New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, David Cone, Ted Williams, Houston Astros, Pete Rose, Rob Neyere, sabermetrics, baseball analysis, ballparks, Cal Ripken Jr.

Note: 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

The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
Play Hungry: The Making of a Baseball Player, by Pete Rose
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner (hardcover)
Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, by David Cone and Jack Curry
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City, by Paul Goldberger
Mission 27: A New Boss, A New Ballpark, and One Last Ring for the Yankees’ Core Four, by Mark Feisand and Bryan Hoch
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter
Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink, by Kevin Cook
Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball’s Iron Man, by Cal Ripken Jr. with James Dale
Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink, by Kevin Cook

E-BOOKS

The MVP Machine
Three Nights in August, by Buzz Bissnger
Full Count
Moneyball
K: A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches
Mission 27
Play Hungry
2019 Little League Rule Book
The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse, by Rich Cohen
Astroball

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

The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #7 overall in sports)
Full Count (read by Cone, #13)
Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #19)
Play Hungry (read by Mark Deakins, #24)
Astroball, (read by the author, #28)
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches (read by the author, #44)
Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game, by Rob Neyer (read by the author, #78)

Full Count is #3 on The NY Times‘ monthly sports bestseller list for June with K, by Times baseball writer Kepner, dropping to third place, and Ripken’s latest debuting at #8. By the way, the Times published this review of K last month. I know the “Paper of Record” does not (or at least did not) allow their writers to vote for various awards, so it strikes me as just a bit contrary that they would review books written by one of their own lest charges of nepotism be raised. Even if it’s not a great critique, the book earns notoriety merely for being included in a section that is so selective in what it considers noteworthy.

Wow, Moneyball out of the top 10. That’s an odd look for the list.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 320,533; last time, 1,382,460 fora gain of about one million spots, ha. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 514,197 (last time, 1,172,416). By the way, I have compiled an Excel “checklist” of the books list in 501. If you’re interested in keeping track of how many you have read or own, drop me a line.

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.