17th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, world-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking settled a seven-year-old bet with California Institute of Technology astrophysicist John Preskill with a copy of the Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia (SPORTClassic Books, 2004).

For nearly 30 years, Hawking had contended that black holes, which occur when a massive star burns up its nuclear fuel and the overwhelming force of gravity causes it to collapse on itself, emitted no information about what had been going on inside. Further, Hawking theorized that "information swallowed by a black hole is forever hidden and can never be revealed." Preskill opposed the theory, insisting that matter in black holes could not be destroyed, and information about its creation would be emitted. At stake in the bet was the encyclopedia of the winner's choice, from which he could recover information at will.

When Hawking conceded the bet, Preskill requested Total Baseball, and a copy of the book, which is not sold in the United Kingdom, was flown in to Dublin for today's announcement. "I had great difficulty in finding one over here, so I offered him an encyclopedia of cricket as an alternative," Hawking said, "but John wouldn't be persuaded of the superiority of cricket."

Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia, now in its eighth edition, has been the first choice for fans seeking the most authoritative source for records, statistics and insightful essays on the sport since it was first published in 1989. This edition not only tells the story of America's pastime in words and numbers, but also in more than 200 photos, including 60 color images in the new Total Baseball Gallery.

Wayne Parrish, president of SPORTClassic Books, lauded both Preskill's discriminating choice and Hawking's good sportsman's diligence in paying off, noting, "This is ground-breaking stuff. Before this, the only black hole anyone associated with baseball was Willie Mays's glove, where hitters used to say triples went to die."
About the editors
John Thorn, one of the country's foremost baseball historians, wrote his first baseball book thirty years ago and since then has created a great many more, including Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame and The Armchair Book of Baseball. He co-founded Total Baseball in 1989, has written for several periodicals, and was Senior Creative Consultant to the Ken Burns documentary Baseball.

Phil Birnbaum is editor of By the Numbers, the statistical analysis newsletter of the Society for American Baseball Research. A native of Toronto, he currently resides in Ottawa where he works as a software developer.

Bill Deane is a freelance baseball researcher and writer who spent eight years as Senior Research Associate for the National Baseball Library & Archive. He has published seven books and more than 200 articles for a variety of publications, and was a recipient of the 1989 SABR-Macmillan Baseball Research Award.

To arrange an interview with an editor of Total Baseball, contact publicity@sportclassicbooks.com.
BOOK COVER

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Details
$59.95 US
Cloth
8-1/2 x 10-7/8
ISBN 1-894963-27-X
2,688 pages
150 B&W photos, 50 color photos

Praise for 15 years of Total Baseball
"If I'm ever stranded on a Pacific island, I hope a copy of Total Baseball washes up on the beach." - Rob Neyer, ESPN

"Total Baseball might be the most comprehensive and visually appealing baseball book I have ever seen." - Seattle Times

"The ultimate source for baseball information." - Baseball Weekly

"Total Baseball is the first reference book on the left side of my desk, easily reachable quickly with my left hand and its pages are dog-eared from daily use." - Hal McCoy, Hall of Fame baseball writer, Dayton Daily News

"The baseball reference for years to come" - Sports Illustrated

"A stunning achievement, a superb blend of traditional baseball lore and numbers, employing the most sophisticated statistical toys." - The Globe and Mail

"A chunk of baseball heaven." - Amazon

"The most complete baseball encyclopedia ever-a one-volume baseball library" - Book of the Month Club

"The best single reference book on baseball. Not only does it have the numbers--and plenty of the--it's got some of the stories, too." - Milwaukee Journal

"It is at once a superb encyclopedia, a wonderful place, indeed, a whole world, to get lost in.'' - Ken Burns, author of Baseball: An Illustrated History

"This book will take its place among the great ones about the game, and every baseball library that lacks one will be suddenly obsolete." - Bill James

"The best book on stats and history" - Phil Rizzuto

"This is the one you'll find by the cash register of the best bars -- there to settle the most heated and arcane disputes among ardent fans." - The New York Review of Books' Reader's Catalog

"One of the best baseball statistics books ever" - The New York Times Book Review

"Loaded with every fact a baseball buff could want." - Providence Journal Bulletin

"Enough information to answer any argument fans can think of." - Pittsburgh Press

"A massive, beautiful beast of a book." - ESPN.com

"Total Baseball is a grand slam in the home half of the ninth. No baseball fan should start another season without it. It's as much fun as a Fourth of July doubleheader." - New York Post

"As complete a baseball book as is likely to come along for some time." - San Francisco Chronicle

"Essential ... Total Baseball has won me over." - San Diego Tribune

"Sheds new light on every aspect of the game ... one volume no serious baseball fan can do without." - Lawrence S. Ritter, author of Glory of our Times

"The most comprehensive record of the national pastime ever produced, statistical or otherwise." - NEA Sports

"Total Baseball deserves Hall of Fame honors." - Oakland Tribune

"It's got everything you always wanted to know from a baseball encyclopedia but were not able to find." - New York Times
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