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Could any of you knowledgeable ladies or gentlemen recommend some books about the general history or mechanics of baseball. I enjoy watching the game immensely, but find myself woefully lacking in rules/history department. Also, I believe the Ken Burns documentary is available at my local library - is that worth checking out (for hours and hours)? Thank you.

slim

my favorite baseball book bar none is _the physics of baseball_ by robt. adair

i've read it cover to cover every year, pretty much, since i bought it maybe five or six years ago

it will enhance your viewing experience and knowledge of the game

many baseball books are quite dewy-eyed, but i am someone who has been known to curse at the top of his lungs as a result of onfield developments both favorable and displeasing, and i have shed tears at elements of the game a few times, most recently the 'baseball in america' exhibit at the museum of science and industry (letter to hank aaron from a fan--racial injustice will always get a white liberal where it counts). to that end, i can recommend:

_the boys of summer_, roger kahn
_summer of '49_, david halberstam
_men at work_, george will (purportedly a more-or-less scholarly tome, but really just more musings about the game's 'poetry' and the 'genius' of the people involved in it)

_moneyball_, the new book about billy beane and the oakland a's, is quite good. essential reading for the modern baseball fan.

_the bill james historical abstract_ is entertaining. james is full of himself and other things at times, but a) he knows it, and b) he can write, which are his main saving graces. and he has insight about many things having to do with the game and its intricacies. for such a huge book, with hundreds of player rankings in it, it still has the feel of a trifle at times, but i like picking it up.

_win shares_, on the other hand, details james' revolutionary system for rating players' contributions to their teams. i have to say it is an extremely valuable tool. some of the formulations get a little half-assed in their minute details, but most of the time they are this way out of necessity: ltd. statistical information, vagaries of time and place and topography inherent in the game. the defensive evaluation of the catcher is particularly loophole-ridden, but even this is a dramatic improvement on anything done beforehand.

the real litmus test is how often a 'win shares' rating measures up with what one's impressions are, as taken from exposure to a player's performance. and the win shares just have the ring of truth, pretty much all the time. they provide a concrete way to describe barry bonds the last couple years (best ever one-season totals of, like, 52 and 49 win shares, or something like that). it's a meticulously detailed, well-balanced system. foolproof, probably not, but the best one yet without a doubt.

i wouldn't recommend starting your reading with _win shares_, however. _moneyball_ and _the physics of baseball_, perhaps.

here's a list from dudes who would know--_the hidden game of baseball_ is supposed to be good:

http://baseballguru.com/b_sabr.html

"Field of Schemes" by Neil DeMause is also an interesting read.

Also, "The Bronx Zoo", whose author I cannot remember at present.

Slim wrote:Could any of you knowledgeable ladies or gentlemen recommend some books about the general history or mechanics of baseball. I enjoy watching the game immensely, but find myself woefully lacking in rules/history department. Also, I believe the Ken Burns documentary is available at my local library - is that worth checking out (for hours and hours)? Thank you.

Just finished reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis. His background in finance makes his take on baseball slightly perverse, but the story of the development of Billy Bean's statistical ranking of prospects and its effectiveness is really great.

I didn't care for Halberstam's The Teammates as a baseball book, but as a story about old men clinging to the friendships that defined them, it's pretty good.

You're Missing a Great Game (Whitey Herzog's baseball autobiography) is great on every level.

-steve

Slim,
Books are fine. But I perscribe a strong dosage of Cubs games on TV. There's NOBODY better at explaining the game, its strategy and history than the Almighty, Steve Stone.
His knack of putting you "in the dugout" is unmatched. I cannot recommend this enough.

But be sure to read the directions on your prescription. Listening to Chip Carey may cause nausia.

Good luck and remember to hit your spots.

I'm sorry, sir, but I am a Cardinals fan. No can do.

I found Jim Bouton's Ball Four quite entertaining and in almost no way doe-eyed or weepy.

Dan

Ack, sent that too soon. The unabridged book on tape of Bob Costas' Fair Ball (read by the author) has also sustained me through a few Lake Washington commutes. I can't really speak to its authority on the topic of modern baseball finances, but he does manage to construct a logical, coherent argument to back his opinions. You may or may not agree.

Dan

man, i meant to say in my initial thing:

my favorite baseball book, with the possible exception of BALL FOUR...

it's a great great book, even if it did open the tell-all biography floodgates

In addition to others, I recommend "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis.

I also recommend the following baseball books that have not yet been discussed:

"The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams. Ted Williams' discussion of strike zone discipline carries through to this day (see, "Moneyball").

"Sandlot Peanuts", "I've Been Traded for a Pizza?" or "It's a Home Run, Charlie Brown!" by Charles Schultz. You would have to be a maniacally cynical asshole not to enjoy these books.

"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. If you fail to grasp the baseball discussions in this book (particularly the discussion of baseball great George Sisler's age in comparison to the age of Manolin), then you will miss the entire point of this absolutely indispensable story.