What's the best Baseball Book Fiction and Non you have read?

[Peter_Spaeth]

The Celebrant is really good -- about Mathewson but fiction.

[ALR-bishop]

....even comes with a baseball card



King, a huge Red Sox fan, also has a book on the 2004 Red Sox Season, Faithful. As a Cardinal's fan I can not bring myself to read that.

One of his other books, not really a sports book, is The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

[Paul S]

Fiction -- try The Dixie Association, by Donald Hays.

[Howe’s Hunter]

Uecker at his best.

[Den*nis O*Brien]

Calico Joe, by John Grisham, is fiction revolving around a baseball incident. Grisham also wrote a non fiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice In A Small Town, about a minor league player, in the Yankees system, that wound up on Oklahoma's death row.

[jerseygary]

I have hundreds of baseball books in my library and have read thousands more, but if I had to absolutely pick one of each, this would be them...

Best Non-Fiction:
Outsider Baseball by Scott Simkus
As far as I'm concerned the greatest book written about non-MLB baseball and the most important non-fiction baseball book of the past 10 years. Besides being crammed with original research the author is funny as hell and his writing is a joy to read.

Best Fiction: The Natural by Bernard Malamud
I'd seen the movie a dozen times but man oh man, the original book ain't nothing like the movie! If the script writers followed the storyline of the book there's no way it would have been made let alone have Robert Redford star in it.

[Milton]

'The Bad Guys Won' is a great book about the NY Mets 1986 season. Lots of great stories in there

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

I have hundreds of baseball books in my library and have read thousands more, but if I had to absolutely pick one of each, this would be them...

Best Non-Fiction:
Outsider Baseball by Scott Simkus
As far as I'm concerned the greatest book written about non-MLB baseball and the most important non-fiction baseball book of the past 10 years. Besides being crammed with original research the author is funny as hell and his writing is a joy to read.

Best Fiction: The Natural by Bernard Malamud
I'd seen the movie a dozen times but man oh man, the original book ain't nothing like the movie! If the script writers followed the storyline of the book there's no way it would have been made let alone have Robert Redford star in it.

Non Fiction "The Glory of their Times" ..Larry Ritter , I knew him personally and he was so modest about the book , Also what I thought was amazing is that he did an equal split on royalties and many family members received checks from Larry Long after the player had died.

Fiction : Still have not found a good one yet , but agree with this post the book "The NATURAL" was AWFUL ! Movie FAR better than the book
____________________
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Vintage autographs for Sale Daily
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[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

Best Fiction: The Natural by Bernard Malamud
I'd seen the movie a dozen times but man oh man, the original book ain't nothing like the movie! If the script writers followed the storyline of the book there's no way it would have been made let alone have Robert Redford star in it.

Absolutely agree with this...'The Natural' is my favorite book. I love the movie too, but they are nothing alike.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by Den*nis O*Brien

Calico Joe, by John Grisham, is fiction revolving around a baseball incident. Grisham also wrote a non fiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice In A Small Town, about a minor league player, in the Yankees system, that wound up on Oklahoma's death row.

I agree this was a great book.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The Celebrant is really good -- about Mathewson but fiction.

Yes, that was a good one and probably my fiction choice as well. Boys of Summer for Non Fiction, hands down.

[GregMitch34]

"Joy in Mudville" by some hack named Greg Mitchell.

[MooseDog]

Non Fiction - The Glory of Their Times and Boys of Summer are head and shoulders above.

Fiction - I'm not much of a fiction reader but I did enjoy The Art of Fielding.

[mattsey9]

Non-Fiction: John Helyar's Lords of the Realm is one I keep turning back to. Keith Hernandez has a book that I can't remember the title of that documents his thought processes for one MLB game. Great stuff.

Rob Ruck's Raceball and anything by Adrian Burgos also fit the bill for the historian in me.

[Jerry G]

Fiction: Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (Loved the movie, Field of Dreams, but the book is even better.)

Non-Fiction: October 1964 by David Halbersam. Lots of info on the first Cardinal's World Series of my life.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by Jerry G

Fiction: Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (Loved the movie, Field of Dreams, but the book is even better.)

Was just reading this thread for the first time...astounded that it took until page 3 for someone to list this classic book! Also loved Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy.

Cheers,
Blair

[bobbvc]

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

[obcbobd]

Non-Fiction. So many. Babe, The Legend Comes to Life.

Fiction. Bang the Drum Slowly

[joeadcock]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

Agree on the BALL FOUR

[JakeStahl'sGloveSHows]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

Ahh Ball Four. Thanks for the reference. Many years since I read that but remember thoroughly enjoying it. Will need to re-read.

In 1972 I was 11 and in the hospital recovering from an emergency appendectomy. An Aunt gave me a copy of "This Great Game". It took my youthful love of baseball to another level. Hands down the most impactful baseball book for me. The photos were extraordinary, for that time. Here's a link to an article on it:
http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.co...-to-the-masses

Others I've enjoyed:
Moneyball (of course)
The Bronx Zoo
5 Seasons

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

I agree both are the best for each baseball era.

Best fiction I've read was Pete Rose's autobiography "My Story" where he adamantly denies gambling on baseball. (Of course he admitted he did gamble on games several years later).