Baseball Best-Sellers, November 2, 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

1. The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy
2. Bill James Handbook Paperback 2019
3. Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game, by Rob Neyer
4. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
5. The Rest is History: Boston Red Sox: 2018 World Series Champions
6. Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter
7. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
8. Papi: My Story, by David Ortiz and Michael Holley
9. Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything, by Darrin Donnelly
10. 57 Outs & 11 Hours in Baseball Purgatory, by William B. Mosley

E-BOOKS

1. The Big Fella
2. Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy
3. Powerball
4. Moneyball
5. October 1964, by David Halberstam
6. The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee
7. Astroball
8. Baseball Cop, by Eddie Dominguez
9. Summer of ’49, by Halberstam
10. Baseball Meat Market, by Shawn Krest

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. The Big Fella, (read by the author and Fred Sanders, #16 overall in sports)
2. Moneyball, (read by Scott Brick, #31)
3. Astroball, (read by the author, #49
4. Smart Baseball, by Keith Law (read by Mike Chamberlain, #98)
5. Powerball (read by the author, #50)

Finally! The Big Fella debuts on The New York Times‘ weekly best-seller list at #15. It is not, however, included on the paper’s monthly sports list. Wonder how that works. You can read my review of Leavy’s latest here.

New to this week’s Bookshelf/Amazon list — the de rigeur post-word series champion quickie collectible plus the first of the 2019 annuals (Bill James). And a self-published work on an extremely lengthy high school title game.

Not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,273,496; last time: 332,595. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,193,179 (last time, 1,102,811.)

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.