What would be in your 10 baseball book list ?

ukhotstove · 03-27-2006, 12:54 PM

Over the last couple of years I've become a baseball book addict and was wondering what baseball books could you not do without ? Personally I'm a history and stat guy some of my favourites being the autos of guys like Cobb, DiMaggio, Wagner and Greenberg and so on, also like the stat books and the story books from unknown people in baseball example one of my favourite all time books being Searching for Heroes Quest of a Yankee Batboy, so just wondering which books you like and also which books should I add to my collection.

ps I have Sol Whites book but after a more in depth Negro League book, any suggestions ?

darkhorse · 03-27-2006, 12:59 PM

New Historical Baseball Abstract

ukhotstove · 03-27-2006, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkhorse

New Historical Baseball Abstract

Spooky

reason I posted this thread was because I had just finished sending for that book along with The Boys of Summer.

phenom · 03-27-2006, 01:13 PM

The Fireside Book of Baseball

The Professor · 03-27-2006, 01:25 PM

10 Books? That is really tough...off the top of my head:

1. American Baseball by DQ Voigt
2. The New B. James Historical Abstract
3. The Glory of Their Times - Lawrence Ritter
4. Jackie Robinson & His Legacy - Jules Tygiel
5. The Babe - Robert Creamer
6. Game Time: A Baseball Companion - Roger Angell
7. Veeck As In Wreck - Bill Veeck w/ Ed Linn
8. Charles Alexander's Rogers Hornsby Bio...(or McGraw or Cobb...)
9. Voices of the Game - Curt Smith
10. Only the Ball Was White - Robert Peterson

But there are plenty of other books that probably deserve inclusion (Moneyball, Ball Four, numerous bios, statistics-heavy/sabermetric stuff, some fictional works...)

Dagrims · 03-27-2006, 02:38 PM

I'll third the New Historical Abstract by James. I don't know if these others would necessarily be in my top 10, but they're ones I've read over the past two years that I really enjoyed:

Moneyball - Michael Lewis (although his Liar's Poker is even better)
The Numbers Game - Alan Schwartz
The Universal Baseball Association - Robert Coover
The Book on the Book - Bill Felber

I also just ordered Baseball Hacks : Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics by Joseph Adler, Baseball Between the Numbers by Baseball Prospectus writers, and The Mind of Bill James : How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball by Scott Gray. Looking forward to getting those read by the end of May.

BaseballMan · 03-27-2006, 02:39 PM

For reference
1. Total Baseball
2. Sports encylopedia of baseball
3. Baseball encylopedia
4. Green Cathederals
5. History of the World Series
6. Baseball Timeline
7. forgot title but its a newspaper headlines of baseball history ( will check title when i get home from work.
8. The New B. James Historical Abstract
9. Ty Cobb bio but not the one by stump ( ill have to check title on that one too.

Looking to get Eight men out, Shoeless Joe, Walter Johnson bio, Summer of 49, Teammates.

ihatenames · 03-27-2006, 03:05 PM

Most have mine have already been listed, but i thought i'd also throw out there the Baseball Unencylopedia.

Gorilla Shakespeare · 03-27-2006, 03:10 PM

Ball Four by Jim Bouton
Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof. As good as the movie is, the book is even better.
This Time Let's Not Eat The Bones by Bill James. Not easy to find, but a whole heck of a lot easier to find than the old Abstracts. Basically, it's much of the collected wisdom of those Abstracts without all the stats.
The Hidden Game of Baseball by Pete Palmer and Jim Thorn. 25 years old, and in a couple respects outdated, but groundbreaking in its own way.
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Since you've probably seen Field of Dreams, check out the book version. It's different in a couple of very interesting ways.

That's not 10, but others have mentioned the rest of my faves.

disposableheros · 03-27-2006, 03:12 PM

New Historical Abstract - "history" book
The Numbers Game - great synopsis of the history of baseball stats
The Book on the Book - relates to modern baseball strategies (last 10 years or so), but there is some comparison to old times
Baseball Hacks : Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics - mostly a beginners guide to stats, but some great insight
Baseball Between the Numbers - a great thing to read after Baseball Hack. takes stats and analysis to the next level.

KurtBevacqua · 03-27-2006, 03:20 PM

1. WHERE THEY AIN'T : THE FABLED LIFE AND UNTIMELY DEATH OF THE ORIGINAL BALTIMORE ORIOLES, THE TEAM THAT GAVE BIRTH TO MODERN BASEBALL by Burt Solomon

2. THE CURSE OF ROCKY COLAVITO by Terry Pluto

3. BALL FOUR by Jim Bouton

4. CATCHER WAS A SPY: THE MYSTERIOUS LIFE OF MOE BERG by Nicholas Dawidoff

5. ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE: A HISTORY OF LEGENDARY BLACK PLAYERS AND ALL-BLACK PROFESSIONAL TEAMS by Robert Peterson

6. TED WILLIAMS: THE BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN HERO by Leigh Montville

7. SUMMER OF 49 by David Halberstam

8. BASEBALL'S LAST DYNASTY: CHARLIE FINLEY'S OAKLAND A'S by Bruce Markusen

9. WALTER JOHNSON: BASEBALL'S BIG TRAIN by Henry W. Thomas

10. THE HEAD GAME: by Roger Kahn

R. Hansh · 03-27-2006, 03:27 PM

Teammates by David Halberstam

Gorilla Shakespeare · 03-27-2006, 03:52 PM

I F*$& Hate Moneyball by Joe Morgan
I Used To Be An Ump But Then I Got Fired Because I Am Stupid by Steve Phillips
Pretend That I Only Announce Basketball Games And You Will Probably Be Fine by Bob Costas
146,000 Things I Would Do To Change The Game Oh And Catchers Are Rocket Scientists by Tim McCarver
Let's Quote Other Statisticians And Not Add Anything Substantive Of Our Own by the Baseball Prospectus Team

Mike Donlin · 03-27-2006, 03:56 PM

I don't think CURVE BALL was mentioned, but it's a pretty good intro to statistics and baseball.

sporr · 03-27-2006, 05:27 PM

Men at Work by George Will is a quick read.

and why not Reggie by Reggie Jackson

Lastplaneout · 03-27-2006, 08:11 PM

There's a great chapter on the death of .400 hitting in Stephen Jay Gould's Full House.

ukhotstove · 03-28-2006, 11:49 AM

Have to note some of those down, Summer of 49 stands out as that was next on my list. Most of my books are stat based as years back thats all you could get over here really, but with online shopping specially Amazon you can get hold of pretty much anything.

Astros33Resurrected · 03-28-2006, 12:01 PM

Moneyball

Craig S. · 03-28-2006, 01:32 PM

My personal favorite is Mike Sowell's The Pitch that Killed. A great story by an author who actually knows how to write. Terrific portrait of the period, both as it relates to baseball and society.

Other favorites:

- Schwarz's The Numbers Game
- anything by Charles Alexander
- The Beer and Whiskey League
- Slide, Kelly, Slide
- Bill James' New Historical Abstract
- Eight Men Out
- Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers

There are also several interesting titles out now, or due for release soon.

WrightWing · 03-28-2006, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

9. Ty Cobb bio but not the one by stump ( ill have to check title on that one too.

Are you thinking of "Ty Cobb" by Charles Alexander? The best biography on the Georgia Peach IMO...

03-27-2006, 12:54 PM	#1
ukhotstove Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North of England Gods Country Posts: 7,175	What would be in your 10 baseball book list ? Over the last couple of years I've become a baseball book addict and was wondering what baseball books could you not do without ? Personally I'm a history and stat guy some of my favourites being the autos of guys like Cobb, DiMaggio, Wagner and Greenberg and so on, also like the stat books and the story books from unknown people in baseball example one of my favourite all time books being Searching for Heroes Quest of a Yankee Batboy, so just wondering which books you like and also which books should I add to my collection. ps I have Sol Whites book but after a more in depth Negro League book, any suggestions ? __________________ Detroit Diesel Dynasty San Antonio Calzones of Laredo Dynasty Last edited by ukhotstove; 03-27-2006 at 12:56 PM.

03-27-2006, 12:59 PM	#2
darkhorse Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: fort worth, tx Posts: 10,850	New Historical Baseball Abstract __________________ "The Human Torch was denied a bank loan."

03-27-2006, 01:13 PM	#4
phenom Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Near the Great Wall. On the GOOD side. Posts: 3,774	The Fireside Book of Baseball __________________ reported

03-27-2006, 01:25 PM	#5
The Professor Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: East of East Posts: 3,020	10 Books? That is really tough...off the top of my head: 1. American Baseball by DQ Voigt 2. The New B. James Historical Abstract 3. The Glory of Their Times - Lawrence Ritter 4. Jackie Robinson & His Legacy - Jules Tygiel 5. The Babe - Robert Creamer 6. Game Time: A Baseball Companion - Roger Angell 7. Veeck As In Wreck - Bill Veeck w/ Ed Linn 8. Charles Alexander's Rogers Hornsby Bio...(or McGraw or Cobb...) 9. Voices of the Game - Curt Smith 10. Only the Ball Was White - Robert Peterson But there are plenty of other books that probably deserve inclusion (Moneyball, Ball Four, numerous bios, statistics-heavy/sabermetric stuff, some fictional works...) __________________ History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are."

03-27-2006, 02:38 PM	#6
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	I'll third the New Historical Abstract by James. I don't know if these others would necessarily be in my top 10, but they're ones I've read over the past two years that I really enjoyed: Moneyball - Michael Lewis (although his Liar's Poker is even better) The Numbers Game - Alan Schwartz The Universal Baseball Association - Robert Coover The Book on the Book - Bill Felber I also just ordered Baseball Hacks : Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics by Joseph Adler, Baseball Between the Numbers by Baseball Prospectus writers, and The Mind of Bill James : How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball by Scott Gray. Looking forward to getting those read by the end of May. __________________ "Read books, get brain." Last edited by Dagrims; 03-27-2006 at 02:41 PM.

03-27-2006, 02:39 PM	#7
BaseballMan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,647	For reference 1. Total Baseball 2. Sports encylopedia of baseball 3. Baseball encylopedia 4. Green Cathederals 5. History of the World Series 6. Baseball Timeline 7. forgot title but its a newspaper headlines of baseball history ( will check title when i get home from work. 8. The New B. James Historical Abstract 9. Ty Cobb bio but not the one by stump ( ill have to check title on that one too. Looking to get Eight men out, Shoeless Joe, Walter Johnson bio, Summer of 49, Teammates.

03-27-2006, 03:05 PM	#8
ihatenames Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rockford Posts: 2,534	Most have mine have already been listed, but i thought i'd also throw out there the Baseball Unencylopedia. __________________ New Album coming soon!

03-27-2006, 03:10 PM	#9
Gorilla Shakespeare Banned Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 405	Ball Four by Jim Bouton Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof. As good as the movie is, the book is even better. This Time Let's Not Eat The Bones by Bill James. Not easy to find, but a whole heck of a lot easier to find than the old Abstracts. Basically, it's much of the collected wisdom of those Abstracts without all the stats. The Hidden Game of Baseball by Pete Palmer and Jim Thorn. 25 years old, and in a couple respects outdated, but groundbreaking in its own way. Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Since you've probably seen Field of Dreams, check out the book version. It's different in a couple of very interesting ways. That's not 10, but others have mentioned the rest of my faves.

03-27-2006, 03:12 PM	#10
disposableheros Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4,332	New Historical Abstract - "history" book The Numbers Game - great synopsis of the history of baseball stats The Book on the Book - relates to modern baseball strategies (last 10 years or so), but there is some comparison to old times Baseball Hacks : Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics - mostly a beginners guide to stats, but some great insight Baseball Between the Numbers - a great thing to read after Baseball Hack. takes stats and analysis to the next level. __________________ 2 Wild Cards, 11 Division Champs, 4 League Champs, 3 World Champs, and 3 Best GM awards Baseball Maelstrom - New York Mets - 180-149 .547 Corporate League Baseball - Coke Buzz - 889-649 .578 Western Hemisphere Baseball League - Santiago Saints - 672-793 .459 Record - 2428-2271 .517

03-27-2006, 03:20 PM	#11
KurtBevacqua Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,968	1. WHERE THEY AIN'T : THE FABLED LIFE AND UNTIMELY DEATH OF THE ORIGINAL BALTIMORE ORIOLES, THE TEAM THAT GAVE BIRTH TO MODERN BASEBALL by Burt Solomon 2. THE CURSE OF ROCKY COLAVITO by Terry Pluto 3. BALL FOUR by Jim Bouton 4. CATCHER WAS A SPY: THE MYSTERIOUS LIFE OF MOE BERG by Nicholas Dawidoff 5. ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE: A HISTORY OF LEGENDARY BLACK PLAYERS AND ALL-BLACK PROFESSIONAL TEAMS by Robert Peterson 6. TED WILLIAMS: THE BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN HERO by Leigh Montville 7. SUMMER OF 49 by David Halberstam 8. BASEBALL'S LAST DYNASTY: CHARLIE FINLEY'S OAKLAND A'S by Bruce Markusen 9. WALTER JOHNSON: BASEBALL'S BIG TRAIN by Henry W. Thomas 10. THE HEAD GAME: by Roger Kahn __________________ "The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man" - William Graham Sumner

03-27-2006, 03:27 PM	#12
R. Hansh Minors (Double A) Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Denver, Co. Posts: 148	Teammates by David Halberstam

03-27-2006, 03:52 PM	#13
Gorilla Shakespeare Banned Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 405	I F$& Hate Moneyball* by Joe Morgan I Used To Be An Ump But Then I Got Fired Because I Am Stupid by Steve Phillips Pretend That I Only Announce Basketball Games And You Will Probably Be Fine by Bob Costas 146,000 Things I Would Do To Change The Game Oh And Catchers Are Rocket Scientists by Tim McCarver Let's Quote Other Statisticians And Not Add Anything Substantive Of Our Own by the Baseball Prospectus Team

03-27-2006, 03:56 PM	#14
Mike Donlin All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Life, friends, is boring. Posts: 840	I don't think CURVE BALL was mentioned, but it's a pretty good intro to statistics and baseball. Last edited by Mike Donlin; 03-28-2006 at 11:57 AM.

03-27-2006, 05:27 PM	#15
sporr Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Muscatine, IA Posts: 8,277	Men at Work by George Will is a quick read. and why not Reggie by Reggie Jackson

03-27-2006, 08:11 PM	#16
Lastplaneout Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Haven, CT Posts: 225	There's a great chapter on the death of .400 hitting in Stephen Jay Gould's Full House.

03-28-2006, 11:49 AM	#17
ukhotstove Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North of England Gods Country Posts: 7,175	Have to note some of those down, Summer of 49 stands out as that was next on my list. Most of my books are stat based as years back thats all you could get over here really, but with online shopping specially Amazon you can get hold of pretty much anything. __________________ Detroit Diesel Dynasty San Antonio Calzones of Laredo Dynasty

03-28-2006, 12:01 PM	#18
Astros33Resurrected Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lufkin, TX Posts: 2,213	Moneyball

03-28-2006, 01:32 PM	#19
Craig S. Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 114	My personal favorite is Mike Sowell's The Pitch that Killed. A great story by an author who actually knows how to write. Terrific portrait of the period, both as it relates to baseball and society. Other favorites: - Schwarz's The Numbers Game - anything by Charles Alexander - The Beer and Whiskey League - Slide, Kelly, Slide - Bill James' New Historical Abstract - Eight Men Out - Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers There are also several interesting titles out now, or due for release soon.