Baseball Best-Sellers, November 26, 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

The Baseball 100, by Joe Posnanski
The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keene
The Ultimate New York Yankees Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Yankees Fans!, by Ray Walker
Ballparks: A Journey Through the Fields of the Past, Present, and Future, by Eric Enders
The Ultimate Atlanta Braves Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Braves Fans!, by Ray Walker
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond, by Michael Silverman
The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard BoSox Fans!, by Ray Walker
The Ultimate St. Louis Cardinals Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Cardinals Fans!, by Ray Walker
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
The Ultimate Chicago Cubs Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Cubs Fans!, by Ray Walker

E-BOOKS

Trading Bases, by Joe Peta
Moneyball
The Baseball 100
Son of Havana, by Luis Tiant and Saul Wisnia
Till the End, by C.C. Sabathia
The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee, Jr.
Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing by Andy Martino
The Captain: A Memoir, by David Wright and Anthony DiComo
The Closer: My Story , by Mariano Rivera and Wayne Coffey
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, by Robert Creamer

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.

Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen
The Baseball Codes, by Jason Turbow
Moneyball (unabridged, narrated by Scott Brick)
The Baseball 100
Play Ball! The Rise of Baseball as America’s Pastime, by Bruce Markusen
Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton and Leonard Shecter
Moneyball (Abridged)
Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask, by Jon Pessah
Astroball: The New Way to Win it All, by Ben Reiter
The Greatest baseball Stories Ever Told

Posnanski retains his hold on the top spot in print, but unbelievably: Ray Walker’s trivia books accounts for five of the top ten in this week’s list. I don’t know what that says about the state of baseball lit, all due respect to the author. The inclusion of Tiant’s book on the e-book list might have something to do with the fact that he turned 81 on Nov. 23. And note: the David Wright Captain book is not to be confused with Ian O’Connors bio of Derek Jeter.

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 1,787,371 overall in books; last time, 1,479,934. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 1,687,165; last time, 1,551,804.

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.