Baseball Best-Sellers, May 26, 2017

NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on with the show…

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.

1. Teammate: My Journey in Baseball and a World Series for the Ages, by David Ross with Don Yeager
2. Papi: My Story, by David Ortiz with Michael Holley
3. The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse, by Tom Verducci
4. Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball, by Keith Law
5. Ballplayer, by Chipper Jones with Carroll Rogers Walton
6. The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life, by Rick Ankiel with Tim Brown
7. Lou: Fifty Years of Kicking Dirt, Playing Hard, and Winning Big in the Sweet Spot of Baseball, by Lou Pinella and Bill Madden * (Look for my review on Bookreporter.com.)
8. The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life, by Mike Methany with Jerry B. Jenkins
9. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
10. The Plan: Epstein, Maddon, and the Audacious Blueprint for a Cubs Dynasty, by David Kaplan

*New on this list.

Hot New Releases

1. Teammate
2. Papi
3. Teammate (Kindle)

Most Wished For

1. Papi
2. Smart Baseball
3. Teammate

NY Times: Papi  is number five on the weekly list. On the May monthly sports best-selling list: Cubs Way, #1; Ballplayer, #3; The Phenomenon, #8; 42 Faith, #10

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,252,370; last week: 1,164,124. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War, which launched April 25, currently ranks 152,060, up from last week’s 266,449.

If you have read either of those books, thanks, hope you enjoyed it, and please consider writing an Amazon review; it’s never too late. (And thanks to those who have.) Doesn’t have to be long or even complimentary, if you didn’t like it. Although I would warn you to understand what it is you’re reading. My editor tells me I shouldn’t worry over bad reviews and normally I don’t. But one Greenberg reviewer complained because apparently he felt it wasn’t long enough and that it wasn’t a full biography. Sorry, but caveat emptor: The title clearly states this book covers just one season in his career. If you’re disappointed for that reason, then that’s on you.

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Tagged as: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chipper Jones, David Ortiz, David Ross, Lou Pinella, Michael Lewis, Mike Methany, Oakland As