The Society for American Baseball Research is celebrating its golden anniversary with a series of series. As it pertains to the mission statement of this site, here’s the take on the top 50 books of the last half-century, released earlier today.
The project was spearheaded by Andy McCue, who offers this introduction:
There have been thousands of books on baseball published since SABR was founded in August 1971. That’s far more than any other sport. Many have come from the pens, then typewriters, then word processors of SABR members. To celebrate the Society’s 50th anniversary, a panel of our members set out to identify those works published since the founding which have best stood the test of time. (For a note on our methodology, see below.)
The list features reference works, histories and biographies as well as examinations of particular incidents and broad trends. It includes statistical works, novels, collections from eminent journalists and books of art and photography. In one way or another, these books have all added to our understanding and appreciation of the game. We anticipate that the next 50 years of SABR research will produce works so we can appreciate and understand an even broader range of topics.
The list is given in order of the year the books were published, which eliminates the debate over which is the “best” book.
Full disclosure, I was one of the panel members.
is available on Amazon.com,
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