Baseball Best-Sellers, August 17, 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. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
3. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
4. The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman
5. Heads-Up Baseball : Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time, by Tom Hanson
6. Waiting for a Sign, by Kevin Keating
7. Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide #40
8. Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything, by Darrin Donnelly
   
9. The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance, by H.A. Dorfman
10. Ballplayer, by Chipper Jones and Carroll Rogers Walton

E-BOOKS

1. Moneyball
2. Astroball
3. Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
4. Miracle in Shreveport, by David Benham
5. Reversing the Curse, by Dan Shaugnessy
6. The Catcher Was a Spy, by Nicholas Dawidoff
7. Where Nobody Knows Your Name, by John Feinstein
8. I’m Keith Hernandez, by Keith Hernandez
9. The Bullpen Gospels, by Dirk Hayhurst
10. Mind of a Superior Hitter, by Michael McCree

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, #14 overall in sports)
2. Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #39)

Astroball is  #3 on The New York Times‘ monthly sports list.

It’s not unusual to see instructionals such as the books by Williams, Hanson, and Dorfman on the list at this time of year. Young athletes are gearing up for their return to school sports and parents undoubtedly want to give them a leg up. Plus it’s Littler League World Series time, so there’s a boost from that as well. The same might be said for Darrin Donnelly’s Relentless Optimism. To be honest, this isn’t the type of book I would normally read, either baseball or otherwise, so I can’t give an assessment one way or the other.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,772,921; last time: 1,734,750. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,359,472  (last time, 1,315,832).

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 anecdotes, Baseball Cards, Houston Astros, instructionals, Oakland As, Ted Williams