Best of 2019 BASEBALL BOOKS PART 2
26. The Federal League Of Base Ball Clubs: the History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914-15 (McFarland, 368 pp., $29.95), by Robert Peyton Wiggins. An important addition to baseball literature, this paperback delves into a league that lasted only two years but had an immense impact upon the major leagues. Weeghman Park, opened in 1914, remains in use today as Wrigley Field, home of the National League’s Chicago Cubs. When opened by the Feds, the promise of higher salaries and better conditions convinced several stars to jump ship. This book reveals that the Federal League was the most successful of several early bids to create a third major league but that The Sporting News was vocal in its opposition.
27. A Fine Team Man: Jackie Robinson and the Lives He Touched (Lyons Press, 269 pp., $27.95), by Joe Cox. Jackie Robinson played only 10 seasons, but the impact he made upon integrating baseball in 1947 is still being felt. This terrific read reveals the pro-and-con clubhouse reaction, Branch Rickey’s six-point plan, and how Pee Wee Reese, Carl Erskine, Leo Durocher, and even broadcaster Red Barber made the Robinson experiment work. Like Reese, the author hails from Kentucky.
(Grand Central Publishing, 385 pp., $28), by David Cone with Jack Curry. With five World Series rings, two 20-win seasons, and a perfect game, David Cone is a Cooperstown candidate. The five-time All-Star, who pitched for both New York teams, admits to meltdowns on the mound, cocaine use in the minors, and fights with David Wells. He even tells what Red Sox fans yell to
