Favorite Baseball Book

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs by Roger Snell

This author is a forum member. Is he still around? What was his forum name?

[Beechnut]

As a coach, I enjoy anything put out by the American Baseball Coaches Association. They’re great instructional books with helpful diagrams and good insight from legit minds of the game. It’s also fun to imagine my OOTP guys running around their spring training fields working on sure-double cutoffs and wheel bunt coverages as drawn up in the books lol.

[jparker2112]

The Last Best League by Jim & James Collins. It follows the Cape Cod League for a summer in the early 2000's. Its a great book to get an insight if what those kids are going through to try and make a career in baseball.

[progen]

Originally Posted by jparker2112

The Last Best League by Jim & James Collins. It follows the Cape Cod League for a summer in the early 2000's. Its a great book to get an insight if what those kids are going through to try and make a career in baseball.

Would agree with you there. Excellent book that I read several years ago.

I live in Savannah, and we have a college summer wooden bat league team, the Savannah Bananas, that play in the Coastal Plain League. Many pros played in this league, including Justin Verlander, Ryan Zimmerman, Kevin Youklis, a total of 138 to date.

[bradleycchurch]

Originally Posted by progen

Would agree with you there. Excellent book that I read several years ago.

I live in Savannah, and we have a college summer wooden bat league team, the Savannah Bananas, that play in the Coastal Plain League. Many pros played in this league, including Justin Verlander, Ryan Zimmerman, Kevin Youklis, a total of 138 to date.

I also recommend this book. Just got done reading it. I think if anything, after reading, you are reminded how ridiculous the odds are of making the major league.

I am in the middle of the new Tom Seaver Book that came out a few weeks ago. VERY good so far. A great reminder of how much "tougher" ball players were back then...and honestly, the game just seemed a lot better in the 60's and 70's

[Leo_The_Lip]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

My thanks to you guys for this suggestion. Primary reason: Yet again, but I swear that this time it will be the last time for quite some time, I find myself slogging through the Dead Ball Era in my historical MLB / fictional player league. I need something to lighten the mood / change my perspective and perhaps this book is it.

Attachment 740126

"[Lawrence] Ritter got the idea for the book in 1961 upon the death of Ty Cobb, who had been widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. He was also influenced by the works of John and Alan Lomax, who traveled the country in the 1930s and 1940s with tape recorders seeking out old and almost forgotten American folk songs.

"Ritter realized that those who played baseball in the early years of the 20th century were now old men, and he resolved to interview as many of them as he could in order to record their memories. Ritter travelled 75,000 miles to interview his subjects, sitting for hours listening to them tell their tales into his tape recorder. The book retells their stories in the first-person, as they were told to Ritter."

And when you are finished reading this (for the first time!) Remember to move onto THE IMAGE OF THEIR GREATNESS. Tons of photos not included in the first book, but not as many great stories.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg

[TNCubsFan]

"Pitching in a Pinch" by Christy Mathewson. A surprisingly good read on the mental side of the game. Not to mention its Christy Mathewson writing about his career and pitching.

Also a HUGE recomendation for "The Glory of Their Times".

Also "The Mental Game of Baseball", by Harvey Dorfman.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

This author is a forum member. Is he still around? What was his forum name?

Rasnell: Last Activity: 11-18-2020 08:35 AM

[Eugene Church]

In high school in the 1950s I used to go to the school library every day during study hall... a free hour to study, I guess... sady, I didn't use the time to study, I would read the sports pages in the New York Times... and some way, some how, I found a baseball book written for teenagers by Duane Decker... he wrote about 15 or 20 books each covering a player for the mythical major league Blue Sox... each player featured in the book has some problem, baseball or character flaws that had to be dealt with and overcome... I read them all... not great literature, but a teenage boy that played baseball loved them... at 15, I didn't know great literature... at 80, I don't know if I would recognize it now.

Duane Decker is one of the best writers of juvenile sports fiction, where his main character also teaches a lesson in personal character. In The Grand Slam Kid, Bucky O'Brien, the lesson is about winning by contributing rather than winning by glorious personal action.

Come early 2000s, I discovered a game called OOTP3... I went to the public library and found as many of Duane Decker's books as they had and re-read them, so I could incorporated all of the great Blue Sox players into my Islandian Pro Alliance dynasty league... I even included the legendary Blue Sox manager Jug Slavin in my league... I tried to make each player's ratings as accurate as possible for inclusion in the IPA... the Blue Sox greats came alive in my dynasty league... they were randomly assigned to teams.

Eddie Lasky, former all-star shortstop, injured and became star pitcher.
Bix Hansen - pitcher (thanks to CD... I forgot Bix)
Sam Sloat, pitcher
Pete Gibbs - catcher
Tweet Tillman - catcher
Bucky O'Brien - catcher
Stretch Stookey, first baseman
Bud Walker, second baseman
Flash Devlin, second baseman
Johnny Madigan, third baseman
Vic Scalzi, third baseman
Andy Pearson, shortstop
Slick Hammill, shortstop
Russ Woodward, center fielder
Vic Valenti, center fielder
Yank Yoland, pitcher
Kenny Willard, black outfielder
Marty Blake, first baseman
Mike Jaffe, a mediocre pitcher, who became a fine outfielder.
Chip Fiske, right fielder
Augie Marshall, right fielder

Check out some of the titles here:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/lis...4.Duane_Decker

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

In high school in the 1950s I used to go to the school library every day during study hall... a free hour to study, I guess... sady, I didn't use the time to study, I would read the sports pages in the New York Times... and some way, some how, I found a baseball book written for teenagers by Duane Decker... he wrote about 15 or 20 books each covering a player for the mythical major league Blue Sox... each player featured in the book has some problem, baseball or character flaws that had to be dealt with and overcome... I read them all... not great literature, but a teenage boy that played baseball loved them... at 15, I didn't know great literature... at 80, I don't know if I would recognize it now.

Duane Decker is one of the best writers of juvenile sports fiction, where his main character also teaches a lesson in personal character. In The Grand Slam Kid, Bucky O'Brien, the lesson is about winning by contributing rather than winning by glorious personal action.

Come early 2000s, I discovered a game called OOTP3... I went to the public library and found as many of Duane Decker's books as they had and re-read them, so I could incorporated all of the great Blue Sox players into my Islandian Pro Alliance dynasty league... I even included the legendary Blue Sox manager Jug Slavin in my league... I tried to make each player's ratings as accurate as possible for inclusion in the IPA... the Blue Sox greats came alive in my dynasty league... they were randomly assigned to teams.

Eddie Lasky, former all-star shortstop, injured and became star pitcher.
Sam Sloat, pitcher
Pete Gibbs - catcher
Tweet Tillman - catcher
Bucky O'Brien - catcher
Stretch Stookey, first baseman
Bud Walker, second baseman
Flash Devlin, second baseman
Johnny Madigan, third baseman
Vic Scalzi, third baseman
Andy Pearson, shortstop
Slick Hammill, shortstop
Russ Woodward, center fielder
Vic Valenti, center fielder
Yank Yoland, pitcher
Kenny Willard, black outfielder
Marty Blake, first baseman
Mike Jaffe, a mediocre pitcher, who became a fine outfielder.
Chip Fiske, right fielder
Augie Marshall, right fielder

Check out some of the titles here:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/lis...4.Duane_Decker

Sometimes it's just fun to come to these boards and be reminded of similar experiences we had growing up. This so reminiscent of my youth going to the school library, late 60's early 70's, and finding and reading a series of books about football players. I hadn't thought of it in many years until reading Eugene's post. Try as I might I could not remember the titles or the authors. I only knew they were about players for the LA Rams ( check out my avatar ). Yes I was a Rams fan despite living in Iowa.

So I googled a bunch of phrases trying to come up with what these books were but, no joy. Then a title popped up in my head, "The Runningback" which made me recall "The Quarterback", "The Receiver" etc. I googled and there it all was. Tex Maule was the author...

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...BoClfUQAvD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Quarterback-N.../dp/B000X1NCGK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Maule

Unfortunately looks like they are only collectors items now. Too bad not on Kindle, I'd certainly buy at least one to relive old times.

Sorry to distract from the baseball but EC brought back a rush of memories and I wanted to say thanks.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Sometimes it's just fun to come to these boards and be reminded of similar experiences we had growing up. This so reminiscent of my youth going to the school library, late 60's early 70's, and finding and reading a series of books about football players. I hadn't thought of it in many years until reading Eugene's post. Try as I might I could not remember the titles or the authors. I only knew they were about players for the LA Rams ( check out my avatar ). Yes I was a Rams fan despite living in Iowa.

So I googled a bunch of phrases trying to come up with what these books were but, no joy. Then a title popped up in my head, "The Runningback" which made me recall "The Quarterback", "The Receiver" etc. I googled and there it all was. Tex Maule was the author...

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...BoClfUQAvD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Quarterback-N.../dp/B000X1NCGK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Maule

Unfortunately looks like they are only collectors items now. Too bad not on Kindle, I'd certainly buy at least one to relive old times.

Sorry to distract from the baseball but EC brought back a rush of memories and I wanted to say thanks.

Loved the Los Angeles Rams when I was a kid... Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Tom Fears, Deacon Dan Towler... the Rams were the second-best team in the NFL... Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns were the best... Otto Graham, Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Mac Speedie, Kenny Konz, Marion Motley... some great games between them in the early 50s... sadly for me, a Rams fan, Browns won almost all of them.

[RchW]

I read the Bronc Burnett series as a kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronc_...324%E2%80%9327).

[ablobj]

I grew up on the sports fiction books of Matt Christopher....its been about 35 years since I read them, so I don't remember many details, except that as a little leaguer in the early 80's I really enjoyed them.

[Leo_The_Lip]

Originally Posted by ablobj

I grew up on the sports fiction books of Matt Christopher....its been about 35 years since I read them, so I don't remember many details, except that as a little leaguer in the early 80's I really enjoyed them.

About 15 years ago, I mentored boys in my wife's fifth grade class. I would usually give them a Matt Christopher book or two to read. Often it got them on the track to reading in general.

I read the Chip Hilton books by Clair Bee in the 1950's.

[ablobj]

Originally Posted by Leo_The_Lip

About 15 years ago, I mentored boys in my wife's fifth grade class. I would usually give them a Matt Christopher book or two to read. Often it got them on the track to reading in general.

I read the Chip Hilton books by Clair Bee in the 1950's.

My mom was a librarian...she introduced me to Matt Christopher's books to try to get me more interested in reading. It worked

[Eugene Church]

If you can motivate your kids to read... they are off to a great start on the long, long road of life.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo
Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs by Roger Snell

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

This author is a forum member. Is he still around? What was his forum name?

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Rasnell: Last Activity: 11-18-2020 08:35 AM

Thanks. I kept trying to remember the name, without success. Here is his last post, in July, and a link to it in case anybody wants to follow the links in his signature. I have "Root for the Cubs" around someplace; I remember enjoying reading it.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

If you can motivate your kids to read... they are off to a great start on the long, long road of life.

Gospel. I cannot stress this strongly enough based on the happy results for my three kids and now, most gratifyingly, their repeating this lesson for the next generation.

[ForeverRoyalKC]

A good one I read twice was about baseball cards called "Mint Condition" by Dave Jamieson.
I recommend it.

[Ty Cobb]

Bet you're all surprised by this one...


Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen
Al Stump, who collaborated with Ty Cobb near the end of his life on an autobiography, made him out as arguably the worst person in baseball history with a magazine article shortly after his 1961 death. This led to a book in 1994 and a movie that same year with Tommy Lee Jones. Charles Leerhsen’s landmark 2015 book showed Stump’s reporting for what it was: exaggerations and, in some cases, outright lies.

But also, Total Baseball, which got me going on the statistical guts of the game.