Baseball READING SEASON
The baseball offseason signals the arrival of the baseball reading season. And there are dozens of dynamic volumes to bridge the gap between the World Series and the date pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mid-February.
Subjects range from Cooperstown to cheating, with plenty of history, biography and picture books perfect for holiday gift-buying.
Here is the best of them, plus some honorable mentions.
1 150 Years of Braves Baseball (Skybox Press, 169 pp., $50), edited by Scott Gummer, foreword by Hank Aaron, introduction by Terry McGuirk. Tracing the history of the team from Boston to Milwaukee and Atlanta, this oversized, lavishly-illustrated hardcover has more full-page pictures — past and present — than any other 2021 tome. Beyond the book, the Braves marked their 150th anniversary with a special uniform patch, pre-game events and commemorative merchandise.
2 Picturing America’s Pastime: Historic Photography from the Baseball Hall of Fame Archives (Mango Publishing, 319 pp., $34.95), edited by the Hall of Fame staff, foreword by Randy Johnson.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection (Epic Ink, 192 pp., $40), by James Buckley, foreword by Cal Ripken Jr. While the former resembles a typical team yearbook from seasons past, the latter profiles more than 175 Hall of Famers and lists the entire membership. It stands out because of its striking design and lavish use of color pictures. There’s room for both on the baseball bookshelf.
3 The Baseball 100 (Simon & Schuster, 880 pp., $33.99), by Joe Posnanski. As this column suggests, rating anything invites controversy — especially in a sport rife with diverse opinions. Ruth vs. Aaron are here, along with Mays vs. Mantle, Spahn vs. Koufax, and so many more. And the writer does a fine job parlaying his knowledge of baseball history with crisp writing.
4 Derek Jeter: A Celebration of the Yankee Captain Yet another timely title with oversize color pictures, this tribute to
