Looking for a new read - What's the best Baseball book you have read this year?

[whitehse]

Every year since the kids moved out my wife and I have purchased a book for each other to read on Christmas Eve. I know it sounds odd but we have some snacks set out and a favorite beverage while we read, sitting around the Christmas tree.

This year I have not done much reading and want to know what your best recommendation is for a book I can ask "Santa" to bring me. Let me know what book stood out to you this year....no matter the era that the book is set in or the genre of the type of book as a good read is always a good read.

Maybe we can inspire others to do some reading this holiday season and beyond.

[Iwantmorecards77]

'How Baseball Happened' by Thomas W. Gilbert. Baseball and American history all tied together. I couldn't put it down. I bought it in a bookstore in Bar Harbor. Spent my late nights in Lubec and York reading it. By the time my vacation in Maine was over, I had already completed the book. Just a great read.

[bk400]

A couple of classics -- you may have read them already:

1) The Boys of Summer -- Roger Kahn

2) The Bad Guys Won -- Jeff Pearlman. This one is particularly great if you're a fan of the 86 Mets.

3) The Last Hero -- Howard Bryant. Hank Aaron's remarkable story set against the backdrop of an unsettled America.

[toledo_mudhen]

https://www.amazon.com/T206-Collecti.../dp/1931807949

Good Stuff here - 1909 T 206 - Awesome cards

[Brent G.]

Can't go wrong with anything by Jeff Pearlman — the guy who destroyed John Rocker while at SI by just reporting the truth. He has great books on the '86 Mets (mentioned above), Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Bo Jackson. If you're also into football, his Walter Payton bio might be my favorite sports book (it’s no fairytale).

[packs]

There’s a book called A False Spring by Pat Jordan that can be tougher to find but is really interesting to read. He was a major prospect for the Braves in the 70s but didn’t pan out and the book is about his experience in the low minors and coming to realize he didn’t have it.

[bobbvc]

Originally Posted by Iwantmorecards77

'How Baseball Happened' by Thomas W. Gilbert. Baseball and American history all tied together. I couldn't put it down. I bought it in a bookstore in Bar Harbor. Spent my late nights in Lubec and York reading it. By the time my vacation in Maine was over, I had already completed the book. Just a great read.

+1 - Just finished listening on Audible. Very interesting, especially for those interested in early 19th Century Baseball and the birth of the Professional Game.

[Yoda]

I really enjoyed 'The New York Game' by Kevin Barker. Being a New Yorker, of course, really helped.

[Mark17]

1947: When All Hell Broke Loose In Baseball by Red Barber.

Jackie breaks the color barrier, Durocher is suspended for the season, MacPhail battles Branch Rickey, plus a bunch of interesting sub-plots. Red Barber writes in a very descriptive, yet succinct, style. Very enjoyable read.

[doug.goodman]

Koufax by Jane Leavy is always a winner

[hammertime]

Still my all-time favorite.

[hammertime]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Koufax by Jane Leavy is always a winner

Her Ruth book is great too (The Big Fella).

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by packs

There’s a book called A False Spring by Pat Jordan that can be tougher to find but is really interesting to read. He was a major prospect for the Braves in the 70s but didn’t pan out and the book is about his experience in the low minors and coming to realize he didn’t have it.

I will second this. A False Spring is my favorite baseball book. Pat Jordan became a cranky old curmudgeon, but he wrote a great book.

Close behind would be:
The Great American Novel by Phillip Roth
Koufax, A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy

[bbcard1]

I'd second Crazy '08. The Wax Pack wasn't what I expected, but it was good. If you've never read the Bill James Historical Abstract, it's fantastic and will give you a fresh perspective on everything you thought you thought about baseball and finally, I'd humbly ask that you check out my book Baseball Cards at the Edge of War; 1941 The Game, The Gum and the Glory. Link is in my signature...most folks have enjoyed it.

[Mike Eisenbath]

The Pitch That Killed. Best baseball book ever.

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[jimonym]

Probably already known by many reading this, but A Game of Inches by Peter Morris is the best I have read this year. Outstanding book and incredibly informative.

[whitehse]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. Some books that were suggested, like Crazy '08 I have read which came from a suggestion here a few years ago. Someone mentioned Boys Of Summer which, oddly enough I had put that on my list to read once again as it has been years since I had first picked it up. I was 11 years old and bought Boys of Summer at the local bookstore and loved what I was reading. My mom took a sudden interest in reviewing this book and took it away as she felt there was some very inappropriate items in those pages and didnt want me to read it. I need to go back and check it out again and find out what was so bad about it. LOL

I have written much of what Jane Leavey has written and loved her work. There are other books mentioned here that I have never heard of which I very much appreciate. You all have given me a large list from which to kickstart my goal to get back to reading in 2026 and challenge my 16 year old granddaughter to read more books than and prove it with the Goodreads app.

Special thanks to another board member who private messaged me with personal recommendation for a book he found pretty special. That one will be on the top of my list.

Keep the suggestions coming. My granddaughter reads like crazy. I need to keep up with her in 2026

[piecesofthegame]

My all-time favorite is Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Her recollections of baseball intertwined with life growing up in the 1950s glory days of New York baseball is beyond compare. I have read dozens of baseball history books, definitely my pick.

[AMPduppp]

I'll share one I haven't seen mentioned here before: Fan Interference. It's a series of short essays, stories, musings, and rants about baseball, culture, and nostalgia. Mostly focused on guys from the 70s-90s so don't expect too much deadball era talk, but it's really funny.

[StraightRaceCards]

RELEAF by Brian Kappel, focused on the cards and development of the 1948 1949 Leaf set.

He makes a great case for the set really being a 49 issue. Really enjoyed it.

The best part in my opinion was the pictures of the cards in the books and comparing different printing dates etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong Leon et all....I think Brian is a member of Net54 too?

https://www.amazon.com/STORY-COLLECT.../dp/B0D3M271SD

[GeoPoto]

Babe by Robert Creamer.

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[yanks87]

Originally Posted by StraightRaceCards

RELEAF by Brian Kappel, focused on the cards and development of the 1948 1949 Leaf set.

He makes a great case for the set really being a 49 issue. Really enjoyed it.

The best part in my opinion was the pictures of the cards in the books and comparing different printing dates etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong Leon et all....I think Brian is a member of Net54 too?

https://www.amazon.com/STORY-COLLECT.../dp/B0D3M271SD

Matt! You made my day! Thanks for the call out! So glad you enjoyed the book, it was born here on NET54! I just crossed 400 books sold on Amazon and close to 500 total, never in my wildest dreams would I have sold more than 10! Thank you and everyone else that have picked it up and helped to keep the story of LEAF alive. TedZ would be happy so many are calling it a 1949 set!

[Tabe]

One that I enjoyed a great deal this year was "Cramer's Choice", the story of Pacific Trading Cards by its founder, Mike Cramer. Fun read about an innovative company from the guy who was there.

[raineybt]

Thanks for the recommendation - its also on sale on Kindle for $2.99! A great holiday book.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet and I assume many have already read it, but I'll take every opportunity to recommend The Glory of Their Times to anyone who has even a passing interest in baseball. The oral history of baseball written from the oral histories provided by the players that played. Its not only the best baseball book I've ever read, its one of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommended.

Originally Posted by hammertime

Still my all-time favorite.

[Jay Wolt]

Here's a great read, gives you a good idea of life in the 1880's

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by packs

There’s a book called A False Spring by Pat Jordan that can be tougher to find but is really interesting to read. He was a major prospect for the Braves in the 70s but didn’t pan out and the book is about his experience in the low minors and coming to realize he didn’t have it.

Thank you for this recommendation! The Kindle version is easily available on Amazon, and I’ve started reading it. I’m loving it so far - he actually played in the minors from 1959-61 but wrote the book in the early ‘70s. I’m looking up the teammates he writes about on Baseball Reference. His memory was pretty spot on.

[RayBShotz]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

Here's a great read, gives you a good idea of life in the 1880's

Get this one! I agree with Jay.

[Brick442]

Man In The Dugout, The: Baseball's Top: Managers and How They Got That Way by Leonard Koppett is an interesting look at managers, their leadership styles and influences.

It is a bit old (early 1990s), so the "modern" managers mentioned aren't so modern anymore. Still, an interesting read.

[Vintagedeputy]

I haven’t started reading this yet, and I just borrowed it from a friend. I live in Richmond and love to read more about Richmond baseball history.

[lampertb]

My recommendation is for 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, by Kostya Kennedy. Fantastic day-by-day account of the streak and everything that went into it.