Favorite baseball book? Card or historical focused.

[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.