Baseball's Brief Lives: Player Stories Inspired by the Infinite Inning

by Steven Goldman, David Roth (Foreword)

The Infinite Inning podcast asks, “How do you progress through life when you can’t get the third out?” Baseball’s Brief Lives: Player Stories Inspired by the Infinite Inning explores that question by examining the lives and careers of 100 greats of the game in a series of biographical essays featuring stats, analysis, eyewitness reactions, and an awareness of the interconnectedness of baseball and the greater world that has always been a hallmark of Steven Goldman’s writing. From celebrated athletes such as Henry Aaron, Pedro Martinez, and Pee Wee Reese to forgotten but no-less-memorable players like Bad Bill Dahlen, spinach-obsessed second baseman Ski Melillo, and worst-ever Yankees shortstop Pee-Wee Wanninger, Baseball’s Brief Lives finds the sweet spot linking baseball and life itself in their equally marvelous complexities.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 2022

About the author

Steven Goldman is an Austin, Texas-based writer and Master's candidate at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He is a contributor to webcomics hub The Chemistry Set, and is the creator of the comic series STYX TAXI and co-writer of the political graphic novel EVERYMAN: BE THE PEOPLE. He has also contributed to anthologies such as the forthcoming POSTCARDS: CALIFORNIA DREAMING.

Reviews

[Colin Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, eclectic stroll through baseball history, a collection of capsule summaries of baseball players from every era. Steven Goldman has an unparalleled command of baseball history, and the ability to elicit the strange, whimsical, and poignant facets of ballplayers’ lives. The book is easy to pick up and read a bit here and there, like Wikipedia entries written by the best friend you talk baseball with. But there’s an overall message that shines through: every ballplayer’s story is worth listening to, capable of telling us something bigger about baseball and the world around baseball.

[Mike Reuther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first became familiar with Steven Goldman through his wonderful podcast, The Infinite Baseball Inning, his insightful and whimsical take on the National Pastime.
This book, like the old Bill James books, combines sabermetrics with player biographies.
It’s nice to know we have baseball authors out there who mesh analytics with good writing.
I have Goldman’s Casey Stengel book on the to-read-list.

[Michael Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous. Would read another 500 pages. A masterpiece