Although baseball has paused for another winter, baseball book season never ends. in fact, winter is both the best time to shop and the best time to read the best books of the year.
forget watching football, basketball or hockey and curl up by the fire with a good baseball book. in 2016, as in recent years, there is certainly no shortage of options.
You are reading: Best baseball books 2016
Fans of the chicago cubs, celebrating their first world championship since 1908, have half a dozen options, with sports illustrated, life magazine, chicago sun-times and chicago tribune, along with veteran local journalist al yellon with tributes illustrated. – with three different covers in the sports illustrated title.
Fans of earlier baseball history also have a wide selection.
ralph kiner, the mets’ longtime broadcaster, is the subject of two books, while hall of famers tom glavine and jim palmer have new autobiographies. Just in time for the world cub championships comes a book about the last cub dynasty, over a century ago, as well as a quick throwback to the 2016 world series.
In addition, this year’s themes range from home runs to knuckleballs, women in baseball, dynasties, dropouts, the players’ league, and the groundbreaking sale of babe ruth. The essays by television analysts Tim Kurkjian and Brian Kenny also demand more than a cursory glance. so do the books about the brave, the dodgers and the cardinals. but the best book of the year, like the 2016 world series and the elections that followed, was a complete surprise.
taking into account possible discounts from amazon.com and barnes & noble, here’s a quick look at the top 25 of the year:
1. Baseball’s Game Changers: Icons, Records, Scandals, Sensational Series, and More (Lyons Press, 228 pages, $24.95) by George Castle.
Fans who love the quirky and unexpected will love this lavishly illustrated paperback, which combines full-color images with corresponding descriptions. Bill Veeck and George Steinbrenner get their comeuppance, along with expansion, free agency, DH, interleague play and the evolution of baseball rules. this is a clever and beautiful keepsake.
2. Immortal Moments in Cardinals History (Reedy Press, 214 pages, $39.95), by Robert L. tiemann, introduction and contributions by ron jacober.
This oversized hardcover, arranged chronologically, features the cardinals’ major and minor milestones, from mark whiten to mark mcgwire, with enough room for the most unlikely no-hitter: a 1-0 win by jose jimenez about randy johnson.
3. 500 Ballparks: From Wood Seats to Retro Classics, 2nd Edition (Firefly Books, 400 pages, $39.95), by Eric and Wendy Pastore.
Numbers alone suggest the value of this illustrated reference: 1,000 illustrations, 500 parks past and present, plus statistics, dimensions, and descriptions of each. even Spring Training, Minor League, and Negro League facilities are included in this invaluable resource.
4. Chicago Cubs’ Last Dynasty: Before the Curse (Rowman & Littlefield, 201 pages, $36), by Hal Bock, Foreword by Joe Mantegna.
In the early 20th century, the Cubs were not only the best team in baseball, but a dynasty in the making. They thrived during the dead-ball era, finishing at or near the top of the National League and winning the 1908 World Series. Former AP writer Hal Bock has produced the best baseball story of the year, in a perfect year. for the theme.
5. The Baby Sale: The Deal That Changed Baseball (Thomas Dunne Books, 304 pages, $27.99), by Glenn Stout.
The first half of this well-researched hardcover follows Ruth’s early career as a Red Sox pitcher who could hit, while the second half emphasizes his impact on the Yankees and the game in general. in the middle, the author explains the genesis of the deal that created the curse of the bambino. is a fun look inside the game at the dawn of the animated ball era.
6. Fifty Moments That Defined Major League Baseball (Rowman & Littlefield, 231 pages, $38), by Rocco Constantino.
Different historians would have different opinions on the choices the author makes, but all the big names in the game are included. why hank aaron’s first home run instead of his last? and why pascual perez for starting a riot? His main claim to fame was getting lost on the way to the ballpark, receiving the nickname “Perimeter” Perez, and watching replacement Phil Niekro throw a no-hitter.7. chicago cubs: 2016 world series champions (mcclelland & stewart, 160 pages, $17.99), written and designed by major league baseball.
See Also: My favourite Montessori and parenting books – The Montessori Notebook
This beautiful tribute book captures the excitement of a world championship that’s been over a century in the making, but didn’t take hold until the tenth inning of the final game. close-up color photography makes this speedy book a keeper.
8. Baseball’s Most Puzzling MVP Ballots (McFarland, 256 pages, $29.95), by Jeremy Lehrman.
Each year, voting for baseball awards stirs up as much controversy as the electoral college. How, for example, did Barry Bonds lose the MVP to Terry Pendleton in 1991 but beat him a year later when Pendleton had a better year? And why didn’t any member of the Mets win the award? This information-packed, statistics-laden paperback also features oddities and ironies associated with the prestigious award. there is also a year by year mvp list complete with comments.
9. The Bill James Handbook (Acta Sports, 608 pages, $29.95), edited by Baseball Info Solutions.
The best game reference features each player’s complete record plus a wide range of projections, including what athletes could do next season and which pitchers, if any, could win 300 games. is by far the best and easiest to use baseball reference book available today.
10. The National Baseball Hall of Fame Almanac (Baseball America, 550 pages, $24.95), edited by Will Lingo.
For hall of fame player records and profiles, voting information, and other facts about the hall of fame, nothing beats this annual paperback. The format features full-page photos on one side of each page facing the most registered profiles of more than 300 Hall of Famers. the 2017 version comes out early next spring.
11. Baseball’s Power Shift: How the Players Union, Fans, and Media Changed American Sports Culture (University of Nebraska, 287 pages, $29.95), by Krister Swanson.
The mistreatment of players by clubs prevailed for a century before referees ushered in the era of free agency in 1976. This impressive hardcover recalls the Players League and its aftermath, the free agency raid of bob feller and the impact marvin miller had on the union during the bowie kuhn era. is a must read for fans curious about swinging the pendulum of power from owners to players.
12. dimag & mick (rowman & littlefield, 296 pages, $24.95), by tony castro.
The timing couldn’t have been better: Joe Dimaggio, the Yankees’ talented center fielder, played his last season in the majors the same year that his successor, Mickey Mantle, played his first. the reserved yankee clipper and the fun-loving rookie were polar opposites who had one thing in common: an ability to hit, run and field at historic levels. Tony Castro takes readers back to 1951 and a transition that wasn’t always easy.
13. Baseball Dynasties and the Players Who Built Them (Rowman & Littlefield, 393 pages, $40), by Jonathan Weeks.
Five of the 22 chapters are devoted to Yankee teams from different eras, but the A’s and Dodgers are represented in two different cities. Honorable mentions go to the recent Red Sox, who won three world titles between 2004 and 2013, and the Giants, who won them three times in even-numbered years between 2010 and 2014. Each team section includes half a dozen player biographies. /p>
14. Shadowed Greatness: Larry Doby and the Integration of the American League (University of Nebraska, 299 pages, $34.95), by Douglas M. branson.
as the second man on the moon, larry doby was a great pioneer whose valiant achievement was ignored. Second black in baseball but first in the American League, Doby answered Bill Veeck’s call in Cleveland shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the game’s color barrier in 1947. This book is packed with anecdotes involving Satchel. Paige, Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, Veeck, Doby, and dozens of others involved in the integration of A.L.
15. The Only Rule Is It Has To Work: Our Wild Experiment Building A New Kind Of Baseball Team (Henry Holt & Company, 368 pages, $30), by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller.
What if a team turned over its reins to a couple of heads of state who are certain that sabermetrics is the best way to run a baseball club? That’s what independent Sonoma Stompers did after hearing the authors on their Effectively Wild Daily Podcast. This hardcover tells the often hilarious story of what happened when two writers took over a real-life team.
16. I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies: Inside the Game We All Love (St. Martin’s Press, 232 pages, $26.99), by Tim Kurkjian, Foreword by George F. will.
By far the funniest book of the year, this hardcover compact is filled with anecdotes the author collected from his work as a sportswriter and sports commentator. Who knew that Trevor Hoffman produced more home runs (87) than any pitcher who never started a game? Or that Greg Maddux had 999 career walks with four starts left and swore he wouldn’t reach 1,000 career walks? Or is that corky miller’s real name corky?
17. Dingers: The 101 Most Memorable Home Runs in Baseball History (Sports Publishing, 320 pages, $24.99), by Joshua Shifrin and Tommy Shea.
The ratings generate controversy and this book does not disappoint. How could the authors include two “home runs” nullified by poor baserunning (Joe Adcock, Robin Ventura) but omit the only pitcher, and first NL player, to hit two grand slams in one game (Tony Cloninger)? ? Not to mention the late-inning single shots from Jack Reed and Rick Camp?
18. Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977-78 Dodgers (University of Nebraska, 478 pages, $34.95), by Michael Fallon.
The author delves into Dodgers teams and the late 1970s era, revealing that Don Sutton was about to be traded for Jim Rice and that Tommy John made the bold decision to undergo his first bone transplant. elbow ligaments. Not just baseball, this solid hardcover tackles the times, from Charles Manson to Hugh Hefner, but also explores the explosive impact Tommy Lasorda had after replacing the quiet Walter Alston as manager of the Dodgers.
19. frick*: baseball’s third commissioner (mcfarland, 324 pages, $29.95), by john p. carvalho.
A sportswriter who covered Babe Ruth, Ford Frick resented Roger Maris for chasing Ruth’s 1927 record because the schedule had been increased by eight games. so he threatened to add an asterisk next to the new maris brand. That didn’t hold up, but his decision to nullify the all-star picks of the Cincinnati fans filling the ballots was well deserved. As president of the National League and commissioner of baseball, Frick made his presence felt.
20. down on the korner: ralph kiner and kiner’s korner (carrel books, 158 pages, $34.99), by howie arpin and mark rosenman, foreword by tim mccarver.
Two long-time Mets fans have teamed up to produce a compact but long-overdue book about Kiner and his postgame show. even the famous choo-choo coleman interview is covered, along with much of the host’s bad intentions.
21. Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with the ’86 Mets (Berkley Books, 334 pages, $27), by Erik Sherman, foreword by Davey Johnson.
Only a laid-back manager like Davey Johnson could have turned the characters in the 1986 Mets clubhouse into a world champion. But veterans Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez, acquired from other clubs, anchored a roster full of potential troublemakers, from Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden to Lenny Dykstra and Kevin Mitchell. .
22. The Games That Changed Baseball: Milestones in Major League History (McFarland, 276 pages, $35), by John G. Robertson and Andy Saunders.
The good news is that the authors did a great job of choosing and explaining your options. the bad news is that many of the attached scorecards are split, including on the next page in places. the designers should have known better.
23. The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Life of the Iconic Houston Astrodome (University of Nebraska, 272 pages, $27.95), by Robert C. trumpbour and kenneth womack, foreword by mickey herskowitz.
The first domed stadium protected athletes from the weather, but exposed them to harmful artificial turf. great for nolan ryan, hindered jim wynn. He also led opponents to accuse the stars of “fixing” the air conditioner so that the air only turned off when Houston was batting. the building also held political conventions, concerts, and rodeos, all documented here.
24. Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball (McFarland, 448 pages, $39.95), edited by Leslie A. heaphy and mel anthony may.
Players, umpires, executives and teams have long been overlooked in baseball circles. this large volume helps to seal that gap. Even Jackie Mitchell, the girl who fanned Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, deserves a long mention.
25. patron saint: buck showalter and the baltimore orioles (sports publication, 180 pages, $24.99), by todd karpovich and jeff seidel, foreword by jason la canfora.
despite leaving star closer zach britton in the bullpen during the wild card loss to toronto, buck showalter overcame the pitching shorts to push his team into the playoffs. Like the Orioles Hall of Famer, Showalter found success as a major league manager even though he never played in the majors. this large-type hardcover is a quick and fun read.
The best remaining baseball books of 2016 will be published the first week of January.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ, is the author of 38 books and more than 25,000 articles on the game. SCD’s longtime columnist is also a baseball editor for Latino Sports and host of the Weekly Brave Pranks. his email address is ballauthor@gmail.com.
See Also: Books for Visually Impaired | Audio Books for Blind People | Braille Institute of America, Inc