Baseball Best-Sellers, June 2, 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.

Teammate: My Journey in Baseball and a World Series for the Ages, by David Ross with Don Yeager
Papi: My Story, by David Ortiz with Michael Holley
The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse , by Tom Verducci
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
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life, by Rick Ankiel with Tim Brown
Ballplayer, by Chipper Jones with Carroll Rogers Walton
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team, by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller
42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story, by Ed Henry

*New on this list.

Hot New Releases

Teammate
Papi
The Only Rule is It has to Work

Most Wished For

Teammate
Papi
Smart Baseball

NY Times: Papi drops to Number 11 after debuting at Number 5 last week. On the May monthly sports best-selling list: Cubs Way, #1; Ballplayer, #3; The Phenomenon, #8; 42 Faith, #10

I finally get why David Ross’ Teammate is so popular: He was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, a show I must admit I never watch. Brilliant strategy. I wonder which came first: him writing a book or agreeing to be on the show?He seems to have acquitted himself well, too, making it all the way to the semi-finals.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 490,610; last week: 1,252,370. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War, which launched April 25, currently ranks 77,629, up from last week’s 152,060.

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.