The Baseball Book Club discussion

Attention authors. If you joined the baseball book club just to promote your baseball book, please post it here. Do not use the Other Book Discussions thread. Authors who are long time members in good standing may on occasion have their book selected as the Book of the Month. Otherwise by posting in this thread, members will be able to see your book here. Thank you.

If you're looking for fresh baseball reading material, try "Last Ride of the Iron Horse: How Lou Gehrig Fought ALS to Play One Final Championship Season."

It's packed with new material about Gehrig, his life and the Yankees of the time. The book focuses on 1938 and Gehrig's struggles to keep playing as -- unbeknownst to him or anyone else -- he dealt with early symptoms of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that would kill him three years later.

Topics covered include: when did Gehrig first notice the symptoms of ALS? When did others notice? How did he adjust? And was he still able to play well and help the Yankees win?

There's also a lot of new info about Gehrig's life off the field, including his lone Hollywood movie, his salary battles, his radio appearances, his love of fishing and some off-season political speeches. There's even a section on his famous July 4, 1939 farewell speech, with a previously-unpublished witness account from one of the ex-Yankee greats on the field, catcher Wally Schang,

I believe any fan of Gehrig, the Yankees, or baseball history will find this a fun and interesting read. The book is available on from Sunbury Press (sunburypressstore.com) or on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/Last-Ride-Iron-Horse-Championship/dp/1620062321/

Thank you, Dan Joseph


reply | edit | delete | flag *

Thanks Dan, I’m putting it on my list.

I love reading anything about Gehrig - it's on my list too.

I added to my list as well. Thanks.

Stealing Home: A Father, a Son, and the Road to the Perfect Game

I have a story about a game at the Rangers ballfield that covers what might be the luckiest day ballpark ever saw: the night of the Perfect Game No. 14.

My witness to that park's baseball history isn’t completely unique — there were nearly 50,000 people there on that night. Yeah, plenty of those fans have died since then. But living or dead, few of them were finishing two weeks of ballpark road-tripping with their son on a Custody Dad's vacation. I was wrapping up a two-week tour in a rented convertible with my Little Leaguer son — we went all the way to Wrigley and back — doing my best to rescue my fatherhood after a divorce.

Mine is not just a story about seeing the game. It’s about who was with me and what that meant. The trip started for us at The Ballpark in Arlington seeing the Rangers get pounded by the reigning world champ Blue Jays. Our finale couldn’t have been more different in its result and its redemption — for me and for that year's team.

I’m an ex-sportswriter (and boy, I never had a better job than writing sports) who now coaches authors and edits books. My book — Stealing Home: A Father, a Son, and the Road to the Perfect Game — is just out. There’s an excerpt at my author website if you’re interested. I’m 62 and looking back across a couple of generations. My grandson is a Little Leaguer by now, and this year his dad coaches Little League.

Hello fellow baseball enthusiasts! I am new to this group and I look forward to discussing our National Pastime with you all! In terms of my book, if you have interest in the MLB Draft each year, I am writing a 2020 MLB Draft Guide for pitchers that are eligible in this years draft. The link is below! It includes a plethora of brief scouting reports for all of the top pitchers and then some! It is my first one I am writing and I hope you check it out! It is Pre-Order for now as it will be released in the middle of May! I hope you all check it out and stay safe!

https://gum.co/pMvts

I am planning on doing these (along with other types of books) every year and make them better and better for the reader each year!

Tanner wrote: "Hello fellow baseball enthusiasts! I am new to this group and I look forward to discussing our National Pastime with you all! In terms of my book, if you have interest in the MLB Draft each year, I..."

Thanks. Looks interesting.

Feel free to jump in on any of the other discussions Tanner.

I just published my companion to Hardball Architects (Volume 1 - American League Teams). Available now on Amazon.
Hardball Architects (Volume 2 - National League Teams)
digital (Kindle) edition $9.99 -- paperback edition ($19.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TPYMNSS (Kindle) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YNH354F (paperback)
Hardball Architects examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League).
All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives. Team performances are analyzed based on transaction type with graphs depicting the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in every decade. Individual results for each player-transaction is charted over the duration of their stint with the franchise. Every team chapter includes All-Time Rosters and Single-Season Leaders based on transaction type. The Team Trade Record chronicles the WAR and WS (Win Shares) accumulated by players acquired in comparison to those traded to opposing teams. The opening chapter is devoted to the Evolution of the General Manager and incorporates a discussion with former GM's Fred Claire (Dodgers) and Mike Port (Angels, Red Sox) along with current GM Nick Krall (Reds) on a variety of front office topics. Prepare yourself for a journey through baseball history to discover the path to building a contending ball club!

Author section? I posted about a great review once on my book Walk Like a Duck, a Season of Little League Baseball in Italy, and was shat upon immediately.
It was very ugly.
Most bizarre is that as primarily a novelist, I get the occasional bad review that seems to make little sense to me, some great reviews that append low numbers; but this was the first time a great review seemed worth mentioning in a specific category, and the ugly review was not of the book, which the fellow had not read of course, rather speculation that the review could not be trusted. Such gratuitous scurrity drove me from the group I had been missing and had just returned to. Sensitive authors beware.

By the way, I've thought dozens of times of a variety of thoughts I would have shared here, particularly recently when it sort of feels like the Cubs 1916 was of a different era. The game has been retooled, and so it's been with most rosters.

Ron wrote: "Stealing Home: A Father, a Son, and the Road to the Perfect Game

I have a story about a game at the Rangers ballfield that covers what might be the luckiest day ballpark ever saw: ..."

Congratulations. For the book and reaching my age.

Brina wrote: "Attention authors. If you joined the baseball book club just to promote your baseball book, please post it here. Do not use the Other Book Discussions thread. Authors who are long time members in g..."
Sounds great.

Rick wrote: "By the way, I've thought dozens of times of a variety of thoughts I would have shared here, particularly recently when it sort of feels like the Cubs 1916 was of a different era. The game has been ..."

Do you mean the Cubs of 2016? I do agree with the sentiment that feels like a different era, even though it’s only been 6 years

It was a different era sadly especially if one saw today’s Cubs lineup. I don’t think teams are going to only go for launch angle anymore. 1-2 players is fine but not the whole team. And if you see where Cubs ended up, Baez and Bryant have been atrocious, Schwarber I haven’t heard about. Only Rizzo is fulfilling his role as team leader and genuine superstar making me miss him all the more.

I am an author of several baseball-related books including my most recent novel, "The Baseball Losers," about a couple of rabid New York Mets fans who set out to catch the last two weeks of their favorite team's ill-fated 2007 season in New York and Washington. It's a humorous, character-driven story with plenty of baseball stuff. You don't have to be a Mets fan to enjoy it.

https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Loser...

Stolen review from an Amazon customer of my new book THE ART OF WAR AND BASEBALL, a collection of 90 reflections on the meaning of the game:

"The Art of War and Baseball brings together legendary quotations and individual elements of baseball in ways that are relevant to parents, coaches, players, and really anyone who enjoys sports. This carefully curated selection of powerful sayings paired with baseball-related insights brings a new outlook and perspective to what sports can and do teach every day on and off the field.

This book touches on so many important life lessons that are extremely relevant and needed in today's look-at-me-doing-a-TikTok-dance culture, including mindfulness, respect, being prepared, and hard work, even when no one is watching. If you love sports, you'll find yourself nodding at the lessons that games and competition can teach, and this book provides the opportunity to take a step back and appreciate all that we're learning and teaching through sports, even when we don't know it.

If you love books written by coaches or appreciate the power of life-changing words that have become part of our collective culture, The Art of War and Baseball deserves a place on your bookshelf. The diverse range of quotations that map to every aspect of the game bring new life to words that many of us have read, but needed something relevant, like sports, to make memorable."

www.TheArtofWarandBaseball.com

I look forward to getting to know the members of this group and reading some of the recommendations! Today I have a recommendation of my own. If any of you like YA books or have daughters ( especially daughters who play softball), my first book, Our Game, is worth your consideration.

The story was inspired by my students who dreamed of a chance to try out for a pro team that wasn't limited by gender. It's about grit, determination and faith. I believe it's a story whose time has come.

Thank you so much for your consideration. There are a few free copies available in exchange for reviews. You can message me if you're interested.

Jeff

Our Game

I have just had a novel published -- up for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers (which I did not know was a thing) through Christmas on Amazon right now, shortly available in both paperback and hardcover through Ingram, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. I'm working on indie bookstores nationwide, particularly in towns with minor league baseball teams.

So I'm looking for suggestions in baseball towns -- the best indie bookstores? Malaprops in Asheville? Mac's Backs in Cleveland?

More nominees?

I'm also asking if ANYBODY has heard of any other book on the subject -- because I haven't, nor has anybody else that I've asked. There couldn't be anything but fiction written about it, of course -- the Onion Knight: "If you're a famous smuggler, you're not doing it right."

I asked Dave Marannis, who had not. But he added immediately: "I'm sure it happened, though."

So am I. That's why I wrote Moody Riley, because it's about time somebody did.

Moody Riley is a guy who passes in the major leagues from 1904-1928. He's not a star player. In fact, one reason McGraw goes along with it is because Moody has a knack for going unnoticed...

https://www.amazon.com/Moody-Riley-kn...

Paul, thanks for moving your book post here. I have a question: was Moody Riley the ball player’s name or a fictional one? I did a Google search and nothing came up. I would read but I only read paper copies. I write generous review lol so let me know. The topic sounds fascinating and like Maraniss- one of my favorite writers- I have not heard of another book on this topic before.

This topic completely intrigues me. I see it is fiction but who is to say that some player passed and it remains unknown.

Brina wrote: "Paul, thanks for moving your book post here. I have a question: was Moody Riley the ball player’s name or a fictional one? I did a Google search and nothing came up. I would read but I only read pa..."

Message me your snail mail and I will send you a paperback.

In which cover note I shall reveal all.

Beth wrote: "This topic completely intrigues me. I see it is fiction but who is to say that some player passed and it remains unknown."

Yeah -- it's kinda startling that nobody has written fiction about it, so I have this particular outfield to myself for the moment.

(Which isn't actually how it's supposed to work.)

Researching while I was writing, early on I had the sense of opening the door to a VERY large room: passing in New England (like Bill White did in 1879, the only known case of passing in big league ball* -- for ONE game) was not at all like passing Down South, where there were literally generations of, er, misleading families.

If you have Kindle you can get a copy free through Christmas -- I'd really like to know what you think: post a review, candid as you like.

(There is one error in the Kindle version, a significant omission: in the middle of the 7th, a real person. His name was Lige Daniels. It was August 3, 1920 in Center, Texas.)

*Big leagues is more open than "major leagues", which hadn't really sorted out until 1905 or so, and even then there were challenges. There was a guy who passed for a couple minor league games in Green Bay, Wisconsin, of all places in Moody's era.

Sounds good -- I wrote about the Merkel play in Moody Riley.

I don't know how Goodreads works, either, but I'll read yours and review it... I invite you back.

https://www.amazon.com/Moody-Riley-kn...

Managing the Show was released on Amazon way ahead of schedule. Thanks to my publisher. There will be more fanfare and release press probably next week but wanted to share this with you now. Hopefully you're not tired of me marketing BASEBALL CONFIDENTIAL which continues to sell well. MANAGING THE SHOW is compelling and a great read thanks to many baseball general managers. Let me know what you think. Thanks, Al.

https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Show-...

"Managing the Show was released on Amazon way ahead of schedule..."

Been there.

Paperback added to my wish list. Almost didn't as the fact it was available in that format was buried on the page. As a Canadian I don't use Kindle. Well to be honest I am not yet using any eReader but I have been tempted to give in and get Kobo put on the computer.

What do you folks think of the artificial voice?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXD3DQBM/...

My name is Koby Bowie (25 y/o man from Oklahoma City). Last year on my birthday, I published my debut novel 1842. Mainly, it's about two young black boys growing up in Oklahoma and learning lessons on and off the field. It mainly deals with overcoming adversity and effectively processing trauma. I came up with the idea in high school, but I never thought it would be a book (I was going more for movies and TV). Yet, here I am! I am a Christian as well, so there are several Christ-centered moments throughout. But those moments were not at the expense of real-time experiences. People are imperfect. The characters in my story are no different. 1842 has bits of everything involved. Tragedy. Laughter. Passion (sex included). Motivation/Inspiration. Biblical wisdom. I wrote it in just two months, too, so you can see how much the story was swelling up in me. All in all, I hope you can give it a try. It's available on Amazon.com, Apple, and Audible. I'll attach it here. Thanks for reading about 1842!
1842

For Chicago Cubs fans and especially Brina.
When the Cubs Won It All: The 1908 Championship Season
The book, of course, was published prior to 2016.

My novel “immaKulate: a perfect inning - an imperfect life” (John A Marble) is recently available on Amazon and getting really good reviews and feedback. I’d be honored if anyone on this group wanted to check it out.

Realistic Fiction 74k words

Synopsis: Spence Taylor is a loner who’s suffering from alcohol addiction. Once a promising D-I pitching prospect with multiple offers and a bright future, one night changed the course of his life forever. Now suicidal and cursed with vivid hallucinations that force him to relive the events that led to his downfall, he struggles to find a reason as to exactly why he deserves a better life moving forward, eventually seeking a higher power for both acceptance and forgiveness - and in the process finding the strength to conquer a battle that he doesn’t even realize he’s fighting.

More info: The book opens in a rundown trailer on the southwestern side of Jackson, MS. Spence Taylor is an alcoholic that is depressed, suicidal, and terrorized by hallucinations in the form of random appearances from a well-dressed stranger. The apparition he perceives, however, is indeed very real, and eventually it persuades him to confront many of the decisions he’s made in the past while encouraging reconciliation with others in the present.

This is not just some story about a drunk trying to be a better person though. At the heart of the matter is an even bigger mystery that ultimately unfolds into a divergent reality, complete with all the same players, only in this universe his life is considerably different as a professional athlete. And the stakes? Well, let’s just say they are much higher.

It will tug at the heartstrings of readers and take them on a ride that they never see coming.

Intriguing! Will look into it.

Just wanted to let folks know I published a book on baseball in July of 2023 - "A Baseball Journey Through Life" that is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions. If you do read it I would appreciate your feedback. Thank-you.

Joel Allen

Joel is the book only available in Kindle? That's all I can find even though there is a reference to paperback on the page I was on.

C. John wrote: "Joel is the book only available in Kindle? That's all I can find even though there is a reference to paperback on the page I was on."
John, yes the book is available in paperback. If you type in my name or the title of the book on AMZ you will get to the product page (https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Journ...) and should see both the kindle and the paperback versions available.

Just in case folks are interested, here is the link to the product page of "A Baseball Journey Through Life"

https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Journ...

Joel wrote: "Just in case folks are interested, here is the link to the product page of "A Baseball Journey Through Life"

https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Journ..."

I just checked on Amazon.ca, which is where I looked before, and only the kindle version is shown. Looks like it is only in Kindle up here in The Great White North. Wonder why that is.

Hello everyone. I have made my eBook “FREE” for the next 48 hours on Amazon as a promotional campaign. I’ve also enrolled in KDP-Select, which, if you subscribe to Kindle-Unlimited, makes it also “FREE.” The name of the book is “immaKulate” and my name is John Marble. It is a fictional book that features baseball (tragedy, a fall from grace, redemption, and a love story) and I really think that you’ll be surprised by both the writing style and the story. As a first-time self-published author (at least in the fictional realm), it’s been very difficult trying to get anyone to read it (although I have sold over 300 copies in less than 2 month’s time – which I’m told is pretty good); however, I really think many of you will actually be surprised once you start it. Out of 50-some-odd reviews so far, I have a 4.62 star rating on Goodreads and a 4.92 star rating on Amazon. I did have 5 total reviews on the Apple Bookstore (all 5 star) up until a couple of days ago, but I had to take the book down because enrolment in KDP-Select requires exclusivity to Amazon – although those reviews may still be accessible for a few more days. So now I’m just trying to get the word out to a bigger audience and hoped that by making it “FREE,” those in this group would have nothing to lose (monetarily, at least) by reading it. Thank you for considering and I look forward to your thoughts. Please feel free to share if you think you know someone else who might appreciate a “FREE” book in the next couple of days.

I'm new to this group but delighted to find fellow authors and readers of baseball material--history, bios, stories (fiction or nonfiction). I'm the author of THE CALLED SHOT (2020), a finalist for the 2021 Seymour Medal, and my new book BASEBALL IN THE ROARING TWENTIES will be published by the U of Nebraska Press on September 1, 2025. The book is registered in the Goodreads Giveaway program for the month of August. Ten copies of the book will be given away at the end of the month. For those who want to know more about the book, check out the description on the Amazon website: https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Roari...

Looking forward to interacting with others on the site. My name is Thomas Wolf.

Thomas, I’m glad you found our group. I think a number of us read The Called Shot when it was published. Now that you’re here feel free to join in the chat thread. I don’t think we have any other fans of your team.

I get ARCs from U of Nebraska Press for my blog and yours just came the other day. Currently working on another one from them - The Whiz Kids: How the 1950 Phillies Took the Pennant, Lost the World Series, and Changed Philadelphia Baseball Forever, but your book will be up next.

Lance wrote: "I get ARCs from U of Nebraska Press for my blog and yours just came the other day. Currently working on another one from them - [book:The Whiz Kids: How the 1950 Phillies Took the Pennant, Lost the..."

Glad that UN Press sent you an ARC--reviews are always appreciated by the publisher and the author--I'm interested in the Whiz Kids book. I don't think I know the author but that was a crazy season.

Author of the Whiz Kids is Dennis Snelling.