Drew's recommended reading:
- Moneyball by Michael Lewis -- Around 2004 or 2005 I was visiting with my Aunt Robyn during some holiday and she asked if I had ever read this book. She had heard a lot of buzz about an excellent baseball book written by an author better-known for writing about financial issues than sports. She promised to find the book and mail it to me so long as I held up my end of the bargain and actually read it. The deal turned out to be a win-win for me. This book is an excellent look at how A's manager turned around his club in Oakland by combining some Bill James sabermetrics with hands-on knowledge of the game he himself played. Definitely pick this book up if you haven't already and be ready to share with friends because once you finish it (and you'll get through it pretty quick) you won't be able to stop talking about it.
- Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball by Paul Aaron -- Another wonderful title you'll want to share with friends. This book is filled with interesting facts even some die hard fans might not have known. I picked this book up at the library and have been quoting it ever since. Great for all ages, I recommend putting this book next to the night stand. It is broken up into chapters of complete short non-fiction stories and trivia, perfect for picking up and putting down at your own leisure. Don't miss out on this sleeper, I guarantee you won't find it on any other suggested reading lists!
- The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S. Ritter -- This book is kind of like the Holy Grail of baseball literature. Author Lawrence Ritter basically interviewed every ballplayer still living from the earliest days of the game (guys who played in the very early 1900's) and transcribed those interviews to put together this book. Twenty-six players, including guys like Edd Roush, Rube Marquard, Joe Wood, and even the infamous Fred Snodgrass (who some believe cost the NY Giants the 1912 World Series... hear it from HIS perspective!), tell their experiences in early baseball history. Hear about players hopping trains just to make try-outs, fans interfering and heckling, and much more. Baseball purists and history buffs will enjoy this book immensely. I was lucky enough to find a 1966 fourth printing copy of this at Half Price Books for $7.00.
- Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader -- Learn the everything from the origins of baseball in America all the way up through the recent troubles the game has had with performance enhancing drugs. I bought this as the textbook for my History of Baseball class at OU and I continue to pick it up now and again just to double check facts. The book has a large scope but is by no mean overwhelming, highlighting major points and periods in the games' vast history. Each period is separated into chapters, so it's easy to skip around to different eras if you'd like.
- The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance by H.A. Dorfman -- Although I have never read this book, friends and teammates of mine who've read it told me after finishing it they thought about the game in ways they'd never imagined and subsequently were better ballplayers because of it. If you are a coach, have a son or daughter, pass this book along and let them thank you later.
- Wiffle Ball: The Ultimate Guide by Michael Hermann -- An absolute blast to read about the game that took hold of America in the 1950's and hasn't let go since. In the interest of full disclosure, this book was written by an employee of the toy company, but that only goes to make this history of the little yellow plastic bat and ball with holes on the top that much better. Also included in the book are tips for throwing the meanest pitches possible, a look at guys who play Wiffle Ball professionally, pictures of replica Wrigley Field and Fenway Park Wiffle fields, and interviews from celebrities reminiscing about their childhood memories of the backyard classic. Did you know the game was invented by an out-of-work father and former UCONN baseball player after watching his son and friends unsuccessfully try to play baseball in America's earliest version of the suburbs? Definitely a summer time must read!
--Didn't see anything you liked? Check out baseball journalist Rob Neyer's Essential Baseball Library.
--Still couldn't find anything? Try choosing one of Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. Below I've plucked all the baseball titles from the list:
2. The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn (1971)
3. Ball Four by Jim Bouton (1970)
5. You Know Me Al by Ring Lardner (1914)
14. Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (1956)
18. The Summer Game by Roger Angell (1972)
19. The Long Season by Jim Brosnan (1960)
24. The Natural by Bernard Malamud (1952)
27. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life by Robert Creamer (1974)
31. Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer (2000)
33. Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck and Ed Linn (1962)
37. A False Spring by Pat Jordan (1975)
41. The Unforgettable Season by Gordon H. Fleming (1981)
42. The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg (1983)
44. The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James (1985)
47. Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella (1982)
49. Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof (1963)
50. Baseball's Great Experiment by Jules Tygiel (1983)
52. Dollar Sign on the Muscle by Kevin Kerrane (1984)
53. The Bronx Zoo by Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock (1979)
55. The Baseball Encyclopedia by MacMillan (Publisher) (1969)
57. The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter (1966)
58. The Complete Armchair Book of Baseball Edited by John Thorn (1999)
60. Lords of the Realm by John Helyar (1994)
61. The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. by Robert Coover (1968)
74. Only the Ball Was White by Robert Peterson (1970)
78. The Great American Novel by Philip Roth (1973)
84. Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? by Jimmy Breslin (1963)
86. The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams And John Underwood(1970)
98. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings by William Brashler (1973)
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