Baseball Best-Sellers, September 14, 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
Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing, by Wil Haygood
Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything, by Darrin Donnelly
Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, by Dave Jamieson
Baseball Cop, by Eddie Dominguez
Hawk: I Did It My Way, by Ken Harrelson with Jeff Snook
Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide #40
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy

E-BOOKS

Moneyball
Mint Condition
Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
Astroball
October 1964, by David Halberstam
Baseball Cop
Saving Babe Ruth, by Tom Swyers
Heart of a Tiger: growing Up With My Grandfather, Ty Cobb, by Herschel Cobb
Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
Marquard and Seeley, by Noel Hynd

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, #18 overall in sports)
Astroball (read by the author, #25)
Ball Four: The Final Pitch (read by the author, #82)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (read by the author, #85)
Moneyball (#100; not a typo)

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

New to the BBS list, Tigerland is one of those compelling books which link the importance and impact of baseball/sports on society in times of crisis (see, Michael Leahy’s excellent The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers as a prime example of this genre.)

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,681,733; last time: 1,559,638. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,430,553 (last time, 1,436,555).

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.