Spitball Magazine announces CASEY Award finalists

Mike Shannon, editor of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine, recently sent along a notice about the finalists for the prestigious 2017 CASEY Award, celebrating its 35 year in recogniing some of the best books on the game. Where applicable, I have included a link to either my review of the book or a “Bookshelf Conversation” with the author.

Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character, by Marty Appel (Conversation)
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swinging A’s, by Jason Turbow (Conversation)
Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame that Lasted Forever, by Kevin Cook
Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Ambassador, by Dennis Snelling
Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son, by Paul Dickson (Conversation)
Lost Ballparks, by Dennis Evanosky and Eric J. Kos
The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic, by Richard Sandomir (Conversation)
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 Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record, by John Eisenberg (Review)
The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age, by Sridhar Pappu (Review)

The annual CASEY Awards Banquet will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, in early March. For continuing information on the Banquet and a history of the CASEY Award, please visit spitballmag.com.

Now, I’m not a judge this year, but I do have my favorites. I have not read Snelling’s bio on O’Doul, nor Lost Ballparks. I also haven’t finished Smart Baseball, but I think it’s a real eye-opener. As for the rest, if you asked me which I would pick, I would have to go with Sandomir’s book on the making of TPOTY since it combines several of may favorite things: baseball, that movie in particular, and the actor who, despite all the problems (the lefty-righty business), made Gehrig most relatable.