With schools and colleges about to resume, it is time for your young ones to oil-up their baseball gloves while they gloat over their baseball card collection. Despite all the challenges in becoming a great baller, baseball is still the nation’s most beloved warm weather sport.
Table of Contents
- Comparison of Best Books About Baseball in 2020
- Top 10 Best Books on Baseball in 2020 – Reviews
- #1. Astroball: The New Way to Win It All by Ben Reiter
- #2. Baseball’s Greatest Character: Casey Stengel by Marty Appel
- #3. Perfect I’m Not: Boomer on Brawls, Backaches, Beer, and Baseball by David Well
- #4. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
- #5. The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
- #6. The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci
- #7. Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball by R. A. Dickey and Wayne Coffey
- #8. Ballplayer by Chipper Jones
- #9. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Leavy
- #10. The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach
- Factors to Consider When Selecting the Best Books on Baseball
- Conclusion
It is unhurried, almost leisurely and balletic in its style of execution. By just watching a baseball game, you and your teen enjoy your childhood memories on those summer days you spent in the roasting sun balling energetically. As a way of bringing back the right memories and moods, there are a multitude of baseball books you can read, bringing back the past summer and spring balling days and energizing you for the future. This guide aims discusses a number of some of the top-rated baseball books as well as hoe to go about selecting the books that best suit you.
Comparison of Best Books About Baseball in 2020
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Astroball: The New Way to Win It All by Ben Reiter |
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Baseball’s Greatest Character: Casey Stengel by Marty Appel |
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Perfect I’m Not: Boomer on Brawls, Backaches, Beer, and Baseball by David Well and C. Kreski |
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Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis |
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The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci |
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The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci |
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Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball by R. A. Dickey and Wayne Coffey |
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Ballplayer by Chipper Jones |
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Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Leavy |
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The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach |
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Top 10 Best Books on Baseball in 2020 – Reviews
#1. Astroball: The New Way to Win It All by Ben Reiter
Astroball is a Best-Selling baseball book by Ben Reiter that involves an inside story of how an outsider’s gang went beyond the statistics to find a new approach to winning and not just their baseball games; winning in life too.
When the new general manager at Astros, Jeff Luhnow, alongside his key analyst, Sig Mejdal, a former rocket scientist, both arrived in Houston back in 2011, they had spent over five years in creating an understanding on how expertise and human instinct could intricately be blended with the hard numbers including strikeout rates and on-base percentages as a guide to their entire decision-making process. Given that the scouts could no longer be forced to form an opposition with the statistical guys, given their hardly quantifiable and subjective opinions.
Instead, Sig and Luhnow had a goal of correcting the inherent biases found in human observational behavior, and eventually roll out the critical thoughts of the scouts into their entire process. Their strategy came to pay off quickly yet brilliantly, by helping Astros to sign major draft picks such as Alex Bregman and Carlos Springer, and eventually fielding a championship team that came to win the league.
- The book is very inspirational both in terms of baseball as well as general life.
- The book sits at the helm of sports, innovation, and business, greatly drawing from years of accessibility to high level team executives and stars.
- The book simply signifies the next wave of baseball ‘thinking’ and beyond.
- Offers an inspirational account on maximizing human potential.
- The new book is quite pricey (but worth the buy/read).
#2. Baseball’s Greatest Character: Casey Stengel by Marty Appel
Baseball’s Greatest Character: Casey Stengel is a biography of the great baseball legend by Marty Appel, who featured as the youngest PR director in the history of baseball, eventually promoted to a similar post at the New York Yankees in 1973.
The biography gives a detailed account of Casey Stengel, the legendary baseballer who persisted through many challenges, giving the game everything he had and eventually becoming one of baseball’s greatest. The biography gives his fans the chance to re-live most of the player’s anecdotes coming from a long, storied, and varied yet fulfilling career
- This is a powerful yet balanced biography that breathes new life int a legendary player.
- The book gives an intimate account of Stengel’s 50-year career both as a player and as a manager, including his landmark victories (the seven wins at the World Series), making it an intuitive yet encouraging biography for all.
- The author maintains an intricate balance between factual presentation of Stengel’s life and career and a good approach to humour.
- The book is available on Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover.
- The paperback series is slightly pricier than the rest.
#3. Perfect I’m Not: Boomer on Brawls, Backaches, Beer, and Baseball by David Well
Perfect I’m Not: Boomer on Brawls, Backaches, Beer, and Baseball by David Well is a powerful story on a poor kid who gets to fulfill his dream: pitching for the Yankees.
The story is a tad gritty, detailing many of Wells’s successes as well as failures, including the physical battles he had to endure with an ever paining back. To add to the plot, the book has some humor, giving it a good balance.
- The book is a great baseball memoir that highlights the life of a kid with the wildest of baseball dreams: playing for the Yankees.
- It is a great and encouraging read for your young one who is aspiring to play pro-level football in future.
- Offers a good balance of the narration and humour, making it quite interesting.
- It is ideally a rags to pinstripes type of story.
- Not offered on interactive platforms such as Kindle.
#4. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis is probably one of the most influential books on baseball for several decades. The book is ideally about baseball but wearing a business masquerade. It is a well-written account of how Billy Beane took a small market-team, going head to had with bigger teams including the Yankees, and eventually succeeded.
The book engaged statistical analysis into mainstream writing and reporting, exploring how the Oakland can be used in statistical analysis to help in sifting through data as a way of finding advantages such as discovering the skillsets that are unrecognized but prospecting in being successful in the majors.
- Involves an intricate marriage between pro-level baseball and statistical analysis for business that makes the book different from the rest.
- The book is very inspirational even for the corporate world; it recently acted as Microsoft’s inspiration towards setting up their patented system analysis.
- The book is also available on Kindle.
- Might be a tad complicated especially when it comes to the parts on statistical analysis.
#5. The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci features a compelling story on one of the biggest baseball reigns to have ever existed. Joe Torre is a former Yankees manager. When he took over at the helm of leadership back in 1996, the Yankees had not won a single World Series Title for 18 years.
During this time, 17 other managers had tried to take over leadership at the club, but all were eventually fired. After 12 glorious seasons, including 6 pennants, 12 straight-playoff appearances, and 4 World Series Titles, manager Joe Torre left the Yankees, giving him the reputation of the most beloved and achieving manager in the world of baseball.
- The book is written by the former Yankees manager, Joe Torre, who helped the Yankees achieve a lot during his tenure, making it highly relatable as a real account of the game.
- The book is offered in a variety of options to choose from including paperback, hardcover, and Kindle.
- Features a definitive story of one of the biggest dynasties in the history of baseball.
- It offers a detailed account of what it took Joe Torre to keep the Yankees atop the baseball world including having to deal with very strong player personalities.
- The Hardcover version is slightly pricey than the rest.
- No audio book available.
#6. The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci
The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci is a New York Times Bestseller by a renowned baseball writer. With a lot of reporting experience as well as inside access, the FOX Sports lead analyst and senior Sports Illustrated columnist on baseball Tom Verducci gives an account on how Joe Maddon and Theo Epstein built, inspired, and led the Chicago Cubs Baseball Team, breaking the club’s longest drought in championship sports, eventually building up their journey towards becoming World Series Champions.
- The book is a great celebration of an inspiring and iconic, including its fruitful journey towards a World Championship, a story that makes readers and fans cherish for decades on edge.
- The fairly-priced book includes three options you can opt to buy from including Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle.
- Ideal for both youth and adult readers.
- There are shipping costs for the book, making the buy more expensive.
#7. Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball by R. A. Dickey and Wayne Coffey
Wherever I Wind Up is an outstanding memoir, both touching and haunting, while offering wisdom and courage to the upcoming baseballer. Back in 1996, Dickey was the reigning draft choice for the Texas Rangers.
However, following his routine physicals, it was established that his right elbow had no ulnar collateral ligament, eventually making him loose out on lifelong dream alongside a good $810,000 on signing bonuses. With his life basically ripped apart, and the desperation of being placed among the baseball scrap heap twice, he battled back, gathering sustenance and inspiration from his Christian faith as well an undying love for his wife and kids.
With this unrelenting search for self-awareness, Dickey is currently a starting pitcher for the renowned New York Mets, a winner of the Cy Young Award of 2012, alongside being one of the top National League Players. This is a truly inspirational memoir.
- Features a detailed and new epilogue by the main author (R.A. Dickey).
- The book has been written by an award-winning author, Dickey, the winner of the Cy Young Award of 2012.
- The book features a very inspirational account of the authors failures and his eventual comeback that led to his even greater triumph; it is very inspiring for anyone who may have felt that his career in baseball is already turning futile.
- Fairly priced for a 368-page read.
- An audio version could be great.
#8. Ballplayer by Chipper Jones
Ballplayer by Chipper Jones is a biographical deduction Chipper Jones, a country kid to rose to the baseball Hall of Fame, wining 8 All Star championships.
In the book, the National Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones, one of the all-time greats in switch-hitting in the history of baseball, and the third baseman at Atlanta Braves, shares his story on his path to his triumphs, whilst seizing the magic nostalgia that redefines baseball as a unique sport compared to other sports.
- The book is a stimulating deduction of a simple country kid’s love for baseball rising to the baseball Hall of Fame, a great inspiration for any aspiring kid who want to advance his career to pro level.
- Comes with an extra audio version, ensuring versatility in enjoying the book.
- Not featured on Kindle
#9. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Leavy
Jane Leavy’s Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy is a lot more than a mere biography. It is a book with a consideration of the process involved in creating our baseball heroes, and how the heroes’ self-perception abilities help in distinguishing exceptional ballers such as Sandy from nearly all other all-time greats in baseball. It is a remarkable and rich portrait.
- The book features something more than a basic biography; it highlights the process involved in making a real baseball hero.
- The deduction features a story of a real and distinguished baseball hero, Sandy Koufax, making the account more relatable.
- It is a tad pricey, especially the Paperback version.
#10. The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach
The Art of Fielding is a novel (fictional) account of the game of baseball that highlights the story of a college baseball star, Henry Skrimshander who at first seems poised for big league baseball but his routine varies off-course disastrously.
The novel is ideally a warm-hearted yet expansive story detailing on the limits one should have on ambition. It also tells a lot about family, love, and friendships, as well as the importance of self-commitment and committing to others as well.
- The fictitious account has been written with limitless intelligence while filling it with relatable youth tenderness, thus making it more real.
- The book is quite fairly priced.
- Features an easy-to-follow story ideal even for younger ages.
- It is a fun, poised, and intricate debut in baseball novelling.
- No Hardcover or audio versions available.
Factors to Consider When Selecting the Best Books on Baseball
There are thousands of books on baseball with myriad topics to choose from. There are topics on statistics and strategy, winning and losing seasons, successes and scandals, fictional work on baseball, and many more topics you can find from your local store. There are even baseball books that are written about or by current and former baseball players, managers, mascots, umpires, fans, and even beat writers.
Joe Posnanski, the renowned former columnist for Sports Illustrated, and currently working at NBC Sports once asserted that “there is a multitude of reasons why the game of baseball inspires a lot of good writing – the languid pace of the game that creates some scope for stories, it undying connection with summer and spring, as well as the way its story continues to mirror the great American history – but I feel that the greatest reason for all this inspiration is nostalgia.
Baseball features America’s first love towards sport, and it is this sport, more than all others, that has created a great connection between generations. There are no many baseball write ups about family as there is no much poetry in soccer and football.”
Following the words and wisdom of a baseball legend an enthusiast, there are hundreds of books that cover each and every aspect of baseball that can offer you as much immersion and thoughtfulness as the game of baseball itself. You can also opt for fictional and non-fictional baseball books that come in a range of ages that you may choose from. Here are some of the factors you may consider when selecting a suitable baseball book for yourself or your kids.
Reason for Buying
There are many reasons we buy books. Sometimes we go for books that inspire motivation in us, make us better at a certain skill, indulge in the history of some concept or aspect, or just to enjoy some good fictional narration. Similarly, selecting a baseball book follows the same criteria.
If you or your teen baller is looking forward to improving their skills on the pitch, there are baseball books that offer step by step baseball tutoring for novice, intermediate and professional level ballers. Also, if the aim is to learn more about the sport, including it history and significance among the American people, there is selection for this as well. As such, these books can also be used as informational books that can also be used in class settings.
There is also a selection of baseball books that you can use with your toddler, reading with them while enjoying the illustrations. Ideally, you ought to first decide the reason why you need to buy a baseball book, then from there you can narrow down your search to some favorite writers or topics.
Learning more about the sports culture and its role in shaping a people
Among the many things that baseball books will teach you, the sports culture ranks atop as this describes the advancement of the game from the past to the current league-based and recreational play. For you to best appreciate the game, it is that you first learn more about it history and how the game has become entwined with the American culture.
Some books and philosophical approaches have actually classified the game as a religion, thus underlining its importance to the American people. Therefore, if you are a beginner and you probably want to advance in your baseball career in future, learning the history and advancement of the game will come in very handy especially in regard to appreciating it every time you swing your bat.
Conclusion
In conclusion, finding and selecting the best books on baseball is just a matter of knowing the kind of read you want. While most of our highlighted books are memoirs and biographies, you can also find fictitious baseball novels such as The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.
You will note that most of the baseball books are inspirational, giving detailed accounts on how your favorite baseballers have established their careers through moving stories of desperation, hard work, and inspiration from those close to them. Ultimately, in one way or another, the baseball book you choose will give you the right kind of mindset to face your fears and disappointments in the game and even in life, from a general perspective.
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