Baseball Best-Sellers, May 18, 2018

Headnote: 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. For example, this week the #2 book on the baseball best-seller list is The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect. “Why” is a good question.

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

I’m Keith Hernandez: A Memoir, by Keith Hernandez
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
Winning Ugly: A Visual History of the Most Bizarre Baseball Uniforms Ever Worn, by Todd Radom
Ninety Percent Mental: An All-Star Player Turned Mental Skills Coach Reveals the Hidden Game of Baseball, by Bob Tewksbury and Scott Miller
Davey Johnson: My Wild Ride in Baseball and Beyond, by Davey Johnson with Erik Sherman
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman
The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life, by Mike Methany and Jerry B. Jenkins
A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle, by Randy Roberts
The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking, by Russell Carelton

E-BOOKS

I’m Keith Hernandez
Moneyball
2018 Little League Rulebook
Saving Babe Ruth, by Tom Swyers
Davey Johnson
Brothers in Arms: Koufax, Kershaw, and the Dodgers’ Extraordinary Pitching Tradition, by Jon Weisman
Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
Wicked Curve: The Life and Troubled Times of Grover Cleveland Alexander, by John C. Skipper
Summer of ’49, by David Halberstam
Lou: Fifty Years of Kicking Dirt, Playing Hard, and Winning Big in the Sweet Spot of Baseball, by Lou Pinella with Dave Madden

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)

I‘m Keith Hernandez (read by the author, #5 overall in sports)
Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #25)
90 Percent Mental (read by the author, #48)

No baseball titles on any of the New York Times‘ best-seller lists. Must say I’m surprised; thought the Hernandez book would be there someplace.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ (duh) lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,424,978; last time: 1,327,698. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 320,758 (last time, 774,238). 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.