Baseball Best-Sellers, April 6, 2018

I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m a big fan of these, especially when the author is the reader, since who knows better how it should “sound” than the person who created it?

The other caveats remain the same, however: 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.

In addition, sometimes the list-makers will try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it should not be listed. 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. I’m using my discretion to eliminate such titles here.

Finally, adults only here. That is, no books for younger readers (although no erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme either. And goodness knows there are a bunch of those).

So, with all that said…

PRINT

1. The Big 50: Cincinnati Reds: The Men and Moments that Made the Cincinnati Reds, by Chad Dotson
2. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
3. Gator: My Life in Pinstripes, by Ron Guidry with Andrew Beaton
4. Miracle in Shreveport: A Memoir of Baseball, Fatherhood, and the Stadium that Launched a Dream, by David Benham and Jason Benham
5. Baseball Prospectus 2018
6. The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life, by Rich Ankiel with Tim Brown
7. The Big 50: Minnesota Twins: The Men and Moments that Made the Minnesota Twins, by Aaron Gleeman
8. Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide 40
9. Try Not to Suck: The Exceptional, Extraordinary Baseball Life of Joe Maddon, by Bill Chastain
10. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood

E-BOOKS

1. 2018 Little League Rulebook
2. Saving Babe Ruth, by Tom Swyers
3. The Year of the Pitcher, by Sridhar Pappu
4. Moneyball
5. Teammate: My Journey in Baseball and a World Series for the Ages, by David Ross with Don Yeager
6. The Phenomenon
7. Try Not to Suck
8. Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s, by Jason Turbow
9. The Game: Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball’s Power Brokers, by Jon Pessah
10. The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic, by Richard Sandomir

AUDIOBOOKS (out of the top 100 sports best-sellers. The links will take you to the Amazon page where you can listen to a sample of the book)

1. Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #33 overall in sports)
2. Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss, by Marty Appel (read by Gregory Gorton, #46)
3. Gator, by Ron Guidry (read by the author, #47)
4. Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life, by Michael Lewis (read by the author, #72)
5. The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Thing in Sports, by Jeff Passan (read by Kevin Pierece, #89)
6. The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life, by Mike Methany and Jerry B. Jenkins (read by Mark Deakins, #93)

Two of those “franchise base” type books in the top 10? Kind of disappointing to me, given all the real and, IMO more original (i.e., not formulaic) titles out there.

No baseball titles on any of the New York Times‘ best-seller lists.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ (duh) lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,493,353; last time: 1,436,439. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 991,733 (last time, 719,015). By the way, this article from Sports Collectors Digest puts the Greenberg book at #10 on its list of best baseball books of 2017.

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.

Tagged as: Baseball America, baseball analysis, baseball prospects, baseball rookies, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, college baseball, Joe Maddon, Little League, Lou Gehrig, Michael Lewis, Minnesota Twins, minor leagues, New York Yankees, prospects, Ron Guidry, rookies