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 had with them. An asterisk denotes a book making its debut on the BBS list. And a “Ω” means it’s an award winner.
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- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
- The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball, by John W. Miller. (My review on Bookreporter.com)
- Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas, by Jesse Cole
- The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keen (Paperback)
- Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments (hardcover), by Joe Posnanski Ω (My review on Bookreporter.com)
- The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker
- The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and Tom Underwood
- Beckett Card Price Guide 2025 *
- The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Challenge, by Hank Patton
- Wait Till Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Unable to post last week, but much of it is the same save for the Beckett guide and the Kearns classic. Personally, I have taken a renewed interest in baseball cards. Reliving my childhood? Perhaps.
Jesse Cole has an additional book,more business-oriented, tgat I have chosen not to include. The success of Banana Ball cannot be denied. I can understand how it would be very popular for families with young kids and others whose attention span isn’t up to the “challenges” of making it through a regular game, but it’s not for me, I believe Cole isn’t crazy about the comparison with the Harlem Globetrotters. Does he think his brand is more serious? Anyway…
Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 343,655 overall (#14 in Literary Bibliographies & Indexes); last time, 1,797,665. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,793,480; last time, 1,315,800.
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.
is available on Amazon.com,
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