If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.

Amazon keeps changing the way they report, so that will be mirrored here. Sometimes there will be rankings of Kindle and audio-books on baseball, other times, not.

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“).

In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category in which it should not be listed (in my opinion). For example, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect has appeared on Amazon’s BBS list. “Why” is a good question. There might be a smattering of the national pastime in it, but not enough to make it a baseball book per se (again, IMO).

Finally, adults only here. That is, no books for younger readers (i.e., 12 and under). Also no “adult” adult books (romance/erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme although goodness knows there are a bunch of those out there).

So, with all that said…

The links under the authors’ names will take you to the Bookshelf Conversations I had with them. An asterisk denotes a book making its debut on the BBS list. And a “Ω” means it’s an award winner, almost always in the print version.

PRINT

1. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
2. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis Ω
3. Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments, by Joe Posnanski (my review on Bookreporter)
4. The Baseball 100, by Posnanski
5. The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keene (my Bookshelf review here)
6. Heads-Up Baseball : Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time, by Tom Hanson and Ken Ravizza 
7. Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original, by Tim Brown (my review on Bookreporter)
8. Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life, by Dusty Baker
9. Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton
10. Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas, by Jesse Cole

KINDLE

1. The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
2. Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It, by Jane Leavy
3. Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between, by Eric Nussbaum (my review on Bookreporter.com)
4. Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball, by George F. Will
5. The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America, by Posnanski
6. Nice Guys Finish Last, by Leo Durocher and Ed Linn
7. Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will, by Scott Miller
8. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, by Jane Leavy
9. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, by Jonathan Mahler
10. The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life, by Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown

AUDIO BOOKS

1. The Bad Guys Won: A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform – and Maybe the Best, by Pearlman (read by the author)
2. 72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee, by Lee (read by the author)
3. 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
4. Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask, by Jon Pessah
5. Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien
6. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, by Lawrence Ritter (narrated by the author)
7. The Methany Manifesto, by Mike Methany with Jerry B. Jenkins
8. Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen
9. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy

I always get a vicarious thrill when an “old” books grabs the Number One spot. In this case, it’s The Science of Hitting. It reminded me of an episode of M*A*S*H — “Mad Dogs and Servicemen” — in which Trapper John tries to counsel an injured soldier who is suffering from hysterical paralysis. The young man is a fan of the Red Sox so Trapper chats about Ted Williams, one of several references to baseball made by the long-running show. IMO, the writing is a bit forced with the gist being that the kid thinks it wasn’t fair to have the Splendid Splinter back in military service.

Otherwise, nothing new to say.

Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 2,249,022 in books overall; last time, 1,864,003.  Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 3,408,202; last time, 3,463,656.

Shameless self-promotion: if you’re looking for some good baseball reading during this down time, why not pick up a copy of 501? It’s like the dictionary; it has the other books in it, which reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite shows.

BUT…

Some exciting news (now we’ll see who’s paying attention and reading down this far).

Necessity is the mother of invention. Thanks to emergency surgery in which I said goodbye to a recalcitrant gallbladder, I have a couple off months for recuperation during which time I will be working on a revision of 501.

The new version will include all the original stuff but as you know if you’re a baseball reading fool, there have been a lot of great books published since 501 came out a dozen years ago. So since this isn’t a ranking where one title might be pushed off the list, the new material will appear as an added chapter.

A reminder: There’s an Excel “checklist” of the books list in 501. If you’re interested in keeping track of how many you have read or own, drop me a line.

If you have read either of my books, thanks, hope you enjoyed it, and please consider writing an Amazon review; it’s never too late.

{ 0 comments }