McFarland, publisher of eclectic baseball titles

McFarland Publishers has a unique place in the world of baseball literature. Known for their eclectic academic work in the arts, sciences, humanities, etc. they also specialize in topics that might be considered extremely narrow in interest within the national pastime. In fact, it seems comfortable to say that if it were not for this Jefferson, NC-based house, many of these books would either be self-published or not published at all.

A cursory look at their listings shows such wide-ranging titles as Baseball Barnstorming and Exhibition Games, 1901-1962; Watching Baseball, Seeing Philosophy; Baseball and the Blame Game; Class at bate, Gender on Deck and Race in the Hole; Baseball’s Retired Numbers — the list goes on, covering every aspect of genre literature: biography, poetry, fiction, statistical analysis, management, amateur and outlaw leagues, etc.

For the most part, the authors have impeccable credentials and McFarland deserves credit for giving them the forum they might not have outside of academic presses.

Speaking of forums, McFarland also hosts a Web site devoted specifically to their baseball titles which deals not just with promoting the books, but serves as a clearinghouse of information to the community, offering reviews and links to other sites of interest. The forums deal with academic treatment of the game; baseball on the Web and in the media and arts; conventions and meetings; and general book discussions.

You won’t find tell-all autobiographies from the player/flavor of the month here, nor glossy photo montages. One of the knocks on McFarland is that much of their product looks the same — paperbacks with few illustrations, practically never in color. Another is the high price: usually about $30 for softcover, substantially higher for hardcover which can put these hard-to-find subject matters out of reach of readers.

Nevertheless, McFarland is the publisher to turn to for books on your favorite sport that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.