Favorite Baseball Books? Let's Share!

[Fred]

I love it when this thread comes around. Someone already mentioned this one:

Ball Four

[raineybt]

If you've made it this far down the line and haven't been convinced to stop what you are doing and read Glory of Their Times, then I'll have to plus one it again. There's even a cover version with T205's on the front!

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train by grandson of Johnson (and fellow Net54 member) Hank Thomas. I'm a Senators fan, but The Big Train was in the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame, and an obvious giant in baseball.

Fun fact - I'm fairly certain Hank also helped edit the interview recordings of Glory of Their Times - what a tie in!

[Huck]

Back in the 90's, my aim was to build a baseball library. I figured someone out on the web must have cobbled a list together of good baseball reads and I found a few lists. The list from SABR is much cleaner looking then it was back then but this list is a good place to start.

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the...eball-library/


The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter -it has been mentioned more than once on this thread for a reason. The cds of the actual interviews are great as well.

Dollar Sign on the Muscle - by Kevin Kerrane - a great read about baseball scouts. Another book on scouting is Prophet of the Sandlots by Mark Winegardner about scout Tony Lucadello. The ending was a shocker.

The Politics of Glory by Bill James - interesting read about making the hall.

Men at Work by George Will - the chapter on Henderson alone is worth the price.

The Fireside book of baseball (three volumes).

Nine Innings by Dan Okrent - anatomy of a baseball game.

[drmiraculous]

Some excellent reads you have suggested here, will have to check a few out soon, and some others standards I have read multiple times! Here are a few I enjoyed that I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Three Men on Third and also Low and Inside by H Allen Smith & Ira Smith

Bullpen Gospels by Dirk Hayhurst

Terror in the City of Champions by Tom Stanton

[jingram058]

One of my all-time favorites is The World Series: A Complete Pictorial History by John Devaney and Burt Goldblatt.

[Tabe]

Some of my favorites:

The Big Train
Crazy '08
59 in '84
Fall From Grace (Joe Jackson)
The Pitch That Killed
One Strike Away
War on the Basepaths (Ty Cobb)
The Rocket That Fell to Earth (Roger Clemens)
Glory of Their Times

[Jason Carota]

I recommend Before the Curse - The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858–1918, by Troy Soos.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by raineybt

If you've made it this far down the line and haven't been convinced to stop what you are doing and read Glory of Their Times, then I'll have to plus one it again. There's even a cover version with T205's on the front! I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train by grandson of Johnson (and fellow Net54 member) Hank Thomas. I'm a Senators fan, but The Big Train was in the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame, and an obvious giant in baseball.
Fun fact - I'm fairly certain Hank also helped edit the interview recordings of Glory of Their Times - what a tie in!

Thanks for the props, Brian, you made my day! And yes, I had the great good fortune to have co-produced and edited the audio version of "Glory" from Ritter's recordings of his interviews, together with Neal McCabe, who did the best book of baseball photography ever, "Baseball's Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon."

[robw1959]

"Cobb, A Terrible Beauty" by Charles Leerhsen is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the real Ty Cobb. Very well authored and investigated.

[RayBShotz]

There are currently 3 different Rube Waddell books on Amazon.
Can anyone point at which would be the best one?
Personal experience reading any?
Thanks