I noted recently that there are a lot of books on my ‘must get around to buying a copy’ list. The trouble is, new titles keep coming out each month that make the list even longer. I thought it would be useful to put together a post every month or so to give a rundown on baseball books that will be published in the near future. Here is my pick of the crop scheduled to arrive on Amazon (and other reputable book-selling sites, although not in your local bookshop) over the next six weeks or so.
Bash Brothers: A Legacy Subpoenaed by Dale Tafoya.
This one has in fact just been released. As the title suggests, Tafoya tells the tales of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, from their rise to being two of the biggest stars in the game, to their ultimate falls from grace. The key selling point of this book is that Tafoya has really done his research here, interviewing over 150 relevant sources of information (former team mates, coaches etc). Some people have already read more than they care to about performance-enhancing drugs in MLB and this book will clearly not appeal to them. However, this is undoubtedly one of the biggest topics (if not the biggest) of the recent era and Tafoya’s book promises to provide a real insight into the subject.
Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember by John Feinstein.
Feinstein is perhaps better known for his writing on golf and basketball, but he turns his attention to baseball here with a detailed look at the 2007 season through the eyes of Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina. For the two pitchers and their respective teams, 2007 was something of a rollercoaster season so Feinstein certainly picked a good year to document. The book is out in hardcover on June 27th.
The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 by Mike Shropshire.
Shropshire’s ‘Seasons in Hell’ is one of the books on my ‘must buy’ list and this new title has been hailed as an excellent follow-up. Also set for release in hardcover on June 27th.
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty New Edition by Buster Olney.
Not really a new book, but it’s a newly expanded version. Olney will be known to British baseball fans for his current work on ESPN, but he previously covered the Yankees for the New York Times and consequently he was in a perfect position to record what he felt made the Yankee dynasty and how and why it came to an end in 2001. If you’ve already got a copy then this version probably won’t be for you, but everyone else should add it to their list. It’s released in paperback in July. Amazon currently lists it at £6.86 and at that price you can’t go wrong.Â
Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker and Robert V. Bellamy.
Something a little bit different. There is a very useful review of this book on Hardball Times and, considering how much of our baseball is delivered via the tele, it might appeal to you. This one is out on 15 July.
Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History by Josh Chetwynd.
Last but by no means least, this is Josh’s follow-up to his outstanding book on British baseball. In all honesty, it was only after I had been watching MLB for several years that I started becoming aware of how much baseball is played in this continent. A quick look at Mister-Baseball.com shows that there is plenty of interest in the sport and I’m very keen to find out more about how baseball has developed in places such as Holland and Italy. If this book is as good as ‘British Baseball and the West Ham Club’, it will be an essential purchase for all British baseball fans. I’m sure it will be, so I’m eagerly awaiting its release on 13 July.
Looking ahead
A quick scan on Amazon has uncovered a few titles set for release in 2009 that caught my eye.
- Yogi Berra is both one of the greatest players and most enduring characters that the sport has ever seen, so esteemed New York baseball writer Allen Barra’s biography of the legend,  ‘Yogi Berra: The Eternal Yankee’, should be a treat. Due out in hardback on 31 March 2009.
- There is a new book on the horizon from the team at Baseball Prospectus, although the only details we have on it so far is the title: The 1980s.
- Paul Dickson’s Baseball Dictionary is one of the essential reference guides for all fans. In my review of the most recent version, I noted that it was last updated in 1999 and that inevitably it had become a little out of date here and there. A new revised version is scheduled for release at the end of March next year. Amazon.co.uk currently lists the price as £25.20, so some may decide to wait until a paperback version is released before upgrading.
