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Subject: Sports Books Posted by: beetski - [1718418] Sun, Feb 08, 2004, 21:25 Im 18, I'm still in school and I need a book to be reading. Obviosuly I turn to a sports book. SI's top 100 not many intersted me because they're more of the classic 1960's and 50's. Im looking for a more modern book. I refuse to read the mad dog cause I live in New York, and themad just truly has no clue whats going on in the world. Please leave some suggestions. | |||||||
| 1 | blue hen ID: 4300290 Mon, Feb 09, 2004, 01:26 |
Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (2nd Edition) Ball Four by Jim Bouton Moneyball by Michael Lewis The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn Lords of the Realm by John Helyar Fair Ball: A Fan's Case For Baseball by Bob Costas Man On Spikes by Eliot Asinof Almost Famous (not that one) by David Small | ||||||
| 2 | Toral Sustainer ID: 2111201313 Mon, Feb 09, 2004, 03:06 |
How modern do you want to be? Whitey Herzog's second book is very good, and apparently very cheap. There are at most 1 or 2 good baseball books a year. James' Historical Abstract is I think the obvious clear #1 starter: then Moneyball. | ||||||
| 3 | blue hen Leader ID: 710321114 Mon, Feb 09, 2004, 10:45 | Forgot Larry Dierker's book - I think it's called This Ain't Brain Surgery or something. I haven't read it but I've heard it's good. | ||||||
| 4 | Matt G ID: 541156811 Tue, Feb 10, 2004, 11:45 | "The Punch." by John Feinstein. About when Kermit Washingtong dented Rudy T's grill during a game and almost killed him... great read. | ||||||
| 5 | Jackie Robinson Dude ID: 7151017 Tue, Feb 10, 2004, 12:17 |
Thrill of the Grass by W. P. Kinsella The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Robert Coover | ||||||
| 6 | Gman15 Dude ID: 1531677 Tue, Feb 10, 2004, 13:28 | "Bleachers" by John Grisham was a quick read. Good story and interesting characters. | ||||||
| 7 | blue hen Leader ID: 710321114 Tue, Feb 10, 2004, 14:23 | Agree with Jackie Robinson. Forgot about the Universal Baseball Association. If you ever played Strat-o-matic or anything with dice, you'll like it. I was looking at my bookshelf when I made the list, and my copy of UBA is quite small. | ||||||
| 8 | surlyhorse ID: 351830 Tue, Feb 10, 2004, 14:42 |
October 1964 and Summer of '49, both by David Halberstam. And yeah, UBA is great. | ||||||
| 9 | Seattle Zen ID: 2025310 Tue, Mar 03, 2009, 15:38 |
Well, here's one NOT to read! Odd Man Out probably should be retitled A Ton of Lies told by Self-Aborbed Twit. Matt McCarthy, a graduate of Yale and of Harvard Medical School, has gained national attention in recent weeks for “Odd Man Out,” his salacious memoir of his summer as an obscure minor league pitcher. He writes about playing with racist, steroids-taking teammates, pitching for a profane, unbalanced manager and observing obscene behavior and speech that in some ways reinforce the popular image of wild professional ballplayers. But statistics from that season, transaction listings and interviews with his former teammates indicate that many portions of the book are incorrect, embellished or impossible. Perhaps he had Jose Canseco as his editor. Boy, am I eager to have him as my doctor. I can't wait to read about being one of his stupid, hypochondriac, hillbilly patients in his next book: What a Bunch of Morons: A Year with a Stethoscope around the Neck of the World's Greatest Internist as he Deals with his Patients who are not Half as Smart as He | ||||||
| 10 | blue hen Dude ID: 710321114 Tue, Mar 03, 2009, 17:34 | Zen, you crack me up. I'll be sure not to read this one. | ||||||
| 11 | Philsphan Sustainer ID: 301442416 Tue, Mar 03, 2009, 17:56 | "Men at Work" by George Will. | ||||||
| 12 | Mikel ID: 265462116 Mon, Jul 06, 2009, 19:23 |
Any other titles that need to be checked out? My recent reads consist of Fantasyland - Sam Walker. Feeding the Green Monster - Rob Neyer and I'm currently working on The 33 Year Old Rookie by Chris Coste. | ||||||
| 13 | blue hen ID: 8115717 Mon, Jul 06, 2009, 19:32 |
Universal Baseball Association (in this thread) is a very good, quick read for a fantasy player. Also in fiction, you might enjoy Sometimes You See It Coming by Kevin Baker. The style's a bit difficult but it's thought provoking. Have you read all the books in post #1? | ||||||
| 14 | KrazyKoalaBears ID: 12353217 Mon, Jul 06, 2009, 20:09 | "Three Nights in August" by Buzz Bissinger. Follows a Cards/Cubs series from the Cards point of view and was quite enjoyable. | ||||||
| 15 | Mikel ID: 265462116 Mon, Jul 06, 2009, 20:10 |
Read Ball Four and Moneyball. I've thumbed through some of James' Historical Abstract. I do intend on getting to Boys of Summer at some point. | ||||||
| 16 | blue hen Dude ID: 710321114 Tue, Jul 07, 2009, 13:35 | KKB, did you really like Three Nights In August? I hated it. I guess I have a pre-disposition against both Bissinger and LaRussa, but I just kept getting frustrated as I was reading. | ||||||
| 17 | KrazyKoalaBears ID: 721308 Tue, Jul 07, 2009, 14:27 | Yeah, I actually did like it. But I grew up liking LaRussa, so that probably helped. | ||||||
| 18 | C1-NRB ID: 2911103011 Wed, Jul 22, 2009, 09:31 |
I just finished a book called The Long Ball: The Summer of '75-- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played (2003) by Tom Adelman. It's very enjoyable with tons of connections, insights, and behind-the-scenes-goings-on that I was oblivious about. I was only six years old that year and not a fan of either team but was enthralled throughout the entire book; I couldn't put it down. I wouldn't have picked it up except that it was at the Dollar Store and I figured, "For a buck? Why not? I'm not doing anything else." If you're even cheaper than I am or your local Dollar Tree doesn't have it, Amazon has used paperbacks for $0.39 (but $3.99 for shipping, Do the math.) | ||||||
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