Baseball Best-Sellers, October 26, 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 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

The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy
Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game, by Rob Neyer
Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
Game Faces: Early Baseball Cards from the Library of Congress, by Peter Deveraux
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 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
I’m Keith Hernandez: A Memoir, by Keith Hernandez
Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything (Sports for the Soul) (Volume 3), by Darrin Donnelly

E-BOOKS

October 1964, by David Halberstam
The Big Fella
Powerball
Moneyball
Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
The Bullpen Gospels, by Dirk Hayhurst
The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, by Robert Creamer
The Giants of the Polo Grounds, by Noel Hynd
Astroball

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, #29 overall in sports)
The Big Fella, (read by the author and Fred Sanders, #32)
Powerball (read by the author, #50)
Astroball, (read by the author, #52)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (read by the author, #69)

There are no baseball titles on The New York Times‘ monthly sports list. Wonder if/when they will do something with The Big Fella.

Game Faces looks like an interesting item. Trying to imagine how the artists composed their pictures. Did the ballplayers pose in a studiop? Were the paintings done from memory or sketches or photos?

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 332,595; last time: 1,632,426. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,102,811 (last time, 955,801.)

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.