Baseball Best-Sellers, January 10, 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

The Fantasy Baseball Black Book 2020, by Joe Pisapia
Ron Shandler’s 2020 Baseball Forecaster: & Encyclopedia of Fanalytics, by Ron Shandler (Several of Shandler’s previous editions are available via Scribd)
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis *
Baseball Prospectus 2020
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman*
Baseball America 2020 Prospect Handbook
The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, By Lawrence Ritter
The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchick
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide 2019

E-BOOKS

Moneyball
The Wit and Wisdom of Yogi Berra, by Phil Pepe
The Fantasy Baseball Black Book 2020
The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter
Doc: A Memoir, by Doc Gooden with Ellis Henican
Francona: The Red Sox Years, by Terry Francona with Dan Shaughnessy
2020 NFHS Baseball Rules Book
Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, by David Cone with Jack Curry
2020 NFHS Baseball Case Book
Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, by Tim Hornbaker

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

The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #53 overall in sports)
Full Count (read by the author, #69)
Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (read by the author, #83)

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

Fou4 of the top six titles have something to do with preparation for the upcoming season, most likely for those “scouting” their fantasy teams. Also the Kindle NFHS books, as those teams get ready to take the field.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 1,144,572; last time, 2,093,346. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,454,374 (last time, 1,094,011). Maye some fans are preparing for a new season of reading, too.

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.