501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die

by Ron Kaplan

Propounding his “small ball theory” of sports literature, George Plimpton proposed that “the smaller the ball, the more formidable the literature.” Of course he had the relatively small baseball in mind, because its literature is formidable—vast and varied, instructive, often wildly entertaining, and occasionally brilliant. From this bewildering array of baseball books, Ron Kaplan has chosen 501 of the best, making it easier for fans to find just the books to suit them (or to know what they’re missing).   From biography, history, fiction, and instruction to books about ballparks, business, and rules, anyone who loves to read about baseball will find in this book a companionable guide, far more fun than a reference work has any right to be.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Bob Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was extremely disappointing. I expected an actual list of books from the ultimate selections down to the 501st book. What you get instead is randomly categorized selections of supposedly the best books in each category in no particular order. This would have been a much better book if the author had taken the time to try to come up an actual rating system and ranked the books that way. A book such as that would have been a lot more interesting.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to be conservative with the results of this book. At first I had about 35 books marked down that I now *need* to read. I'm proud to say that I've now narrowed that down to a slim 24.

The takeaway is that for a baseball junkie facing the looming gloom of the offseason, this is a great resource to kickstart you reading list and get you to spring training with your wits intact.

[Adam J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every baseball fan should have this on their shelf. A wonderfully eclectic mix of must-reads.

[DeWayne Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent review of the best baseball books out there. Well summarized and thoughtful comments, with plenty of interesting tidbits, humor, and critique.