Baseball Best-Sellers, August 10, 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

1. Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter
2. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
3. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
4. The Natural, by Bernard Malamud
5. The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman
6. I’m Keith Hernandez: A Memoir, by Keith Hernandez
7. Ninety Percent Mental: An All-Star Player Turned Mental Skills Coach Reveals the Hidden Game of Baseball, by Bob Tewksbury and Scott Miller
8. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, by Lawrence Ritter
9. Ballplayer, by Chipper Jones and Carroll Rogers Walton
10. The Baseball Drill Book, American Baseball Coaches Association

E-BOOKS

1. Moneyball
2. Astroball
3. Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
4. Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
5. Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season, by Jonathan Eig
6. The Catcher Was a Spy
7. My Name Was Mickey Mantle, by Gary Kaschak
8. The Phenom, by Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown
9. Saving Babe Ruth, by Tom Swyers
10. Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, by Tim Hornbaker

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. Astroball (read by the author, #13 overall in sports)
2. Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #15)
3. Ballplayer (read by Michael Deakins, #69
4. Ball Four (read by the author, #99)

Astroball is  #3 on The New York Times‘ monthly sports list. But does that  technically qualify it as a “New York Times best-seller?” Used to be the paper had just one list, but now there are multiples. And a rising tide raises all boats. Moneyball has been a perennial best-seller, but maybe it’s getting an extra boost from Astroball‘s success.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,734,750; last time: 1,698,623. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,315,832 (last time, 1,269,868).

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.