Baseball Best-Sellers, September 7, 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

Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
Baseball Cop, by Eddie Dominguez
Heads-Up Baseball : Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time, by Tom Hanson
Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide #40
Hawk: I Did It My Way, by Ken Harrelson with Jeff Snook
Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything, by Darrin Donnelly
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy
Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos, by Jonah Keri

E-BOOKS

Moneyball
Ahead of the Curve: Inside the Baseball Revolution, by Brian Kenny
Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
Astroball
The New Bill James Historical Abstract, by Bill James
The Cubs Way, by Tom Verducci
Up, Up, and Away
The Catcher Was a Spy, by Nicholas Dawidoff
Fall From Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, by Tim Hornbaker
The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking, by Russell Carleton

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)

Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #32 overall in sports)
Astroball (read by the author, #33)

Astroball is #9 on The New York Times‘ monthly sports list.

Jane Leavy — who gave us a couple of great books on baby boomer heroes in Sandy Koufax and Mickey mantle — turns back the clock to remind us the impact Babe Ruth had on the game, as well as American culture. This is one of the handful of books I’ve been looking forward to ever since I heard it was in the works, and that goes back a few years.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,559,638; last time: 1,837,647. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,436,555 (last time, 1,428,211).

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.