Baseball Best-Sellers, November 19, 2021

A reminder: 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 posting them). 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, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect has appeared on the BBS list. “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 “adult” books here, that is, no romance/erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme either (although goodness knows there are a bunch of those).

So, with all that said…

The links under the authors’ names will take you to the Bookshelf Conversations I did with them. The asterisk denotes the author is a “member” of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club

PRINT

1. The Baseball 100, by Joe Posnanski
2. The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keene
3. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
4. The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman
5. The Ultimate Atlanta Braves Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Braves Fans!, by Ray Walker
6. Ballparks: A Journey Through the Fields of the Past, Present, and Future, by Eric Enders
7. The Ultimate New York Yankees Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Yankees Fans!, by Ray Walker
8. Against All Odds: The Atlanta Braves’ Improbable Journey to the 2021 World Series, by Atlanta Journal Constitution
9. The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection: Celebrating the Game’s Greatest Players, by James Buckley
10. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams with John Underwood

E-BOOKS

1. The Baseball 100
2. Moneyball
3. Till the End, by C.C. Sabathia
4. Trading Bases, by Joe Peta
5. The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee, Jr.
6. Cloudbuster Nine
7. Let’s Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, The Life of Ernie Banks, by Ron Rappaport
8. The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age, by Robert Weintraub
9. The Last Real Season, by Mike Shropshire
10. Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask, by Jon Pessah

AUDIOBOOKS

Note: Amazon has changed the way they list audiobooks. No longer under the general category of “biography and memoir,” they are now treated in their own baseball/softball category. Here’s the general link to the section where you will find further links to the individual titles, their reader/narrators, and samples. Note further that these are updated regularly and the top ten list below might no longer be the same.

1. Moneyball  (unabridged, narrated by Scott Brick)
2. The Baseball 100
3. The Science of Hitting
4. Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing by Andy Martino
5. Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton and Leonard Shecter
6. Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury
7. October 1964, by David Halberstam
8. The Matheny Manifesto, by Mike Matheny
9. Where Nobody Knows Your Name, by John Feinstein
10. The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter, by Ian O’Connor

It’s worth mentioning that Ray Walker’s trivia book about the Boston Red Sox finish just out of the running for print books. That would have been a record for most books by one author in a single week.

No baseball titles on the New York Times‘ list.

Still not in the Amazon top-ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, right now it ranks at 1,479,934 overall in books; last time, 528,417. I think I’ll stop these updates when (not if) it sinks below three million; that’s just too depressing. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,551,804; last time, 836,964. By the way, the hardcover edition is currently less than $9 on Amazon. Just sayin’.

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.

Now we’ll see who pays attention. Removing the “Super shameless self-promotion” section. Look for some exciting news in the near future.

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 my books, thanks, hope you enjoyed it, and please consider writing an Amazon review; it’s never too late.