Top 10 baseball books
Mays, DiMaggio bios among best
Were you ever asked to list your 10 favorite singers, in order? It sounds fun, but upon the realization that you forgot Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding and Ray Charles, it becomes a ridiculously impossible undertaking.
So it goes with this list of 10 baseball books. It’s alarmingly partial, for baseball has brought us the finest of all sports literature, worth a bookshelf all its own. Surely I’ll cringe as readers present the most glaring admissions. But if you’re looking for a few good books as you shelter in place, this isn’t a bad start. In no particular order:
“Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life,” by Richard Ben Cramer (2000): A Pulitzer Prizewinning reporter in the political realm, Cramer spent five years researching this definitive biography. Bay Area fans will especially appreciate the extensive chapters on DiMaggio’s North Beach upbringing and his memorable stint with the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League — notably a 61game hitting streak when he was just 18.
“Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero,” by Leigh Montville (2004): In his heyday with the Boston Globe in the 1980s, Montville
was the best deadline columnist in America, crafting works of art with almost no time to think. He had plenty of time to address this project, and the legendary Williams is captured in splendid detail.
“Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy,” by Jane Leavy (2002): Many have tried to interview the fiercely private lefthander for a biography, and all have failed, but Leavy did get Koufax to scrutinize her work for the sake of accuracy. She reached out to so many players, friends and associates, with such stunning results, Koufax’ words are barely needed. Others make it clear he’s the best pitcher who ever lived.
“The Roger Angell Baseball Collection,” published by Open Road Media (2013): Here we get three books in one — “The Summer Game,” “Five Seasons” and “Season Ticket” — by the master of baseball writing. Erudite, witty and exceptionally observant, Angell leaves readers stunned by his command of the English language. Don’t miss “Late Innings” or “Once More Around the Park” among his other baseball books.
“Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America,” by S.L. Price: (2009) Year after year, before the magazine fell upon hard times, Price represented the pinnacle of Sports Illustrated writing. He became fascinated by the death of Mike Coolbaugh, a minorleague coach who was killed by a foul ball in July 2007, and in doing so, he brings insight into family, baseball and smalltown America.
“Willie Mays,” by James S. Hirsch (2010): We’re in the twilight of our time with Mays, and it’s wonderful that his story has been told so well. Use this comprehensively researched book as a companion to “24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid,” the soontobereleased book by Chronicle colleague John Shea, and “Willie’s Time,” Charles Einstein’s 1979 gem.
“The Mustache Gang: The Swaggering Saga of the Oakland A’s,” by Ron Bergman (1973): The A’s were largely dismissed by the Bay Area media in the 1970s, even as they won three straight titles. The most notable exception was Bergman, who followed those teams for the Oakland Tribune and had The Chronicle on a daily mission to catch up with his breaking news. Here he chronicles the 1972 season in all its dominant, brawling magnificence. Bergman never held back, to his readers’ everlasting benefit.
“Only the Ball Was White,” by Robert Peterson (1970): Any student of baseball history should have indepth knowledge of the Negro Leagues, and this richly detailed work is the place to start. “At once heroic and tawdry, a gladsome thing and a blot on America’s conscience,” Peterson writes, and we learn of many players through their own words. Take this journey and you will dearly wish Josh Gibson could have faced Lefty Grove.
“The Art of Fielding,” by Chad Harbach (2011): Get past the rather tepid title — it sounds like an instruction manual — and marvel at Harbach’s work. A Harvard graduate employed by a literary magazine, Harbach spent 10 years cranking out his first novel, all about an infield savant named Henry Skrimshander. Which really doesn’t tell you a thing. “Surprisingly oldfashioned and almost freakishly wellbehaved,” the New York Times called it, quite accurately.
“Babe: The Legend Comes to Life,” by Robert W. Creamer (1974): This is the definitive study of the great Bambino, artfully crafted by one of Sports Illustrated’s most cherished writers. It is told without sentiment or fawning admiration, but along the way, Ruth’s legend only grows in stature. How remarkable that Ruth, who reached his peak in the 1920s, warrants instant recognition a century later.
Because there’s room for a few more: “Ball Four,” by Jim Bouton; “Branch Rickey,” by Jimmy Breslin; “Bushville Wins,” by John Klima; “Dollar Sign on the Muscle,” by Kevin Kerrane; “October 1964” by David Halberstam; “The Duke of Havana,” by Steve Fainaru; “The Fireside Book of Baseball,” Vols. 13, edited by Charles
Einstein; “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood,” by Jane Leavy; “Veeck as in Wreck, the Autobiography of Bill Veeck,” with Ed Linn; “Clemente: The Pride and Passion of Baseball’s Last Hero,” by David Maraniss, and “The Wrong Stuff,” by Bill Lee.