501 Baseball Books

Because they can go right next to a bookshelf. An advert for a company that produces what looks like cool metal “posters” popped up on my Facebook feed. With my birthday fast approaching, I thought I would treat myself. I was curious to see if they included two of my favorites: Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax. Sure enough, they’re there. But upon closer examination, the text seems so stilted that…

Amazon keeps changing the way they report, so that will be mirrored here. Sometimes there will be rankings of Kindle and audio-books on baseball, other times, not. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes…

Blame it on my dog, Nellie. I was walking her in the morning and did something I never do. Normally I would listen to a podcast or some music on our outing. But this time I was reading an article in The New York Times. And I mean the print edition, not on the app. I was struck by a cover story in the arts section about Derek Klena, a Broadway actor who also pitches for the Savannah Bananas.…

I don’t know what made me think of it, but I wanted my Maypo. Those of you old enough will recall that Maypo was a breakfast cereal, an oatmeal mish-mash that had a hint of maple flavor. It was a treat in our household because we were fairly poor when I was a kid and that product was relatively expensive for its time. So a couple of days ago, Maypo just popped into my head. I usually do my food…

Who? A baseball-adjacent story about Sam Sianis, the nephew whose uncle owned a famous eatery in the Windy City. Sam passed away May 15 at the age of 91. From The New York Times obit: The Billy Goat had yet another claim to Chicago fame. Mr. Sianis’s uncle Billy bought the bar — which was originally across from Chicago Stadium (now United Center) and called the Lincoln Tavern — in 1934. After a…

By Tim Brown. Appearing on Bookreporter.com: Being able to watch videos of the baseball heroes of my youth from the 1960s and ’70s makes it hard for me to reconcile that they are now old men, and, by extension, so am I. Some, like 90-year-old Sandy Koufax, look like they still sneak one by the hitter. But unlike Koufax, who retired at the age of 30 because of arm troubles, Nolan Ryan lasted…

Amazon keeps changing the way they report, so that will be mirrored here. Sometimes there will be rankings of Kindle and audio-books on baseball, other times, not. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes…

The Hall of Fame is gearing up for its annual Author Series Program. I did this back in 2017 to discuss Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War and it was a hoot. The schedule for this summer includes: Saturday, June 6, 1 p.m. – We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball, by Michael Clair MLB.com writer Michael Clair chronicles the underdog story of the Czech Republic’s…

A down-and-dirty post in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, from June 2016. I’ve always gotten a chuckle when a non-professional cook comes out with a book on food. Are they really offering anything new besides their picture on the cover? Case in point: The sample available on Amazon offers just one recipe: Grand slam grilled grapes, which seems to be the only dish to use a baseball…

Here are a few gems from recent Sports Collectors Daily alerts: “Bobby Murcer: A Yankee Life in 7 Cards“ “Aaron Judge 1/1 Superfractor Sells for $838,750 — The Feel-Good Story Behind It” (I wonder: will these cards be worth anything when the zombie apocalypse comes?) “Packed Dodgers Fan Photo Album at Auction Takes You Back to Brooklyn“ “2026 Bowman Baseball: Guide to Top Prospects and Rookies,…

Baseball: The Movie includes a chapter on what I call “baseball-adjacent” films. That is, movies that include baseball but don’t necessarily have the national pastime as the main subject. These include, according to author Noah Gittell, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; City Slickers; Twilight; Good Will Hunting; and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, among a few others. So I thought it might be fun to…

The Wall Street Journal reviewed Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original, by Tim Brown. Look for my piece on the book on Bookreporter.com later this week. LocalNewsPasadena ran this profile of Brown. Wish I could be there for this one: Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski, authors of Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love will appear at The Brattle Theatre…

Amazon keeps changing the way they report, so that will be mirrored here. Sometimes there will be rankings of Kindle and audio-books on baseball, other times, not. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes…

“New Book … Brings St. Louis Baseball History Back to Life.” Said book is titled 50 Forgotten Cardinals and “uncovers the stories of players whose contributions to the St. Louis Cardinals have faded from mainstream memory—but remain essential to the rich fabric of the team’s history,” according to a press release. It seems to only be available in Kindle form. From MLB.com, this video: “Dusty…

Two legends in Atlanta Braves history have passed away within days of each other. Ted Turner, the irascible former owner of the team from 1976-2007, died May 6 at the age of 87. In addition to owning the team, Turner founded CNN and started the superstation TBS. (A personal note: when I was in grad school at Brooklyn College for TV/Radio arts, CNN was just starting to hire people. I could have…

Amazon keeps changing the way they report, so that will be mirrored here. Sometimes there will be rankings of Kindle and audio-books on baseball, other times, not. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes…

A day late. Oopsie. If I had been on time, it would have marked the tenth anniversary of “one of the greatest moments in the history of baseball,” according to Mets announcer Gary Cohen. Colon published his memoirs, Big Sexy: In His Own Words, in 2020, two years after he retired at the age of 45.