Happy New Year. Baseball America has posted their top ten book list for 2009. Unfortunately I’ve been working in another direction and haven’t had as much time to read baseball books so this site has pretty much gone dormant. If you want, subscribe to the RSS feed and in the event I kick things off again (which I’m hoping to do but I’ve said that before), you’ll know without having to stop by.
Baseball Prospectus continues to trail Joe Torre and while there are no new faces in the top, three new books have cracked the top ten in the bottom half.
Of the three new books, I’ve picked up two. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary is a very cool resource. With over 10,000 entries, you have a definition for just about any baseball term you can think of. This is what I call a “flipping book.” I’ll flip to a random page, and read, and learn. This is the third edition and it gets revised ever ten years so this will be a mainstay for quite some time.
I’m also about 50 pages into Forever Blue, which is a well written biography of Walter O’Malley. I’ll be reviewing this probably in two weeks over at the Hardball Times.
Alright, just a few quick comments. First, I’m way behind in my baseball reading. Of the newer books listed above, I’ve picked up Baseball Prospectus 2009 and the Bill James Handbook. I’ve read Juiced and Moneyball. I’m tightening my book buying budget but I have a couple of review copies coming in. At least on review will show up at the Hardball Times, but the hope is to get things going here again.
Second, there’s very few new books between the last time I wrote in Jan. and now. The order has changed but seven of the ten books were on that list or a previous list. The biggest surprise is that Baseball Prospectus isn’t number one, because they usually rule the roost at this point in time. Looks like everyone wants Joe Torre’s dirt on the Yankees.
You can definitely tell it’s Annual season, although I was surprised Moneyball found it’s way to the top. Baseball Prospectus will be there soon, the book just hasn’t come out yet. For the longest time Beyond Belief and Champions were at the top but that was when I took my hiatus.
I’ve been slow in buying Annuals this year. I have the Bill James Handbook and the Hardball Times Annual (which makes sense since I have a piece in the book) but little else. I usually buy Ron Shandler’s book and Baseball Prospectus as well, but even what I have, I’ve had a tough time getting through. I just need to get back into the swing of reading baseball books. I’ve been on a Star Wars kick lately.
Moneyball creeps back to the top and the only two debuts are older books. Watching Baseball Smarter is a book I have yet to read and I’m not sure what the sudden interest is in it (although it looks like a solid read and it’s written by a fellow blogger). Wait Till Next Year was written in the late 90s and it’s basically a diary of a life long Brooklyn Dodgers fan.
I’d say check back next week but it’s been more like a monthly thing over here. Just need to buckle down and get through some baseball books.
Yeah, it’s been almost two months. Work is the primary excuse but that settled down a few weeks ago. I sort of locked myself into Sundays here so usually what happened is, Sunday’s would come, I’d be busy, and I’d put it off. Most likely, I’ll be doing on this on Saturday from here on out (when I do it). I’ve also gotten through a couple of books I want to write about so while I’ve been threatening this for some time, you should see some reviews.
Because it’s been almost two months since the last time I did this, most of the list has turned over. Bobby Murcer’s book comes in at number one and has been near the top since he passed away. I’m not sure why older books like The Natural and Ted Williams’ Science of Hitting have risen other then maybe there hasn’t been much to fill the void. The Shoeless Joe title is a new audiobook version of the classic so if you’re looking for something to listen in the car, that would be a good choice. And then you have not one, but two books on Yankee Stadium.
The hope is to have my review of Working at the Ballpark finished this week. I enjoyed the book, but I want to make sure I tell you why.
There’s little doubt that Yankee Stadium is iconic in nature so it’s no surprise that with the All Star Game coming to the Bronx, that Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective would eventually top the baseball book list. Outside of that, it’s mostly more of the same with just one debut.
Yogi Berra’s new book, You Can Observe A Lot By Watching, looks like a fantastic read. I did get a couple of new books on the shelf recently, one of which I’m particularly interested in telling you about but I’ll save it for another day.
Since I started doing these lists, the only book that has stayed in the top ten week in and week out has been Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I read it about a year after it came out and found it an interesting read but with it having such staying power, it might be worth a second look. At the time, I was actually looking for one of Lewis’ other books, Liars Poker, at the library yet came up short and settled for Moneyball, which I wanted to read eventually anyway.
And not only has Moneyball stayed in the top ten, it’s secured the top spot. I missed last week and had I done a list, it would have been Moneyball at the top then too. I’m not sure why it popped up to the top spot, but the book gets regular mentions so I’m not surprised.
There’s two debuts near the bottom of the list. Yankee for Life, which is written by Bobby Murcer, looks like a very interesting read. And just making the list is the 50 year look at the Giants in San Francisco. A lot of noise has been made about the Dodgers move 50 years ago but the Giants also headed west with them and this looks like an interesting look at what’s gone down the past 50 years.
The latest edition to my baseball library is an interesting read called Walkoffs, Last Licks and Final Outs. It’s an interesting tome that has game descriptions and box scores of some of the more interesting finishes in baseball. You’ve got a lot of what you’d expect, like Game Six of the 1975 World Series and Game Seven of the 1960 World Series but there’s also a lot of more interesting and lesser known finishes. Game seven of the 1926 World Series is in here, in which Babe Ruth was caught stealing to finish the whole series as well as several final outs at several ballparks like Ebbets Field and Tiger Stadium.
There’s a lot in here and it’s organized very well. Want to just check out the ballparks section? That’s no sweat as is the final at bat of several high profile players. Authors Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan did a very nice job with this book.
We have a new number one, with Living on the Black taking the top spot from the 33 Year Old Rookie. There’s also two new books to the top ten so lets take a look at the list.
Mike Lowell’s book, Deep Drive, made a nice debut at number five while The Soul of Baseball, which is about Buck O’Neill, showed up at number seven. Just a quick note, I’m sure The Soul of Baseball was in the top ten on Amazon.com at some point, but since I started this site, this is the first time it’s popped into the top ten. Not sure why, because there’s no clearance sale so it must have gotten a mention somewhere. Red Sox Rule, which is about Terry Francona, popped back on the list at number ten.
Also, for the first time since I started doing this, Baseball Prospectus has slipped from the list. That’s at least two months in the top ten with most of those weeks at number one.
Living on the Black made a nice jump from 10 to 4 and give some props to Baseball Prospectus. They’re about ready to fall off the list, but they’ve been on here for a nice long time. Very good staying power for an annual. Just missing is Watching Baseball Smarter, which would have been a debut. Maybe next week.
I got a couple of new books I’m hoping to touch on later in the week. Also hoping to finish an actual review, but I’ve been threatening that for a while.
Self publishing seems to be the big thing these days, but after working with a publisher (Maple Street Press) on Tigers Corner 2008, there’s some things they can accomplish that a place like Lulu.com can’t. Sure, Lulu takes care of a lot of things like the ink and the print but I’ve never seen a product that was as high quality to Tigers Corner that was self published.
First off, the printing of the book is superb. The book is printed on glossy photo paper with high quality laser ink. And the quality of the pages looks like something you would see from a high end digital photo printer. I own an HP photosmart and while I thought those pictures looked sharp, it was nothing compared to the photo quality you’ll find in Tigers Corner.
Of course working with a publisher means you have to play by their rules, but there’s always a common goal. Of course the biggest goal is just getting that book to the printer.
I took a couple of weeks off on this and ironically, without a lot of new entrants into the mix, the list is most of the same books from three weeks ago, albeit in a different order. We have a new number one which is interesting but here’s the list:
The two books that are new to the list are Cubs Forever, whcih is obviously about the Cubs and it’s a collection of interviews which includes the likes of Ernie Banks and Ryne Sandberg. Living on the Black is a book about Mike Mussina and Tom Glavine in their 2007. Living on the Black already has a one star review which isn’t good but the story seems interesting.
I’m behind. Way behind. I have a couple of books in the hopper and a couple I need to just look at quickly and give a brief synopsis to give them credit. It’s the downside of a day job taking away your valuable time from the important things you need to get done.
The latest edition to the library was actually something I preordered several months ago. Indians Journal continues a series of books authored by John Snyder and the differ from your standard statistical look at a team. These books are more like periodic diary of each season along with some general stats and information. The decade by decade looks are also interesting and provide some additional historical content for the team. There’s also some information on pre-Cleveland Indians teams which includes some content on the infamous 1899 Cleveland Spiders.
You can pick up similar books on the Reds, Red Sox, Cardinals and Cubs. I’m anxiously awaiting a Tigers Journal.
For the second week in a row, we have a new number one book on the Amazon.com top ten baseball book list. This week it’s H.A. Dorfman’s The Mental ABC’s of Pitching. The book came out in 2000 and it looks like a New York Times editorial a couple of weeks ago is what caused all of the interest in the book. It looks like an interesting read and it almost looks more like a personal development book (which I buy and read) then a true baseball book. Worth checking out. Dorfmann’s other book, The Mental Game of Baseball, also made the top ten list. Speaking of the list, here it is…
The only new book to the list was Dorfmann’s aforementioned The Mental Game of Baseball. Bill James Goldmine is a casualty this week and Baseball Prospectus 2008 falls all the to four. This isn’t a knock on them because it’s an exceptional book. They held the top spot for several weeks which is no small task and the fact that they’re still fourth after all these weeks shows the staying power of the franchise.
I know the past few weeks the only content I’ve provided is the top ten list but I’m hoping for that to change soon. I’m making my way through a few books and I have a few new ones on the way. In the meantime, keeping on my regular Sunday schedule has at least given me something to write about here. Anyway, here’s the list.
Most important, Baseball Prospectus has been dethroned. They’ve topped the list every week so far since I started this but the Yankee Stadium Retrospective got a big bump and it knocked BP down to number two. I have a feeling BP will back on top here soon though. There were also three debuts to the list. Fay Vincent’s “We Would Have Played for Nothing” made it all the way to number three while The Mental ABC’s of Pitching lands at number four. The Mental ABC’s book isn’t new so I’m wondering where it got mentioned to give it such a big pop. Rob Neyer’s new book just made the list at number.
Bill James Goldmine fell all the way to number eight and they could be dropping off soon. I’m getting the Rob Neyer book in the mail soon and I’m hoping to get some more formal reviews done in the next week or so.
I’m a day late here, but it’s opening day so there’s no better day then to talk about baseball. Anyway, there’s quite a few debuts this week so let’s get to the list.
Those pesky writers from Baseball Prospectus retain their top spot but they’re getting some serious heat from Jose Canseco, who’s new book debuts at number two. Bill James Goldmine 2008 drops all the way to number five while the BA Prospect Handbook looks to be gone from the list soon.
There’s two other debuts at the bottom of the list. But Didn’t We Have Fun is written by Peter Morris, who I’ve met and read his other work. He’s an excellent reseacher and writer so this is definitely a book I’m going to pick up. The Greatest Game is an indepth look at the Red Sox/Yankees one game playoff back in 1978 and it also looks like a solid read.
There’s a couple of newcomers this week. It’s interesting how a few days can shift this list a lot. Just a couple of days ago, the 33 Year Old Rookie would have been near the bottom but it’s had a good showing while the ESPN Encyclopedia was moving up only to plummet off the list in the final days. I picked Sunday for no other reason then I usually have a little more time but this list changes, at least a little bit, every day.
So The 33 Year Old Rookie and Red Sox Rule (haven’t picked it up but it looks like it’s mostly about Terry Francona) make their top ten debut. Moneyball still has some staying power and they’ve actually moved up to number three while the BA Prospect Handbook looks to be on it’s way out of the top five soon. They even got the right Ron Shandler’s Forecaster on the list this time.
Next week, I’d expect to see Rob Neyer’s new book on the list with it’s debut the following Tuesday. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Baseball Enyclopedia pop in and out of the top ten as other books with less staying power make their way down and out. Hope everyone had a good Easter.
Rob Neyer has a new book coming out in less then two weeks. Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends comes out on April 1 and it looks like an interesting read. You can check out an excerpt of the book by hitting the link.
