Baseball Best-Sellers, June 6, 2025

June 6, 2025

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.

The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted WilliamsPRINT

  1. Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments (hardcover), by Joe Posnanski Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  2. The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball, by John W. Miller. (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  3. The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keen (Paperback)
  4. Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America, by Will Bardenwerper (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  5. Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas, by Jesse Cole
  6. The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams, by Adam Lazarus
  7. Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball (paperback), by Keith O’Brien Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  8. The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and Tom Underwood
  9. The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  10. The Ultimate New York Yankees Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Yankees Fans!, by Ray Walker

KINDLE

  1. Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game? by Jimmy Breslin
  2. Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani, by Jeff Fletcher
  3. The New Bill James Historical Abstract

AUDIO

  1. Moneyball (unabridged, read by Scott Brick)
  2. The Baseball 100, by Posnanski
  3. Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton (narrated by the author)
  4. The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough
  5. Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, by Tim Hornblower
  6. Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (narrated by the author)
  7. Calico Joe, by John Grisham (My review on Bookreporter.com)
  8. Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen
  9. Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball, by John Feinstein (narrated by the author)
  10. The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves, by Keith Law

So in order to find the rankings of Kindle and audiobooks, I pretty much have to scroll through everything on Amazon’s “print” best-seller list. Problem is, Amazon only offers the top 100 titles in total, which is why there are only three Kindles. It’s hard work, so I hope you appreciate it, lol.

Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 2,936,089 overall in books; last time, 2,902,417.  Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,278,575; last time, 2,178,265.

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.

 

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