Some Baseball Books You Might Be Interested In
Over the past couple years, I have read quite a few books about baseball. Plenty were mediocre, but some really stood out amongst the crowd. No doubt you would have heard of/read some of these books, but if you are an avid baseball fan, these are all must-reads.
The Yankee Years- A deep and insightful book autobiography about Joe Torre’s 12 years managing the greatest team in baseball. It reveals the full story of the highs and lows of Torre’s time at the helm of the team, including reminisces upon the 4 World Championships, the overpowering nature of George Steinbrenner, and Torre’s take on the whole steroids scandal. A controversial and informative book, this is a must read for all Yankee fans
Moneyball- Probably the most influential baseball book in history, Michael Lewis follows the story of the low budget Oakland Athletics and their GM, Billy Beane, as the successfully disprove the myth that you need money to do well. Beane works with what he has to build one of the best teams in baseball, in a revealing and insightful book that will certainly change your views of baseball.
The Truth About Ruth and More…– You may not have heard of this book, but it is a true hidden gem.This book “Debunks the most popular myths in Yankees baseball history” in a factual way that makes sense. It questions whether Derek Jeter is really as clutch as everyone thinks he is, whether the Babe actually called his shot, if the Yankees really were Pedro’s “Daddy,” and much more. A great coffee table book, this novel is a very enjoyable read
Baseball Bafflers-A fun little book with interesting tidbits from the world of baseball stories, quotes, odd facts, and trivia. Fun to flip around the book, looking for a goofy Yogi-ism or a humorous story about Lefty Gomez to share with your friends. A fun, quick read that will give you more info about baseball than you ever wanted to know.
Juiced-Jose Canseco’s tell-all autobiography. Though it’s a horribly written book, the content is too intriguing to pass up on. From the Publisher’s Weekly Review: “After a year of playing some uninspired minor league ball, Canseco packed on a superhuman 25 pounds of muscle in one off-season with the help of steroids and a human growth hormone. A string of tainted baseball achievements followed-including an all-star invitation as a rookie, an MVP award and a World Series title with the Oakland A’s-before his life and career unraveled…But despite the headline-grabbing claims in this book, whether Canseco really knows anything about the problem beyond his own use is questionable. Rather, what emerges is a portrait of a bitter, disgraced ex-player who so desperately wants respect that he casts his own extraordinary recklessness as perfectly commonplace, a scorched-earth attempt to raise his own legend by bringing the game-and some of its great players-down to his level. Most shocking is that Canseco remains an unabashed booster of steroids, claiming they’ll one day be used safely under medical supervision to propel humans to better health and great feats. Doctors disagree, and it should be noted that doctors did not administer Canseco’s steroid use. ‘Is it cheating,’ Canseco asks in a revealing moment of moral relativism, ‘to do what everyone wants you to do?’ If that very question were asked by a little leaguer, its answer could not be more obvious.” In addition to this, Canseco claims that he introduced Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to steroids, but he does not seem ashamed-he seems almost proud. This books offers a different take on the whole steroids scandal, and an insightful view into a person as twisted as Jode Canseco. Though this is by no means a light or enjoyable read, it is one of the most interesting books I have read in a while, and all baseball fans would benefit from checking this one out.
These are the baseball books that I have read that have really stood out. Have you read any novels about baseball that you enjoyed? Feel free to tell us in the comment section. Thanks for reading
YANKEEHOLICS 