Baseball Best-Sellers, February 28, 2020

As we inch closer and closer not just to thebe ginning of the playing season, but the reading season as well when new titles hit the stores.

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

Baseball Prospectus 2020
Baseball America 2020 Prospect Handbook
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)
The Boys of Summer (Harperperennial Modern Classics), by Roger Kahn
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis *
The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood
The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life, by Mike Matheny with Jerry B. Jenkins
2020 Fantasy Baseball Almanac and Draft Guide, by Sean Ryan and Eric Zimmerman
State of Play: The Old School Guide to New School Baseball, by Bill Ripken

E-BOOKS

Baseball Prospectus
The Boys of Summer (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
The Fantasy Baseball Black Book 2020
Moneyball
2020 Fantasy Baseball Almanac and Draft Guide
The Wit and Wisdom of Yogi Berra, by Phil Pepe
2020 NFHS Baseball Rules Book
The Boys of Summer (Aurum Sports Classics)
The Era, by Roger Kahn
Ball Four, by Jim Bouton

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

The MVP Machine (read by Josh Hurley, #31 overall in sports)

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

The top three slots are identical to last week. A couple of Kahn’s best works remains on the list after his recent passing.

The Amazon page for the Ryan/Zimmerman book notes that it’s up-to-date as of the Mookie Betts trade.

Still not on either the Amazon or Times‘ lists? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. Today: 2,019,658; last time, 1,907,173. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 820,723 (last time, 1,542,969).

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.