Baseball Books

I enjoy the writing of Tom Verducci in Sports Illustrated, so I knew I wanted to get his book when it was published. I wasn't disappointed. The stories span generations and various aspects of the game and are wonderful to read.

Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated has treated us to a wide variety of his best baseball stories from 1993 to March of 2005. "The Left Arm of God" can only be about Sandy Koufax, the competitive fire of Jack Morris pitching game seven of the World Series for the Twins against the Braves, the stress of being a major league closer, the agony of the Red Sox and Cubs, the tragedy of Strawberry and Gooden with the Mets, the Red Sox winning it all in 2004, the nightmare that is steroids and why players didn't like to be slapped on the butt for doing a good job. These are a few of the subjects covered in the book, but the one I enjoyed the most was the last chapter when the author spent five days in spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays, and was confronted with the seemingly impossible task of hitting a baseball thrown by a professional player, even a non-roster one. Television does not do justice to the difficulty of deciding whether or not to swing at a pitch let alone hitting a round ball with a round bat square. Baseball has been blessed with great writers such as Roger Angell and Roger Kahn. It is comforting to know Tom Verducci is carrying on the tradition.

This book is WONDERFUL!!! I come from a family of history buff who are also Cardinal fanatics. Put the two together and you have got a family of true Cardinal fans!!! I bought this book as a gift for my 88-year old grandmother - the smartest Cardinal fan I have ever met!! She is a walking Cardinals Encyclopeadia. But this book even had her saying "I didn't know that!". Now I have to get one for myself to keep up with her and my father in our endless trivia session that seem to drown out every ballgame.

What a fun book for the true Redbird fan. A 142-page history of the club, followed by a section with photos of every single player, coach, and manager to ever wear the Birds-on-the-Bat, profiles of every Redbird Hall of Famer, pages of statistics, and color reproductions of antique scorecards and memorabilia. It's a great book to leaf through while listening to KMOX or to end arguments over trivia. A Cardinals fan's delight. The only downside is that it's getting dated. It came out in 1998, so it doesn't include McGwire's 70, or Edmonds and Pujols. It needs another edition, and it's good enough and comprehensive enough that the publishers should seriously think about coming out with a fresher edition.

If it's information about any Minor League baseball player you want this book is by far the best source available. A must buy.

If you are in a "keeper" rotisserie baseball league that allows for the drafting of prospects, then this book is a must. I buy it every year, and believe me, it always pays for itself when I finish near the top of my league, in part due to players that I drafted when they were just reaching AA ball. An example: By now many people have heard of this year's favorite for AL rookie of the year, 3b Eric Chavez of Oakland. But how many people knew who he was before last season? Well, if you read this book, then you knew he was an excellent prospect, younger then most of his peers, with the potential to be a star. I drafted him in my league's reserve draft, and I expect I will be reaping the benefits for the next three or four years. It was the same with Ben Grieve the year before. The other great thing about this book is you will probably learn some things about evaluating minor-leaguers that you didn't know before, such as the importance of strike-zone judgement for young hitters(reflected in K/BB ratio). After reading this book, you will be better equipped to make your own judgements about prospects during the middle of the season, which will come in handy when making trade decisions. So trust me, when the '99 version of this book comes out, buy it. You'll be glad you did.

Every year these guys cut through the fat of baseball analysis and extract truly meaningful facts and figures. OPS is gospel these days and STATS, Inc. provides the scripture. Their piece "Which stat matters most?" is one of the most interesting revelations in sports. And pieces like "Who are the real RBI kings?" prove that 100 rbi is a lousy benchmark for success. Bring on the 2000 edition!

This book covers a wide spectrum of baseball-related questions with essays of one or two pages for each question. The essays are interesting and the stats will keep you reading for hours.

The only thing missing from this book is a follow-up of the questions from last year's Scorecard. Now, you can't really know if some of these figures are just fluke or indeed statistically significant.

I gave Bill James' '98 Minor League Handbook a 10 because I couldn't survive without it. It includes every relevant stat, plus extras, for EVERY player from AAA through to Rookie ball. This book also contains comparisons of different minor leagues (eg. hitters league vs. pitchers league) and Bill James' own projected major league stats for several prospects. I play in a fantasy league that uses minor leaguers at all four levels, and I would be lost without this easy reference guide!

It's almost impossible to find all the stats on all the minor leaguers to find the up-and-coming stars. This book solves that problem. Career stats of all AA and AAA players, and individual listings of all A players. A great way to keep track of your teams' minor leaguers progress.

The book I am reviewing is written by Matt Christopher. The book's name is Stealing Home. I think this book deserves five stars because the book is fun to read, has a lot of feeling, and it also is great because it has a lot of friendship in it. This book is about a kid named Joey and a foreign exchange student that comes to live with Joey. The problem in the story is that Joey is jealous that Jesus is getting all the attention and that he is a new superstar on Joey's baseball team which Joey just was. The problem is solved when Joey really thinks about how he would feel if he went away for a year and the people you were staying with were mean to you, so Joey decides to let Jesus have the best time he can have and to not be jealous. I'd recommend this book to people who like baseball. Other books written by this author are Long-Arm-Quarterback and Halfback Attack.

As an older fan of Matt Christopher books, I was very impressed with the story line in this baseball book. I would highly recommend this book as it serves as a life lesson too.

Although I didn't appreciate the book slamming my Yankees, (I'm a life-long Yankees fan) I greatly appreciated the history section. I lived through a number of the events discussed, and I remember things like Curt Flood and the reserve clause, but before reading this book I didn't fully understand the impact of such events. The book did a great job of providing a readable synopsis of a number of elements that shaped baseball as it is today.

The fantasy league section has a little over my head, but I can see how the most hardcore fans would appreciate it. I used to spend countless hours as a youth playing dice baseball, so the video game and simulation section really brought back memories.

I would recommend this book to every baseball fan. It can be read in one sitting, and it's actually kind of hard to put down if you are a true fan of the game.

This book caught my attention immediately and kept it. What I liked most about this book was its variety. I've never cared much for minor league baseball, and I've never even heard of fantasy baseball, but this book did a great job exploring both. I actually understand what a fantasy league is now, and I was convinced that I should see a minor league game next year.

I am a huge baseball history buff, so that section of the book was a real winner for me. This book takes a great look at both the legal and economic timelines of baseball, while at the same time listing some of the sports finer moments on the field. This was a great combination that I haven't found in any other book.

The epilogue also contained some great insight. I share the same opinion as a number of the members of the special focus group that was asked the question: "What will you do if there is no MLB next year?" This question brought to the forefront of my mind the disgust I currently feel toward the competitive imbalance in the game. However, the book as a whole really did as the authors claim, and helped me remember why I truly love the game.

Nancy, Bess and George are playing for the Mahoney Marlins baseball team! Bess' parents even bought her a blue bat to use in the games! Bess calls her "lucky bat" Magic Bill, and the team starts calling her "Home Run Bess!"

Is it Magic Bill that gives Bess her wonderful skill at the sport? If you ask her, she'll tell you that's the fact. So, you can only imagine how upsetting it is when Magic Bill goes missing. There sure isn't a shortage of suspects and clues!

When Nancy Drew takes out her trusty blue notebook and starts tracking down the facts, you can be sure that the case of the Strike-Out Scare will be solved before the big game -- because everybody is counting on America's favorite 3rd grade detective to save the day!

Nice update to the series. They are a bit short, but my 9yo daughter likes to blow thru these.

STUMPTOWN KID is superb. The plotting, characterizations, and evocation of period are wonderful. I also think this story has the makings of a great family movie as it has the all-ages appeal of a true classic. I found it compelling, moving and thrilling.

Stumptown Kid is a well written late elementary school age level book. It would be a beneficial book to read to a class at the beginning of a school year, because of the issues that are dealt with as part of the story line. Both issues of bullies and the judging of others by the color of their skin or by where they may live are part of the young boy's life in this story. This book could be used as a springboard to a valuable class discussion. The story is written around the theme of baseball, which adds to the intrigue of the book. There is also a strand of mystery that keeps readers captivated throughout the book.

Exceptional photography of the 2000 Baseball World Series by The Sporting News highlights each action packed game of this memorable series. Included is a foreword by Presidential candidate Rudolph Guiliani.

I actually don't like either the Yankees or Mets, but this book caught my eye with great pictures and an overall analysis of the Yanks and Mets 2000 season and playoffs. All the exciting moments are in this book and I can't get over the great pictures this book has to offer. This is a great book for any baseball fan!