Baseball Best-Sellers, September 6, 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. The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams, by Adam Lazarus
2. Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments, by Joe Posnanski Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
3. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis Ω
4. 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)
5. Heads-Up Baseball, by Ken Ravizza and and Tom Hanson
6. The Enchanted Season, by Lance Parrish with Tom Gage *
7. The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keen
8. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and Tom Underwood
9. Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience, by Jesse Cole
10. Dewey: Behind the Gold Glove, by Dwight Evans and Erik Sherman

KINDLE BOOKS

1. The Wingmen
2. Nice Guys Finish Last, by Leo Durocher and Ed Linn
3. Baseball Memories & Dreams: Reflections on the National Pastime from the Baseball Hall of Fame
4. The Game from Where I Stand: From Batting Practice to the Clubhouse to the Best Breakfast on the Road, an Inside View of a Ballplayer’s Life, by Doug Glanville
5. Why We Love Baseball
6. Moneyball
7. Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?: The Improbable Saga of the New York Mets’ First Year, by Jimmy Breslin
8. Wait Til Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
9. Bushville Wins!: The Wild Saga of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the Screwballs, Sluggers, and Beer Swiggers Who Canned the New York Yankees and Changed Baseball, by John Klima
10. The Zen of Zim: Baseball, Beanballs, and Bosses, by Don Zimmer with Bill Madden

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. Moneyball (unabridged, read by Scott Brick)
2. Wait Till Next Year
3. Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball’s Iron Man, by Cal Ripken Jr. and James Dale (narrated by Ripken)
4. Charlie Hustle
5. The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves, by Keith Law
6. The Baseball 100, by Posnanski
7. Moneyball (en espagnol!)
8. Banana Ball, by Jesse Cole
9. Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton (narrated by the author)
10. Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Individual, by Howard Bryant

Kind of surprised the Parrish book didn’t come out earlier in the year.

Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 3,209,783 overall in books; last time, 3,144,142.  Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 3,005,629; last time, 2,849,375.

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.