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. Also no romance/erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme either (and goodness knows there are a bunch of those).
So, with all that said…
24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid, by Willie Mays and John Shea
- Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay
, by Todd Zolecki
- Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir
, by Alan D. Gaff
- The Milwaukee Brewers at 50
, by Adam McCalvy
- The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife
, by Brad Balukjian
- Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between
, by Eric Nusbaum
- Mr. Met: How a Sports-Mad Kid from Jersey Became Like Family to Generations of Big Leaguers
, by Jay Horwitz
- Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask
, by Jon Pessah
- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
, by Michael Lewis
- Rod Carew: One Tough Out: Fighting Off Life’s Curveballs
, by Rod Carew with Jaime Aron
, by Willie Mays and John Shea
, by Todd Zolecki
, by Alan D. Gaff
, by Adam McCalvy
, by Brad Balukjian
, by Jay Horwitz
, by Rod Carew with Jaime AronE-BOOKS
- K: A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches, by Tyler Kepner
- The Wax Pack
- The Wit and Wisdom of Yogi Berra, by Phil Pepe
- 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid
- Ball Four, by Jim Bouton and Leonard Shecter
- Mr. Met
- The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter
- Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir
- Berra (Pessah)
- Moneyball
AUDIOBOOKS (The links will take you to a sample of the audio via Amazon/Audible.)
- 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid (Read by
- Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir (read by Angelo Di Loreto, #23)
- Mr. Met (read by Barry Abrams, #39)
- Yogi: A Life (read by Oliver Wyman, #41)
- Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen (read by Malcolm Hillgartner, #93)
The New York Times no longer offers a monthly list of sports best-sellers, but 24 makes its debut on their weekly nonfiction list at #13. Kind of surprised that Mitchell Nathanson’s Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original
I guess it depends on where you live and who you follow to see which is the more popular new book on the list: the coffee-table tribute to the Milwaukee Brewers or the memoir by the long-time Mets PR chief. (And yes, I had to look twice, too, to make sure it really was the golden anniversary of the team; remember, in 1969 they were the Seattle Pilots.) A bit disappointed that Horwitz didn’t do his own reading for the audiobook.
Still not on the Amazon top-ten list? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, right now it ranks at 1,619,964; last time, 1,373,531. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War
Shameless self-promotion: if you’re looking for some good baseball reading during this down time, why not pick up a copy of 501? It’s like the abridged dictionary; it has most of the other books in it.
Super-shameless self-promotion: And by the way, I am looking for a publisher for an revised edition of 501, UNP having passed on the opportunity. So if you have any suggestions, please drop me a line. Mucho appreciado.
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.
is available on Amazon.com,
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