Baseball Best-Sellers, October 18, 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 Scribd.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

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

E-BOOKS

Doc: A Memoir, by Doc Gooden with Ellis Henican *
Ten Innings at Wrigley, by Kevin Cook *
Astroball
The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter *
Moneyball
Crazy ’08, by Cait Murphy *
The Last Innocents, by Michael Leahy *
Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, by Tim Hornbaker
Curveball
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy

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

Doc (read by J.D. Jasckson, #39 overall in sports)
Curveball, (read by Barry Zito, #46 overall in sports)
The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #47)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewskbury (read by the author, #69)
The Big Fella (read by Fred Sanders, #90)
Try Not to Suck: The Exceptional, Extraordinary Baseball Life of Joe Maddon, by Bill Chastain and Jesse Rogers (Read by Mile Chamberlain, #93)
Eight Men Out, by Eliot Asinof (read by Harold N. Cropp, #97) *
Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, by David Cone and Jack Curry (read by the author, #98)

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).

No new titles crack the top ten print list this week.

The continued success of the Houston Astros — up three games to one over the New York Yankees in the ALCS as of this posting — is keeping them at the top of the charts. The winner of that set will face the Washington Nationals, who are in the fall classic for the first time. I wonder if Reiter will put out a revised edition should the Astros go on to win the whole shebang again this year.

Nice to see an audio version of Asinof’s classic about the Black Sox scandal, but surprised more books about the topic haven’t been on the list lately, especially considering that this marks the centennial of one of baseball;’s darkest events.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,971,884; last time, 1,969,749. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 793,794 (last week, 279,117).

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.