Pitchers, the pitches they throw, and how they throw them -- these days it's the stuff of constant scrutiny, but there's never been anything like a "comprehensive source" for such information. That's what preeminent baseball analyst Bill James and ESPN.com baseball columnist Rob Neyer realized over lunch more than a dozen years ago. Since then, they've been compiling the centerpiece of this book, the "Pitcher Census," which lists specific information for nearly two thousand pitchers, ranging throughout the history of professional baseball. The "Guide" also offers: LIA "dictionary" describing virtually every known pitchLIThe origins and development of baseball's most important pitchesLITop ten lists: best fastballs, best spitballs, and everything in betweenLIBiographies of some of the great pitchers who have been overlookedLIMore knuckleballers and submariners than you ever thought existedLIAn open debate concerning pitcher abuse and durabilityLIA formula for predicting the Cy Young Award winnerLISomething fresh and new: Bill James' "Pitcher Codes"/ULThe "Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers" is about understanding pitchers, and baseball's action always starts with the pitchers. It's also about entertaining debates and having a great deal of fun with the history of a game that obsesses so many.