Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message.
On with the show…
As you may have notice in recent weeks, the output on the Bookshelf has been sparse. Received a one-week extension on my new book, which means it will be that much longer until things return to “normal.”
So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com, as of this posting.
Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); because I’m old school.
Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work.
Caveat 3: Sometimes they’ll try to pull one over on you and include a book within a category that doesn’t belong. I’m using my discretion to eliminate such titles from my list. For example, for some reason a recent listing included Tarnished Heels: How Unethical Actions and Deliberate Deceit at the University of North Carolina Ended the “The Carolina Way”, which, far as I can tell, is not at all about baseball, at least not in the main. For the sake of brevity, I will be omitting the subtitles, which have become ridiculously long in in some cases in recent years, also at my discretion.
Jeter Unfiltered, by Derek Jeter
- Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher
, by Rob Goldman
- 2015 Baseball Forecaster: An Encyclopedia of Fanalytics
, by Ron Shandler
- Baseball Prospectus 2015
- The Closer, by Mariano Rivera with Wayne Coffey (Bookreporter.com review)
- Out of the Blue: The Kansas City Royals Historic 2014 Season
, by Matt Fulks
- The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond
, by Jeff Silverman
- Derek Jeter: Excellence and Elegance
, by The New York Times
- Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
, by Terry Pluto and Tom Hamilton
- Triple Crowned: The San Francisco Giants’ Incredible 2014 Championship Season
If my memory serves and my calculations have been correct, this is pretty amazing. For the first time since I’ve been doing these lists a physical edition of Moneyball did not make the top 10.
Now that the dust has settle from the winter meetings, it’s time to get serious about our fantasy teams. Two perennial favorites — Shandler’s Forecaster and the Baseball Prospectus annual — are in the top five. Neither of them will be available until next year and I wonder, given the speed with which books get into print, if these will reflect the flurry of transactions and the subsequent impacts they will have on the players with their new teams (and in their new home fields).
Not on this list? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Ya’ll are gonna do something about that, right?
If you have read it, thanks, hope you enjoyed it, and please consider writing a review for the Amazon page. There haven’t been any in awhile. Doesn’t have to be long (or even complimentary, if you didn’t like it), but anything would be appreciated. And thanks to those who have :).
Once the new book is wrapped up I look forward to getting back to baseball book business with a new list of guests for the podcast and lots of fun reading ahead.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year and I’ll see you on the other side.
is available on Amazon.com,
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