Favorite baseball book? Card or historical focused.

[egri]

I don't think I've seen it mentioned yet, so I'll throw out "Wait 'Till Next Year", by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

[Tabe]

My selections would go something like this:

59 in '84 by Ed Achorn - Hoss Radbourn's incredible 1884 season plus lots of detail on baseball in that era in general

The Pitch That Killed by Mike Sowell - tremendous book on the death of Ray Chapman

Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy - Wonderful book on the 1908 season. A must-read.

The Bird by Doug Wilson - Incredible biography of Mark Fidrych that captures the essence of Mark and the undying love that Detroit fans have for him. If you are a Tigers fan, this should be #1 on your list, it's that good.

Never Give Up by Ruppert Jones - Powerful autobiography by Jones about dealing with a traumatic brain injury. It's harrowing, powerful, and uplifting all at once.

Any books by Tim Hornbaker. Tim's baseball books are all top-shelf, best-in-class: War on the Basepaths (Ty Cobb), Fall From Grace (Joe Jackson), and Turning the Black Sox White.



If you're not already a member, I highly recommend joining the "Baseball Books" group on Facebook. 10k members and lots of discussion about many books.

[FrankWakefield]

The past few months I've had recurring thoughts about that thread about who was the best / greatest left handed pitcher ever. Most of the discussion was about Koufax and Spahn. I saw Spahn pitch, once, as a kid. And Koufax, once. When I saw them I had no sense of past seasons and all time records. Spahn seemed to labor on the mound, Koufax flowed with power. As a kid I thought Koufax the best.

Then Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract comes along, an enlightening book, even for folks that think they know about old ball players. It was then that I decided that the best left hander I saw pitch wasn't S Carlton, R Johnson, T Glavine, Jim Kaat, Andy Pettite, nor Mr. Koufax... it was Warren Spahn.

Here's why. If I owned a MLB franchise and could pick any one left handed pitcher to win one game for my team, Sandy Koufax may well be that guy. But if I owned a MLB franchise and I could pick any left handed pitcher to play not just one game, nor a season, but instead an entire career for my franchise, that left hander would by Warren Spahn. (And with that said, you should be able to see why Kaat was in my little list above.)

With all of that said, (and no, this isn't in the wrong thread, I'm just tying them together) I have found myself wanting to read a book about Sandy Koufax.

So Dan, thank you for starting this thread. Jeremy, Bob, and anyone else who recommended Jane Leavy's book about Koufax, thank you; I've placed an order for that book (although I think I have a copy in a box in an upstairs closet). When this one arrives, I'll read it before I misplace it!

[cardsmemro]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

So Dan, thank you for starting this thread. Jeremy, Bob, and anyone else who recommended Jane Leavy's book about Koufax, thank you; I've placed an order for that book (although I think I have a copy in a box in an upstairs closet). When this one arrives, I'll read it before I misplace it!

Happy to have started this thread! Most fun one I've done in awhile.

[obiwan1129]

One Shot At Forever by Chris Ballard, love love love this story. I've bought several copies to give to people.

The Final Season: Fathers, Sons, and One Last Season in a Classic American Ballpark (Honoring a Detroit Legend) by Tom Stanton

The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America by Joe Posnanski

Ya Gotta Have Heart by Ned Colletti

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam

[John1941]

There's a lot of good books in this thread, and also a lot I have never read. I might have some books to get through inter-library loan.

[egri]

Originally Posted by obiwan1129

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam

I don't know how that one slipped my mind, as a Red Sox fan. He had a couple of other good sports ones; October, 1964 and The Summer of '49, and in football, The Education of a Coach.

[Bigdaddy]

A couple by Roger Kahn -

"The Boys of Summer" about the Brooklyn Dodgers
"Good Enough to Dream" about minor league baseball

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

The past few months I've had recurring thoughts about that thread about who was the best / greatest left handed pitcher ever. Most of the discussion was about Koufax and Spahn. I saw Spahn pitch, once, as a kid. And Koufax, once. When I saw them I had no sense of past seasons and all time records. Spahn seemed to labor on the mound, Koufax flowed with power. As a kid I thought Koufax the best.

Then Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract comes along, an enlightening book, even for folks that think they know about old ball players. It was then that I decided that the best left hander I saw pitch wasn't S Carlton, R Johnson, T Glavine, Jim Kaat, Andy Pettite, nor Mr. Koufax... it was Warren Spahn.

Here's why. If I owned a MLB franchise and could pick any one left handed pitcher to win one game for my team, Sandy Koufax may well be that guy. But if I owned a MLB franchise and I could pick any left handed pitcher to play not just one game, nor a season, but instead an entire career for my franchise, that left hander would by Warren Spahn. (And with that said, you should be able to see why Kaat was in my little list above.)

With all of that said, (and no, this isn't in the wrong thread, I'm just tying them together) I have found myself wanting to read a book about Sandy Koufax.

So Dan, thank you for starting this thread. Jeremy, Bob, and anyone else who recommended Jane Leavy's book about Koufax, thank you; I've placed an order for that book (although I think I have a copy in a box in an upstairs closet). When this one arrives, I'll read it before I misplace it!

Frank, agree with your assessment. And lest us not forget that Spahn was the winningest left handed pitcher of all time, surpassing Eddie Plank.

[nebboy]

All Net54-ers should have this book for a fun lighthearted read.

The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

I've read a lot of the books mentioned and don't really have anything new to add. Any time I buy a "big" card for my collection, I try to read a biography about the player (Ruth, Mays, Mantle, Jackie, etc.). I find that it brings greater enjoyment of the new card.

So along those lines, I think "The Big Fella" (Jane Levy's book about Babe Ruth) might have been my favorite. I read it once and now I'm halfway through it for a second read through. I think Jane's writing style might be polarizing...some like her books, some really seem to dislike them, but I like the way she tells a story (as another post or two above mention, she has written about Mantle and Koufax as well).

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by thatkidfromjerrymaguire

So along those lines, I think "The Big Fella" (Jane Levy's book about Babe Ruth) might have been my favorite. I read it once and now I'm halfway through it for a second read through. I think Jane's writing style might be polarizing...some like her books, some really seem to dislike them, but I like the way she tells a story (as another post or two above mention, she has written about Mantle and Koufax as well).

Yeah, put me in the "dislike" category. It's been several years so I don't recall specifics but I remember hating her Koufax book.