Baseball Best-Sellers, October 5, 2018

Missed posting last week because of the trip.

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 perason 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
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Jeff Silverman
The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keene
Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything, by Darrin Donnelly
The Ultimate Yankee Book: From the Beginning to Today: Trivia, Facts and Stats, Oral History, Marker Moments and Legendary Personalities―A History and … Book About Baseball’s Greatest Franchise, by Harvey Frommer
Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing, by Wil Haygood
Incredible Baseball Stats: The Coolest, Strangest Stats and Facts in Baseball History, by Kevin Reavy

E-BOOKS

Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
Moneyball
The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee
The Big Fella
Astroball
The 1967 American League Pennant Race: Four Teams, Six Weeks, One Winner, by Cameron Bright
Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius, by Bill Pennington
I Never Had it Made, by Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett
Fenway 1912, by Glenn Stout
Taking Your Team to Cooperstown, by Angela Weight

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)
The Chicken Runs at Midnight: A Daughter’s Message from Heaven That Changed a Father’s Heart and Won a World Series, by Tom Friend (read by Ben Holland, #23)
Astroball (read by the author, #33)
The Big Fella (read by the author and Fred Sanders, #74)

There are no baseball titles on The New York Times‘ monthly sports list.

Not surprised to find Leavy’s newest on the best-seller list. Mantle, Joufax, and now Ruth. I wonder who rounds out the quartet for he baseball Mt. Rushmore?

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,210,312; last time: 1,743,230. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,069,472 (last time, 1,409,911).

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.