Baseball Best-Sellers, April 12, 2019

Headnote: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes.

In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it should not be listed (in my opinion). For example, a current title on the BBS list is The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect. “Why” is a good question. There might be a smattering of the national pastime in it, but not enough to make it a baseball book per se (again, IMO).

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

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner (hardcover)
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
Inside the Empire: The True Power Behind the New York Yankees, by Bob Klapisch and Paul Solotaroff
108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game, by Ron Darling and Daniel Paisner
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner (paperback)
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
Scoring and Scouting: How We Know What We Know About Baseball, by Christopher Phillips
Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter (paperback edition)
Let’s Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub: The Life of Ernie Banks, by Ron Rapoport
Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide 2019

E-BOOKS

K: A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches
108 Stitches
Inside the Empire
Moneyball
2019 Little League Rule Book
Astroball
Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak, by Travis Sawchik
Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed genius, by Bill Pennington
Nobody’s Perfect: Two Men, One Call, and a Game for Baseball History, by Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce with Daniel Paisner

AUDIOBOOKS (note: the links will take you to a sample of the audio via Amazon/Audible)

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches (read by the author, #6 overall in sports)
Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #29)
Astroball, (read by the author, #30)
108 Stitches (read by Malcolm Hillgartner, #34)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury and Scott Miller (read by Tewksbury, #79)

Inside the Empire dropped off The New York Times‘ nonfiction hardcover bestseller list (it had been #13 in its debut last week) and ranks #4 on the monthly sports list. After the Miracle comes in seventh on the monthly tally.

Now that the season has started, it’s time to collect the cards. The Beckett Guide is sort of a must have for collectors but the non-Amazon price of almost $40 strikes me as excessive for what is basically a bunch of checklists. Just sayin’. Time was you would go to the candy store with fifty cents and come back with 10 packs of cards (with the slab of gum). I know, I know: Tell us another one, grandpa.

I also would have thought, given the controversy over Ron Darling’s basically calling Lenny Dykstra a racist a**hole for comments made to Boston Red Sox pitcher Oil Can Boyd in the ’86 World Series, that 108 Stitches would be higher on the lists. Look for a review of that plus Inside the Empire along with a few other just-released New York-centric baseball titles beginning tonight on Bookreporter.com.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,589,393; last time: 1,414,163. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 722,331 (last time, 138,893).

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.