My Favorite Baseball Books

"I hope everyone that is reading this is having a really good day. And if you are not, just know that in every new minute that passes you have an opportunity to change that."
- Gillian Anderson (aka Agent Scully)

 
I love to read.  I also love baseball.  That, one would think, means I must digest a ton of baseball books.  Unfortunatley, no.  Most baseball books are biographies and that is one book-genre I can't get into (I could hear my father now - "Read a biography, you may learn something").  Nonetheless, I have a good number of baseball books under my belt.  Here are some of my favorites

Reading and learning about baseball strategy is fun (for me anyway).  Basic Baseball Strategy by Chuck Freeman is a great book for Strategy 101.  I bet even the seasoned baseball fan will pick up a thing or two.

Baseball Strategies (several authors) is the Grandaddy of all strategy books.  There is so much detail it may bore you.  But if your into managerial decisions - the book is great!  This is a nice book to have as a reference.  If  you see or hear something during a game and want to know more about it - this is the #1 resource to have at your side.

Stats are a big part of baseball and baseball-history.  They have been around since the 1800's. Ever changing and always "improving".  This book - Beyond Batting Average by Lee Panas, starts simple and builds up to the more sophisticated stats of today.  If you want to get into the newer stats - this is for you.  It's very easy to understand, especially for the mathematically-challenged (like me).

Pure Baseball by Keith Hernandez is one of those books you either love or hate.  Some say its boring.  This book is a pitch-by-pitch analysis of two baseball games.  Keith chose two games in which a lot was going on and all the bases (pun intended) were covered.  Check it out!

I love this one!  in 2012 I wrote a blog post about it.  Read it here - http://sandlotwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/06/book-review-prophet-of-sandlots.html

No, this is not a rulebook.  Well, it is, but it's so much more!  The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated by David Nemec takes the most well-known and prominent rules of the game and analyzes them by using historical anecdotes.  A great concept, that is an equally great read.

Finally this one.  3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger offers an insight to a three game series between the Cardinals and Cubs from the perspective of the Cardinals manager at the time - Tony La Russa.  Very insightful and interesting.  Highly recommended!

Now you know some of my favorites, let me know some of yours!

Thanks for reading.
-Tom