Baseball Best-Sellers, January 3, 2020

First entry of the new decade. Hubba-hubba.

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 romance/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

1. The Fantasy Baseball Black Book 2020, by Joe Pisapia
2. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis *
3. The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman*
4. Ron Shandler’s 2020 Baseball Forecaster: & Encyclopedia of Fanalytics, by Ron Shandler (Several of Shandler’s previous editions are available via Scribd)
5. K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner *
6. The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
7. Baseball Prospectus 2020
8. Ballpark: Baseball in the American City, by Paul Goldberger
9. Ballparks: A Journey Through the Fields of the Past, Present, and Future, by Eric Enders
10. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood

E-BOOKS

1. The Fantasy Baseball Black Book 2020
2. Moneyball
3. The Wit and Wisdom of Yogi Berra, by Phil Pepe
4. The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter
5. Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona with Dan Shaughnessy
6. MVP Machine
7. Smart Baseball, by Keith Law
8. Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line, by Tom Dunkel
9. Astroball, by Ben Reiter
10. Curveball: How I Discovered True Fulfillment After Chasing Fortune and Fame, by Barry Zito with Robert Noland

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

1. The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #38 overall in sports)
2. Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (read by the author, #99)

The New York Times no longer offers a monthly list of sports best-sellers.

‘Tis the pre-season when books that are useful to fantasy baseball practitioners start to appear

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 2,093,346; last time, 2,134,448. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,094,011 (last time, 1,417,178). I have resigned myself to the fact that these titles will continue to sink as new releases continue to emerge. Circle of life.

A reminder: There’s 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.

Tagged as: Houston Astros, Moneyball, Negro Leagues, Oakland As, stadiums, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra