(EDITOR’S NOTE: Not listed is the author’s latest, Baseball’s Memorable Misses: an Unabashed Look at the Game’s Craziest Zeroes, a Sports Publishing book.)
Just because the New York Yankees haven’t been to the World Series since 2009 doesn’t mean they have disappeared from the hearts of their fans.
In fact, the legends and feats of the Bronx Bombers live on in literature — especially the baseball books of 2023.
There are volumes on Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Roy White and Aaron Judge, the record-setting 1998 team, a historical look at Yankee firsts, and an often-hysterical memoir from best-selling author Marty Appel, a long-time Yankees publicist with many books about the ballclub.
Also among this year’s baseball books are a biography of longtime Giants owner Charles Stoneham, an autobiography by erstwhile Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, and a farewell tribute to the Oakland Athletics, about to become the first team to represent four different cities.
And let’s not overlook a long-overdue tribute to baseball scouts, who deserve but don’t have a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As the holiday buying season approaches, here’s how they rate:
1 Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski (Dutton, 377 pp.), $29. A series of essays that reflect some of baseball’s most memorable oddities and ironies, this well-crafted volume covers everyone from Rick Camp to Roger Maris, with Stan Musial’s five-homer day and the Harvey Haddix perfecto-thatwasn’t all included. The author parlays a breezy, conversational style with the controversy created by his personal ranking of 50 moments he loves. Readers are free to disagree.
2 Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years by Steven P. Gietschier (Nebraska, 568 pp.), $44.95. During the middle of the 20th century, baseball battled the pressures of The Great Depression, the Second World War, and the problems facing the country — from segregation to labor issues. Written by a historian with long ties to The Sporting News during its heyday as a baseball tabloid, this hefty hardcover should be required reading for all baseball fans who think they know their stuff. The Hank Greenberg chapter is especially engaging.
Williams and Jerry Coleman were the only ballplayers who served in both World War II and Korea. Future U.S. Senator John Glenn did as well, flying combat missions over North Korea with Williams as his wingman in a
