Baseball Best-Sellers, June 21, 2019

Happy Solstice, everybody!

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

1. The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
2. K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner (hardcover)
3. Ballpark: Baseball in the American City, by Paul Goldberger
4. Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, by David Cone and Jack Curry
5. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
6. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
7. If These Walls Could Talk: Boston Red Sox, by Jerry Remy and Nick Cafardo
8. My Dad, Yogi: A Memoir of Family and Baseball, by Dale Berra and Mark Ribowsky
9. Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink, by Kevin Cook
10. Here’s the Catch: A Memoir of the Miracle Mets and More, by Ron Swoboda

E-BOOKS

1. Going the Other Way: An Intimate Memoir of Life In and Out of Major League Baseball, by Bill Bean
2. K: A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches
3. Memories of Summer, by Roger Kahn
4. The MVP Machine
5. The Summer Game, by Roger Angell
6. Moneyball
7. Full Count
8. Mission 27
9. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, by Robert Creamer
10. 2019 Little League Rule Book

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

1. The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #10 overall in sports)
2. Moneyball (read by Scott Brick, #15)
3. Full Count (read by the author, #31)
4. K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches (read by the author, #33)
5. Astroball, (read by the author, #74)

Full Count is #3 on The NY Times‘ monthly sports bestseller list for June  followed by K, by Times baseball writer Kepner, at #4 and Ripken’s latest — Just Show Up — at #8.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,202,408; last time, 407,920. Not for nothing, but it’s on sale for the insultingly low price of $7.45, $17 off the cover price. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,123,676 (last time, 494,405. 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.

Tagged as: Babe Ruth, baseball stadiums, Billy Bean, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, David Cone, hitting, Houston Astros, Moneyball, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Philadelphia Phillies, Pitching, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, Ron Swoboda, Yogi Berra