Baseball Best-Sellers, June 21, 2024

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 (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“).

In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category in 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 Amazon’s 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 (i.e., 12 and under). Also no “adult” adult books (romance/erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme although goodness knows there are a bunch of those out there).

So, with all that said…

The links under the authors’ names will take you to the Bookshelf Conversations I did with them. An asterisk denotes a book making its debut on the BBS list. And a Ω (omega) means it’s an award winner.

PRINT

1. 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid, by Willie Mays and John Shea (paperback edition)
2. Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments, by Joe Posnanski Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
3. The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brain Cashman Era, by Andy Martino (My review on Bookreporter.com)
4. 24 (hardcover edition)
5. The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams, by Adam Lazarus
6. The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker (My review on Bookreporter.com)
7. The Baseball 100, by Joe Posnanski Ω
8. Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien (My review on Bookreporter.com)
9. Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James Hirsch
10. The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough (My review on Bookreporter.com)

KINDLE BOOKS

1. Wait Til Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2. Charlie Hustle
3. I Was Right on Time, by Buck O’Neil with Steve Wulf and David Konrads
4. Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
5. 24
6. Moneyball
7. Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leehrsen
8. The Yankee Way
9. Baseball Memories & Dreams: Reflections on the National Pastime from the Baseball Hall of Fame, Edited by the Baseball Hall of Fame
10. Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas, by Jesse Cole and Don Yeager

AUDIBLE

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. 24
2. Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
3. Moneyball (unabridged, narrated by Scott Brick)
4. The Yankee Way
5. The Baseball 100
6. Charlie Hustle
7. The Last of His Kind
8. Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
9. Why We Love Baseball
10. Banana Ball

As predicted, the passing of Willie Mays has led to increased interest in his life.It occurs to me that he is the last “hero” for the boomer generation. Waiting for a Jane Leavy-style book like the one she did on Mickey Mantle, which has as part of its subtitle, “the End of America’s Childhood.” The only extant ballplayer of that era that comes close is Sandy Koufax, but he was a pitcher, as opposed to an everyday player and that costs him some “points.”

Look for a “Bookshelf Conversation with Andy Martino (The Yankee Way) next week.

Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 2,970,843 overall in books; last time, 2,970,370.  Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 2,769,028; last time, 2,654,049.

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 dictionary; it has the other books in it, which reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite shows.

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.

Tagged as: New York Yankees, Willie Mays