Baseball Best-Sellers, October 4, 2019

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).

A new “service.” The asterisked books titles are available via Scibd.com, a website that allows you to read and listen to various titles for one flat monthly fee. You can also download them to your device. Click here to see what other titles they have “in stock,” although, like Amazon, you’ll get a few things that you might not consider “true” baseball books as you and I might define them. Well worth the money. You’re welcome.

So, with all that said…

PRINT

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis *
The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, by Ben Reiter * (paperback edition)
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
Curveball: How I Discovered True Fulfillment After Chasing Fortune and Fame, by Barry Zito with Robert Noland
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner *
Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide 2019
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman *
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City, by Paul Goldberger
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 *

E-BOOKS

Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line, by Tom Dunkel *
The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers, by Bill James *
Ten Innings at Wrigley, by Kevin Cook *
The Life You Imagine, by Derek Jeter
The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter *
Moneyball
The Arm, by Jeff Passan *
Crazy ’08, by Cait Murphy *
Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, by Bill Madden *
The Last Innocents, by Michael Leahy *

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

Curveball, (read by Barry Zito, #18 overall in sports)
The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #25)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewskbury (read by the author, #74)
Full Count, by David Cone and Jack Curry (read by the author, #100)

Two of the top ten books on the NY Times‘ monthly sports list are about baseball, including If These Walls Could Talk (#8) and For the Good of the Game (#9).

Not much to say here. The late Harvey Frommer is represented by one of his many New York-centric titles. And there are a number of “new” items on the Kindle list, many of which are also available via Scribd.com.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,973,700; last time, 1,970,810. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,556,911 (amazingly close to last week’s 1,556,760). I’d get a kick if these two ever finished back-to-back. I’ve also come to accept that rankings will continue to fall as newer booksc ome out. Circle of life, isn’t it? 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 consumer 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.