You people and your reading. Fine. We'll try a book club. I don't want to run it though. Sooooo... Nominate your book and we'll let the wisdom of the Ballers come through as we decide what book to read. Keep in mind that if your book is chosen, you'll probably be responsible for posting the Book Club FanPosts.
So who wants in? What should we read?
0 recs | 20 comments
My recomendation...
Spitters, Beanballs and the Incredible Shrinking Strikezone: The Strories Behind the Rules of Baseball. Not only does it have a lot of funny baseball stories, but it is a good way to learn the rules of baseball, and why they exist.
osbug - April 14, 2008
Moneyball
Seems like a good starter book.
sacpadre - April 14, 2008
i second this motion
John Gennaro - April 14, 2008
Five Seasons by Roger Angell
Winfield's Ghost - April 14, 2008
Bouton or Luciano.
The first one shouldn't require much thought.
TheThirdGonzalez - April 14, 2008
That's a good pt
Maybe Jay Johnstone
Winfield's Ghost - April 14, 2008
Bouton's a great read
John Gennaro - April 14, 2008
Summer of 49 or October 1964
Both great books and the first one has some great Jerry Coleman stories.
thenerdhater - April 14, 2008
I'd also recommend
The Ruins. Great book
thenerdhater - April 14, 2008
Fantasyland
If your a fantasy player, pretty cool insider story of a reporter playing in the toughest fantasy baseball league in the country. Just a thought.
GeoffwithG - April 14, 2008
I loved fantasyland
I told my wife that it was the next baseball book that she should read. She had a good experience with Moneyball and Fantasyland would be a really likable followup. I just have to figure out where my copy is....
Dex - April 14, 2008
Hmmm....
I was always taught that books were from the devil and that TV is twice as fast.
pjbno4 - April 14, 2008
Longtime reader/first time poster...
But I read books like they were going out of style...if you're interested in how baseball was played a century ago "Crazy 08", by Cait Murphy is a great read. It gives a great history of the early National and American leagues, and details the pennant race of 1908 between the Giants and the Cubbies.
Also, even though its not a baseball book, Michael Lewis' most recent book, "The Blind Side" is just great story-telling. I wholeheartedly concur with the recomendations of "Fantasyland" and "Moneyball". I'd read Sam Walker and Michael Lewis' grocery lists, though, because they are both awesome writers.
YoDep - April 14, 2008
Agree with you re: Lewis
Blind Side was fantastic.
Winfield's Ghost - April 14, 2008
I thought
we were gonna do Jerry Coleman's book?
Sam (sdsuaztec4) - April 14, 2008
Well, we woulda had a shot
if you hadn't said anything. This is like when Jim Bouton spoke up in the players' meeting and screwed it up for everyone. See, it's getting all book-clubby in here already.
TheThirdGonzalez - April 14, 2008
You gotta start with the classics. I know it's fiction, but what about "The Natural" So many people base their feeling on it by what they see in the movie. Totally different. How many books end in failure? 2nd and 3rd choices...obviously Bouton's book, but my other would be George Will's "Men at Work". Read it (Tony Gwynn is prominently featured) and see how differently the game has changed from what he predicted it would be.
DarthBarf - April 14, 2008
Funny you guys are doing a book club
I started one at school in October and we're still arguing over which book we should read first.
TheVinylCrocodile - April 14, 2008
Start with a book that nobody has read before, then poll it and set a deadline for when the vote ends. :)
Axion - April 15, 2008
Personally
I think you got to start with a new book that nobody has read.
jbox - April 16, 2008
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