Baseball Resources
Baseball Resources [MS Word]
Little League (grades 1-6)
Fiction
Adler, David A. The Babe and I. Harcourt Brace, 1999.
A young boy meets his hero, the great Babe Ruth, while selling papers during the Great Depression to help support his family. (Grades K-3)
Armstrong, Jennifer. Patrick Doyle Is Full of Blarney. Random House, 1996.
Set in New York City in 1915 when the New York Giants were the local heroes, a group of Irish kids defend their turf from a gang of toughs (Grades 3-5)
Burleigh, Robert. Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth. Silver Whistle, 1998.
Babe Ruth prepares to hit a home run. (Grades K-3)
Christopher, Matt. The Dog That Stole Home. Little, Brown & Co., 1993.
Mike's Airedale, Harry, is grounded and is not allowed to go to the baseball game. Mike doesn't know how he'll ever play well enough to win without Harry. Mike's Mom comes to the rescue. (Grades 3-5)
Cosby, Bill. Hooray for the Dandelion Warriors! Scholastic, 1999.
Little Bill and his teammates can't agree on a name for their baseball team. (Grades 1-3)
Cristaldi, Kathryn. Baseball Ballerina. Random House, 1992.
A young girl who loves baseball finds that teamwork and helping friends can extend beyond the diamond--but she still likes baseball best! (Grades K-2)
Curtis, Gavin. The Bat Boy & His Violin. Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Reginald's father recognizes the value of his son's music when it inspires his baseball team, which has the worst record in the Negro Leagues, to begin winning games. (Grades 1-3)
Day, Alexandra. Frank and Ernest Play Ball. Scholastic, 1990.
When asked to manage a baseball team, Frank and Ernest rely on a baseball dictionary to learn the necessary language. (Grades 1-3)
Duffey, Betsy. Lucky in Left Field. Simon and Schuster, 1992.
Lucky the dog is banished from the ballpark by the new coach ... and he's the best left fielder the team ever had! Will Lucky regain his spot? (Grades 1-3)
Feldman, Heather. My Day at the Baseball Game: A Book about a Special Day. PowerKids Press, 2000.
A boy and his father share a special day together by attending a baseball game. (Grades K-2)
Gutman, Dan. Satch & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2006. A young boy uses a baseball card to travel back in time to meet the legendary Negro leagues pitcher, Satchel Paige. (Grades 3-6).
Hall, Donald. When Willard Met Babe Ruth. Harcourt Brace, 1996.
Barry Moser's beautiful and evocative watercolor illustrations enhance this story of a family's encounters with Babe Ruth. (Grades 3-6)
Joyce, William. Baseball Bob. HarperCollins, 1999.
Bob, the big green dinosaur, is thrilled when his hit helps his baseball team win the first game of the series. (Grades K-2)
Konigsburg, E. L. About The B'nai Bagels. Atheneum, 1969.
Mark Setzer is embarrassed when his mother agrees to manage his Little League baseball team. (Grades 4-6)
McCully, Emily Arnold. Grandmas at Bat. Harper Collins, 1993.
Pip's two grandmas are coaching her team and nothing's going right! (Grades 1-2)
Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. Lee & Low, 1993.
A young boy's father recounts his years playing baseball while living in the U. S. Japanese concentration camps during WWII. Also available in Spanish. (Grades 3-5)
O'Malley, Kevin. My Lucky Hat. Mondo. 1999.
When Kerfoffer, the hometown favorite, strikes out, Frank offers him his lucky hat. (Grades 1-3)
Parish, Peggy. Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia. Harper and Row, 1972.
Silly, silly Amelia Bedelia tries to help out the team when one of their players becomes sick. (Grades 1-2)
Patneaude, David. Haunting at Home Plate. Albert Whitman, 2000.
Ever since they heard the stories about their baseball field being haunted, Nelson and his teammates have begun to find mysterious messages written in the dirt. Who could be doing this, and why? (Grades 4-6)
Rogers, Kenny and Don Schlitz. Kenny Rogers Presents the Greatest. Addax Publishing, 2000.
A boy strives to be good with his baseball and bat, and learns that there is more than one way to be the best. Beautiful illustrations. A compact disc is included with Kenny Rogers singing this hit song. (Grades 1-4)
Schade, Susan and Jon Buller. Cat at Bat. Golden Books, 2000.
Rhyming text helps the beginning reader enjoy a fast-paced baseball game starring Cat and her friends. (Grades K-2)
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. Nate the Great and the Stolen Base. Coward McCann, 1992.
Detective Nate is on the trail of the missing second base! (Grades 1-2)
Slote, Alfred. Finding Buck McHenry. HarperCollins, 1991.
Jason is convinced that Mack Henry, the school's janitor who is very knowledgeable about playing the game of baseball, is really the elusive player from the days of the Negro Baseball Leagues, Buck McHenry. (Grades 4-6)
Stadler, John. Hooray for Snail! Crowell, 1984.
Slow, slow Snail's home run goes to the moon and back. But will he have time to run the bases before it returns to earth? (Grades 1-2)
Strasser, Todd. Close Call. Putnam, 1999
In order to continue playing baseball, a group of fifth and sixth graders must find solution to the number of problems facing them. (Grades 4-6)
Testa, Maria. Some Kind of Pride. Delacorte, 2001.
Eleven-year-old Ruth is the star shortstop on her hometown team and dreams of being a major league player. When she hears her father remark that her talent is wasted on a girl, she begins to doubt herself. Ultimately, Ruth realizes that her future lies within herself. (Grades 4-6)
Wallace, Bill. Upchuck and the Rotten Willy: Running Wild. Minstrel, 2000.
When Chuck, a cat, decides to befriend two new cats in town, he's not too sure his best friend, Willy the dog, will like the idea. But he knows where his loyalties lie when he sees the dogcatcher going after Willy at a baseball game. (Grades 4-6)
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Bat 6. Scholastic. 1998.
Shortly after World War II, 21 sixth grade girls are prepared to participate in the annual softball game that is a symbol of the small Oregon town's unity. The day is marred by one girl's bigotry toward an Asian American player. (Grades 4-6)
Nonfiction
Adler, David. A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson. Holiday House, 1994.
A short biography of the player who broke the color barrier. (Grades 1-3)
Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Satchel Paige. Illustrated by James Ransome. Simon & Schuster, 2000.
A biography of the first African-American to pitch during a Major League World Series game, with striking paintings by the author's husband. (Grades 3-6)
Feldman, Heather. My Day at the Baseball Game. Powerkids Press, 2000.
A young boy attends a baseball game with his father and learns the fun of baseball. (Grades K-2)
Gibbons, Gail. My Baseball Book. HarperCollins, 2000.
Introduces basic concepts of baseball: equipment, playing field, rules, players and the game process. (Grades K-3)
Golenbock, Peter. Teammates. Harcourt Brace, 1990.
Absorbing account of Jackie Robinson's first days playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, Robinson's courage is matched by his teammates, Pee Wee Reese and the Dodgers' owner, Branch Rickey. (Grades 2-5)
Horenstein, Henry. Baseball in the Barrios. Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Photo-essay about a 5th grade Venezuelan who loves baseball, the most popular sport in his country. Also available in Spanish. (Grades 2-5)
Janeczko, Paul B. That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems. Illustrated by Carole Katchen. Atheneum, 1998. (Grades 3-6)
Kramer, S.A. Baseball's Greatest Hitters. Random Library, 2000.
Five of baseball's greatest hitters are discussed, including their stats and greatest feats. Six others are mentioned. (Grades 1-2)
Meister, Cari. Game Day. Children's Press, 2001.
Events in a baseball game. Illustrations show the action. Also available in Spanish. (Grades 1-2)
Rappaport, Doreen. Dirt On Their Skirts: The Story of the young Women Who Won the World Championship. Dial, 2000. A spectator describes the excitement as the final game of the 1946 championship game of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League goes into extra innings.
Thayer, Ernest Lawrence. Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888. Illustrated by Christopher Bing. Handprint Books, 2000. This popular poem captures all the excitement and thrill of a baseball game. Casey warms up and the crowd is at fever pitch, but Casey strikes out and the game is won ... by the other side. A Caldecott Honor Book. (Grades 2-5)
Winter, Jonah. Beisbol! : Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends. Lee and Low, 2001. Also available in Spanish. (Grades 3-5)
Winter, Jonah. Fair Ball!: Fourteen Great Stars from Baseball's Negro Leagues. Scholastic, 1999. (Grades 3-5)
--Association for Library Service to Children, Quicklists Consulting Committee,
American Library Association
Minor League (grades 6-12)
Fiction
Brooks, Bruce. Throwing Smoke. HarperCollins, 2000.
When his teammates on the Breadhurst Newts baseball team continue their losing ways, Whiz uses an unusual printing press to "create" several star players in hopes of winning a game. Baseball with a touch of the supernatural.
Dygard, Thomas. Infield Hit. Morrow Junior Books, 1995.
Hal transfers to a new high school in his junior year and tries to make friends, gain a starting position on the baseball team and hide the fact that his dad is a famous ex-major leaguer.
Farrell, Mame. Bradley and the Billboard. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
When Bradley, a baseball hero, is pictured on the billboard near the ballpark, he must come to terms with his celebrity status.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Loses Control. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2000.
Joey, who is taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, spends his summer trying to get to know the hard-drinking father he never knew and help the baseball team he coaches win the championship.
Glenn, Mel. Squeeze Play: A Baseball Story. Clarion Books, 1989.
With the support of gentle Mr. Janowicz, a Holocaust survivor, Jeremy speaks out against his bullying 6th grade teacher and his mandatory after-school baseball games.
Gutman, Dan. Babe & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. Avon Books, 2000. According to legend, just before one of Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series plate appearances, he pointed to the centerfield bleachers and boldly predicted he would hit a home run. Did he call that shot, or didn't he? Joe Stoshack knows there's one way to find out--slip back seventy years and see for himself.
Gutman, Dan. Honus & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. Avon Books, 1997.
Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a valuable 1909 Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to meet Honus.
Gutman, Dan. Jackie & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. Avon Books, 1999. With his ability to travel through time by using baseball cards, Joey goes back to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson, turning into a black boy in the process. Sequel to Honus & Me.
Gutman, Dan. Satch & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2006. A young boy uses a baseball card to travel back in time to meet the legendary Negro leagues pitcher, Satchel Paige.
Hamill, Pete. Snow in August. Warner Books, 1999.
This story about a boy growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the 1940s combines friendship and baseball.
Korman, Gordon. The Toilet Paper Tigers. Scholastic, 1993.
When his little league team gets a coach who knows nothing about baseball, 7th grader, Corey is dismayed to see the team taken over by the coach's pushy 12-year-old granddaughter.
Koss, Amy Goldman. Strike Two. Dial, 2001.
The local newspaper strike threatens to end the softball season prematurely, but Haley and her cousin Gwen enlist their teammates to show the adults the importance of compromise. (Grades 4-6)
Lynch, Chris. Gold Dust. HarperCollins, 2000.
In 1975, 12-year-old Richard befriends Napolean, a Caribbean newcomer to his Catholic School, hoping that Napolean will learn to love baseball and the Red Sox, and win acceptance in the racially polarized Boston school.
Manes, Stephen. An Almost Perfect Game. Scholastic, 1995.
At the last game of the season for a local minor league team, Jake suspects that his scorecard can control the outcome of the game.
Myers, Walter Dean. The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues. Scholastic, 2001.
While playing in the Negro Leagues in 1948, Biddy Owens keeps a journal with his observations about the team and its players, the racism they face and his family's disapproval of his dream to become a professional baseball player.
Myers, Walter Dean. Mop, Moondance, and the Nagasaki Knights. Delacorte Press, 1992.
After T.J. and his younger brother are adopted, the biggest problems they face are winning an international baseball tournament held in their New Jersey hometown and helping a homeless teammate.
Schnur, Steven. The Koufax Dilemma. Morrow, 1997.
When the opening game of his Little League season falls upon Passover, Danny is unable to pitch, forcing him to a better understanding of the importance of his family and his religion in his life.
Soto, Gary. Baseball in April and Other Stories. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990.
Calling on his own experiences of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto brings to life the joys and pains of young people everywhere.
Tunis, John R. Rookie of the Year. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
Dodger manager Spike Russell's efforts to rally his team to a pennant victory are threatened by a scheming club secretary and the seeming irresponsibility of a star rookie pitcher.
Nonfiction
Christopher, Matt. Great Moments in Baseball History. Little Brown and Co., Boston, 1996.
Christopher, Matt. At the Plate with Sammy Sosa. Little Brown, 1999.
A biography of the home-run hero from the Dominican Republic.
Craft, David. Great Moments in Baseball. Metro Books, 1997.
Gershman, Michael. Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark from Elysian Fields to Camden Yards. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993
Grabowski, John F. History of Sports: Baseball. Lucent Books, San Diego, 2001.
Gutman, Dan. Baseball's Greatest Games. Viking, 1994.
Lyons, Jeffrey. Out of Left Field: Over 1,134 Newly Discovered Amazing Baseball Records, Connections, Coincidences, and More! Times Books, 1998.
Margolies, Jacob. The Negro Leagues: The Story of Black Baseball. Franklin Watts, 1993.
Christopher, Matt. At the Plate with Sammy Sosa. Little Brown, 1999.
A biography of the home-run hero from the Dominican Republic.
Meier, Matt S. Notable Latino Americans. Greenwood Press, 1997.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball As America. National Geographic, 2001. A nostalgic look at baseball's meaning to American culture through the eyes of our nation's most prominent writers.
Novas, Himilce. The Hispanic 100: The Ranking of the Latino Men and Women Who Have Most Influenced American Thought and Culture. A Citadel Press Book, 1995.
Rader, Benjamin G. Baseball: A History of America's Game. University of Illinois Press, 1992
Robinson, Sharon. Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By. Scholastic. 2001.
Shouler, Kenneth A. The Major League Baseball Book of Fabulous Facts and Awesome Trivia. Quill, 2001.
Stewart, Mark. Baseball: A History of the National Pastime. Franklin Watts, 1998
The Top Ten of Everything. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 2001.
Thorn, John, ed. Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. 7th ed. Total Sports Publishing, 2001.
Ultimate Book of Sports List. DK Publishing, 1998.
World Almanac and Book of Facts 2002. Press Publishing Co., 2002.
World Almanac for Kids 2002. World Almanac Books, 2002.
--Nick Buron, Young Adult Services Coordinator, Queens Borough (N.Y.) Public Library, Harriet Selverstone, past president, American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association
Major League (18 and over)
Fiction
Brock, Darryl. Havana Heat. Total Sports, 2000.
Luther Taylor, a deaf-mute pitcher who hopes to win a spot on the New York Giants in 1911, finds himself in Cuba coaching a team of Cubans set to play the Giants in a big-money exhibition game. Fascinating social history, believable characters and terrific ambience.
Coover, Robert. The Universal Baseball Association, J. Henry Waugh, Prop. 1968.
J. Henry Waugh is a lonely accountant whose life is consumed by the Universal Baseball Association, a board game of his own creation. Is this a baseball novel or a parable about God? For anyone who has ever hunched over a baseball board game or participated in a rotisserie league, the question may be moot.
Duncan, David James. The Brothers K. Doubleday, 1992.
Baseball, Vietnam and Seventh Day Adventism form the three corners of this moving, wide-ranging epic of the Chance family in rural Washington State.
Brashler, William. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings. Harper, 1973.
The history of the Negro Leagues told in the form of a rollicking road novel. Poignant, big-hearted and full of wit.
Fromm, Pete. How All This Started. Picador, 2000.
Manic-depressive Abeline, obsessed with Nolan Ryan, sets out to turn her brother, Austin, into a great pitcher. A desolate Texas landscape, a family in near-total collapse and, somehow, the game of baseball serving as both catalyst for tragedy and a means of survival.
Gordon, Alison. Prairie Hardball. McClelland & Stewart, 1997.
Contemporary Toronto baseball reporter Kate Henry and her cop boyfriend must figure out who is killing the surviving members of the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League of the 1940s and 1950s.
Greenberg, Eric Rolphe. The Celebrant. Everest House, 1982.
Greenberg mixes and fact and fiction in this story of New York Giant pitching star Christy Mathewson and the jeweler who made the great Matty's World Series rings. A profoundly moving story of hero worship and the importance of baseball to immigrants in the early 20th century.
Harris, Mark. Bang the Drum Slowly. Knopf, 1956.
The second in Harris' four-novel sequence narrated by New York Mammoth pitcher Henry "Author" Wiggen finds the Mammoth's star right-hander caught up in a tragic human drama when reserve catcher Bruce Pearson is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.
Henry, April. Be the One. Knopf, 2000.
In this baseball thriller, the game's only female scout, Cassidy Sanderson, goes to the Dominican Republic in pursuit of Alberto Cruz, a centerfielder who invokes comparisons to Willie Mays. A look at what scouts do and a sensitive account of a woman trying to succeed in a man's game.
Herrin, Lamar. The Rio Loja Ringmaster. Viking, 1977.
Dick Dixon, washed out of the majors after failing in the clutch in the World Series, has landed in the Mexican League, still dreaming of pitching the perfect game. But will his search for perfection rob him of the love of Consuelo, who offers him the beauty and innocence he has sought to capture in baseball?
Honig, Donald. The Plot to Kill Jackie Robinson. Dutton, 1992.
Suspended reporter Joe Tinker is an eyewitness to a murder in Greenwich Village in 1947. He gets interested in the case when it seems to connect to a possible plot to kill Jackie Robinson before his upcoming major-league debut. An atmospheric hard-boiled period piece by a veteran baseball writer.
Jones, Matthew F. The Elements of Hitting. Hyperion, 1994.
Forty-something Walter Innis' abusive Dad was a phenom fastballer who threw out his arm and spent the next decades beating his wife. Now Walter has met a widow whose son needs help getting around on the fastball. A coming-of-age baseball novel that resists formula.
Kinsella, W. P. Shoeless Joe. Houghton, 1982.
The movie Field of Dreams was based on this enchanting fantasy about an Iowa farmer who hears a voice telling him that if he builds a ballpark, "they will come." They did, and they have for the last 20 years, in print and on screen.
Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. Farrar, 1952.
Malamud's novel about Roy Hobbs and his pursuit of baseball excellence is considerably darker than the Robert Redford movie based on it. Chasing the Holy Grail, Malamud reminds us, extracts a terrible toll on the would-be hero.
McManus, James. Chin Music. Crown, 1985.
The Russians have launched their missiles, and the World Series (White Sox vs. Reds) has been cancelled due to Armageddon. Experimental novelistic McManus tells the stream-of-consciousness tale of a Sox pitcher trying to get home from the ballpark before the bombs reach their destination. A nightmarish yet surprisingly touching odyssey.
Sayles, John. Pride of the Bimbos. Atlantic Monthly, 1975.
Movie director Sayles was a fine novelist before he turned to film. This rollicking tale of five-man barnstorming softball team that plays in drag finds him at the top of his game. One of the wittiest baseball novels ever written.
Stansberry, Dominic. The Spoiler. Atlantic Monthly, 1987.
A down-at-the-heels reporter lands in Holyoke, Mass., and gravitates to the minor-league ballpark, where he begins to follow the cellar-dwelling Holyoke Redwings, whose general manager may be involved in a wave of arson sweeping the squalid industrial community. Baseball as film noir.
Stein, Harry. Hoopla. Knopf, 1983.
This boisterous retelling of the Chicago Black Sox story turns the familiar facts of the 1919 scandal into a compelling mix of rollicking comedy and hard-hitting drama.
Wendell, Tim. Castro's Curveball. Ballantine, 1999.
Journeyman catcher Billy Bryan is playing winter ball in Cuba in 1948 when another career option appears: help a Washington Senators agent sign a young Cuban lefthander with a wicked curve ball. The Cuban, Fidel Castro, has another interest: politics. A mix of history and baseball, awash in pre-Revolutionary Havana ambience.
Winegardner, Mark. The Vera Cruz Blues. Viking, 1996.
Based on real events, this superb novel tells the story of the Mexican League, a baseball league founded in 1946 when the Pasquel brothers attempted to buy off American major leaguers and mix them with Negro League and Central American stars. Great baseball history and a riveting story.
Nonfiction
Angell, Roger. Once More around the Park: A Baseball Reader. Ballantine, 1991.
For more than 30 years, Angell has been writing about baseball for the New Yorker. This omnibus volume, drawn from several previous collections, brings together the best work of the man who many consider baseball's best writer.
Asinof, Eliot. Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. Holt, 1963.
Nearly 40 years after its original publication, this remains the best history of baseball's biggest scandal: The throwing of the 1919 World Series by members of the Chicago White Sox. Asinof strips myth from reality in a compelling account.
The Baseball Encyclopedia. 10th ed. Macmillan, 1996.
The game's bible and the ultimate source for barroom arguments.
Boswell, Thomas. Why Time Begins on Opening Day. Doubleday, 1984.
Washington Post sportswriter Boswell reflects on the timeless appeal of baseball. See also Boswell's How Life Imitates the World Series (1982).
Bouton, Jim. Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing the Knuckleball in the Big Leagues. World, 1970.
In baseball's first adults-only memoir, the former all-star pitcher records his less-than-stellar season with the hapless Seattle Pilots in 1969. Along the way, Bouton remembers his years with the great Yankee teams of the early sixties, describing in detail the raucous, off-the-field lives of some legendary players.
Brosnan, Jim. The Long Season. Harper, 1960.
The former Cincinnati relief pitcher chronicles the ups and downs of a single season. Bouton without the sex.
Conan, Neal. Play by Play: Baseball, Radio and Life in the Last Chance League. Crown, 2002.
NPR broadcaster Conan left job and family in 2000 to become the voice of the Aberdeen Arsenal, an independent minor league team at the lowest rung on the game's ladder. A fascinating meditation about dreams, failure, baseball and radio.
Creamer, Robert W. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life. Simon & Schuster, 1974.
In this lively, multi-textured biography of Babe Ruth, Creamer reveals the man behind the myth. A cornerstone of baseball history.
Dawidoff, Nicholas, ed. Baseball: A Literary Anthology. Library of America, 2002.
With this volume in the high-toned Library of America series, baseball literature has officially arrived. It's a fine anthology, too, ranging from "Casey at the Bat" through John Updike on Ted Williams to Stephen King on his son's little-league team.
Fuerst, Jeffrey B. The Kids' Baseball Workout: A Fun Way to Get in Shape and Improve Your Game. The Millbrook Press, Inc., 2002. This brand-new book provides a workout plan and practice tips to help you become a faster, stronger, better player.
Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Wait till Next Year: Recollections of a '50s Girlhood. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Goodwin's memoir covers the same ground as Kahn's classic Boys of Summer (see below), but from an entirely different perspective: The classic Brooklyn Dodger teams of the 1950s as seen through the eyes of young girl, devoted to her heroes.
Halberstam, David. Summer of '49. Morrow, 1989.
Pulitzer Prize--winner Halberstam captures all the drama of one of baseball's greatest pennant races: Yankees versus Red Sox, Joe DiMaggio versus Ted Williams.
Hall, Donald. Fathers Playing Catch with Sons: Essays on Sport (Mostly Baseball). North Point, 1985.
"Baseball is fathers and sons playing catch, lazy and murderous, wild and controlled, the profound archaic song of birth, growing age and death. The diamond encloses what we are."
Higgins, George V. The Progress of the Seasons: Forty Years of Baseball in Our Town. Holt, 1989.
The late crime novelist, who was a devoted Red Sox fan, remembers four decades of baseball in Boston.
Holtzman, Jerome. No Cheering in the Press Box. Holt, 1974.
Oral history at its most vivid: baseball between the wars in the words of 25 legendary beat reporters who covered the game between 1920 and 1940. Red Smith, Jimmy Cannon and Shirley Povich are among the writers interviewed.
Honig, Donald. Baseball When the Grass Was Real. Coward, McCann, 1976.
Picking up where Ritter leaves off in The Glory of Their Times (see below), Honig's marvelous oral history offers the microphone to both well-known stars (Ted Williams and Bob Feller) and relatively obscure journeymen who played in the major leagues from the twenties through the forties.
James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Rev. ed. Free Press, 2001.
Statistics have always been crucial to baseball, but James took analyzing the numbers to an altogether new level, first in his Baseball Abstract and then in this successor, which applies his signature techniques to the game's history.
Kahn, Roger. The Boys of Summer. Harper, 1971.
The great Brooklyn Dodger teams on the 1950s----Robinson, Snider, Reese, Campanella, Hodges----lovingly recalled by a reporter who covered the team for the New York Herald Tribune. A classic of baseball literature.
Morris, Jim and Engel, Joel. The Oldest Rookie: Big League Dreams from a Small-Town Guy. Little, Brown, 2001.
Morris, high-school coach and former minor leaguer, makes a deal with the kids on his team: if they make the play-offs, he'll try for the majors one last time. They do, and he does.
Morris, Willie. Always Stand in against the Curve. Yoknapatawpha, 1983.
Novelist and former Harper's editor Morris remembers his baseball-playing days as a boy in Mississippi.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Larry Hogan. Shades of Glory. National Geographic, 2006. The Negro leagues and the story of African-American baseball.
Okrent, Daniel. Nine Innings. Ticknor & Fields, 1985.
The anatomy of baseball as seen through the playing of a single game.
Peterson, Robert. Only the Ball Was White. Prentice Hall, 1970.
The history of black baseball from the Civil War through 1947, when Jackie Robinson was signed to a major-league contract. A vital historical document.
Rampersad, Arnold. Jackie Robinson: A Biography. Knopf, 1997.
Written to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Robinson's breaking baseball's color line, this definitive biography combines exhaustive research with vivid prose and notable objectivity. The best book available on Robinson.
Ribowsky, Mark. Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball. Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Ribowsky separates fact from legend in the life and career of Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige, but he also recognizes that Paige was a genuine American hero----part Babe Ruth, part Will Rogers, but, finally, beyond comparison.
Ritter, Lawrence S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It. Macmillan, 1966.
One of the first----and still perhaps the best----baseball oral histories, this delightful volume gathers the first-person accounts of ball players from the first decades of the twentieth century.
Smith, Curt. Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History through Its Ballparks. Carroll & Graf, 2001.
Smith conducts a virtual-reality tour of baseball's great ballparks, musing along the way about such mystical issues as the design of the diamond and the number of feet between the bases.
Stump, Al. Cobb. Algonquin, 1994.
Combining the best and worst of American individualism in one ferocious package, Detroit Tiger Hall of Famer Ty Cobb defies our attempts to make sense of him. Stump comes close in this chilling tale of athletic excellence and personal chaos.
Veeck, Bill, and Linn, Ed. Veeck as in Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck. Putnam, 1962.
The flamboyant Chicago White Sox owner brought marketing genius and a wonderful sense of humor to the game of baseball.
Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa. Macmillan, 1989.
The quality of Wa, Japanese for "group harmony," is what makes Japanese baseball so different from the American version. Whiting explains how culture and sport come together in a country where baseball players bow before the umpire, and fans return foul balls.
Films
The Bad News Bears (1976)
Tatum O'Neal stars as the girl pitcher who turns a baseball team of losers into winners in this comedy. Walter Mathau is the team's careless coach.
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
A young Robert DeNiro portrays a terminally ill catcher. With Michael Moriarity.
Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns (1994)
The story of baseball, its moments of glory and shame, is told in this 18-hour documentary narrated by John Chancellor.
Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976)
Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor star in a rollicking tale of the Negro Baseball Leagues during the first half of the 20th century.
Bull Durham (1988)
Kevin Costner plays an older and more experienced minor league catcher assigned to prep a hot young pitcher (Tim Robbins) for the "Show" (majors). Things get touchy when they compete for the attention of a glamorous baseball groupie played by Susan Sarandon. Nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar.
Cal Ripken Jr.: The Ironman's Legendary Career (2001)
This tribute follows Cal from the minors to his final game in Baltimore. A complete biography of the Oriole star who played in 2,632 consecutive games, smashing Lou Gehrig's record.
Casey at the Bat--Tall Tales (1985)
A retelling of the baseball legend with Elliot Gould, Carol Kane and Howard Cosell.
www.ala.org/work/literacybrochure.html
Cobb (1994)
A founding member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ty Cobb, the "Georgia Peach, excelled at winning enemies and turning off people--on and off the diamond. Tommy Lee Jones plays Cobb in this film based on the biography by Al Stump.
Damn Yankees (1958)
Film version of the Broadway musical about a baseball fan who sells his soul to the devil, played by Ray Walston. Dancing great Gwen Verdon stars as the corrupt beauty sent to tempt the all-American boy played by Tab Hunter. Choreography by Bob Fosse.
Don't Look Back: The Story of LeRoy 'Satchel' Paige (1981)
Louis Gossett Jr. portrays one of the great pitchers of all time and the challenges he faced. The film traces his career from the Negro Leagues in the 1920s and 30s through his all-star play as a 43-year-old rookie for the Cleveland Indians. The real Satchel Paige appears briefly.
Eight Men Out (1988)
John Cusack, Charlie Sheen and John Mahoney bring to life some of the game's greatest and most infamous players in this film story of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Fear Strikes Out (1957)
Based on the story of Jimmy Piersall, the great Boston Red Sox outfielder who suffered a mental breakdown under the pressures of playing big league baseball. Anthony Perkins plays Piersall, and Karl Malden, his father.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Based on W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe, the film is about a farmer who hears and responds to a voice telling him to build a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield. The field is visited by ghosts of players from another era. Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, Burt Lancaster and Ray Liotta, as the Shoeless Joe character. Considered one of the best baseball movies of all time. Nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
For the Love of the Game (2000)
Pitcher Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) re-examines his life while pitching a perfect game, after learning he is about to be traded after 20 years with the Detroit Tigers.
It's Good to be Alive (1974)
Drama about Roy Campanella, the great Brooklyn Dodger pitcher whose Hall of Fame career is cut short by an auto accident in 1958 that left him a quadriplegic. Paul Winfield stars.
Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Baseball great Jackie Robinson plays himself in this story of triumph and perseverance. Noted actress Ruby Dee plays his wife.
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1999)
This documentary celebrates the Hall of Fame outfielder who hit 58 homeruns in one season and was the pride of the Jewish community during the 1930s and 40s.
A League of Their Own (1992)
A fun film based on the Woman's Professional Baseball League launched during the Second World War. Tom Hanks stars as the team's dour manager. Geena Davis and Madonna see action as talented players who helped win a loyal following for the league.
Major League (1989)
Comedy about how a baseball owner's plot to move her team to a warmer climate backfires when the team of losers she hires ends up in the running for a pennant. Stars: Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger.
MLB Latin Superstars (2000)
MLB Latin Superstars celebrates the pioneers as well as today's stars--players like Sammy Sosa, Ivan Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez, Bernie Williams. Explore the humble beginnings of some of our brightest stars, how they give back and their passion and flair for the game. (Spanish)
The Natural (1984)
Popular film version of Bernard Malmud's novel inspired by a real life incident. Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a player who mysteriously disappears and then re-appears as a superstar. Also stars Robert Duvall, Oscar-nominated Glenn Close and Barbara Hershey.
The Naughty Nineties (1945)
Abbott and Costello do their famous "Who's On First routine.
Play Ball with Reggie Jackson (1991)
Reggie and his All-Star line-up (Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Bret Butler, Rick Sutcliffe and Bret Saberhagen, explain proper skills, techniques and drills.
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Memorable for its recreation of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech and the real ballplayers who make appearances: Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey and Joe McCarthy, to name a few. Gary Cooper portrays the player known as the "Iron Horse." Nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
Story of America's Classic Ballparks 1991)
Narrated by actor Jeff Daniels, this documentary tells the story of baseball's great playing fields. Four are preserved in this video: Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field in Chicago, the original Tiger Stadium in Detroit (before it was leveled), and Fenway Park in Boston. Al Kaline and other baseball stars appear.
Soul of the Game (1996)
Set during the late 1940s, the film tells the story of three players--Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson, finalists for the honor of being the first African American to play in the Major Leagues.
--Bill Ott, editor and publisher, Booklist Magazine, American Library Association
Reference Sources
There are many excellent baseball resources available, both in print and online. Here are some recommended by researchers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Online
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association: www.aagpbl.org
A Website devoted to the women made the motion picture, A League of Their Own, an acclaimed feature film. The site documents the history of the league, as well as a complete database of all women, executives and teams associated with the AAGPBL during its existence from 1943 to 1954.
Ballparks Information: www.ballparks.com
Photos, articles and resources devoted to most ballparks in baseball's history make this a must-visit site for appreciating the significance of many stadiums. Information on many ballparks of bygone eras makes this a great learning resource, as well as a bibliography of related books.
Baseball Reference: www.baseball-reference.com
The undisputed online resource for player statistics and facts about teams, championships and the game's major awards. An easy-to-use search engine makes finding any player from any era a means of informative research.
Baseball Almanac: www.baseball-almanac.com
For the fun and trivial side of baseball research, all of the details can be found at this Website. Everything from famous quotes to inning-by-inning action from each World Series is readily available in this almanac of the National Pastime.
Baseball Library: www.baseballlibrary.com
A database of most players in the history of Major League Baseball provides career statistics, colorful biographies and major milestones. A "This Day in Baseball History" approach provides a fun glimpse of baseball records and legends 365 days a year.
Major League Baseball: www.mlb.com
The definitive record for contemporary baseball. Individual Websites for each major league team, as well as daily box scores, updates, games and features, make this an interactive resource for all things associated with today's game.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: www.baseballhalloffame.org
A Website that preserves baseball's history, honors its excellence and connects generations of fans. Numerous areas within the site allow the visitor to experience many of the museum's legendary artifacts and primary source documents. Also featured are in-depth biographies and statistical information on all members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: http://www.nlbm.com
Like the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY, the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, MO, transports the visitor to another era when the players and their nicknames were both colorful and talented. Travel back in time to the day when Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell and Buck Leonard were the stars before baseball's color line fell.
Negro Leagues Baseball Players Association: www.nlbpa.com
This Website is a step back in time when the Negro leagues preceded the civil rights movement in Major League Baseball. An extensive database offers little-known facts about hundreds of professional players and their teams obscured by baseball's color line prior to 1947.
Retrosheet: www.retrosheet.org
For the hard-to-find detail or statistic, this Website is a haven of baseball trivia. Retrosheet was founded in 1989 for the purpose of computerizing play-by-play accounts of as many pre-1984 major league games as possible.
Print
Ahuja, Jay. Fields of Dreams: A Guide to Visiting and Enjoying All 30 Major League Ballparks. Carol Pub., 1998.
A tourist's roadmap to all major league stadiums, including directions, tips and facts about each ballpark.
Enders, Eric. Ballparks Then and Now. Thunder Bay Press, 2002.
An historic look at prominent stadiums in baseball history, both past and present. Each ballpark is featured with photographs, historic moments and recollections.
Light, Jonathan Fraser. Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball. McFarland, 2005.
A comprehensive reference for all things baseball. Includes definitions, rules, jargon and fascinating insights to the relationship between baseball and American culture.
Johnson, Daniel E. Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland, 1999.
For a look at the numbers behind baseball's cultural diversity, this reference volume helps the fan understand why Japanese players are equally talented and devoted to the game.
Porter David L. Biographical Dictionary of American Sports. Greenwood Press, 2000.
For profiles of important personalities related to baseball and American sport, this volume encompasses the most familiar names, such as Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Robinson and many others.
Rosen, Ira. Blue Skies, Green Fields. Clarkson Potter, 2001.
Illustrations and photographs of baseball's historic ballparks makes this an informative reference book that conjures the experience of watching a game on a warm summer's day.
Smith, Ron. The Ballpark Book. The Sporting News, 2003.
With images and anecdotes from one of baseball's greatest collections, The Sporting News offers a nostalgic tour of vintage ballparks in this colorful collection of ballpark histories.
Thorn, John and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. (8th ed.) Sport Classic Books, 2004.
The hardbound companion to baseballreference.com, Total Baseball provides extensive statistics and evaluations of everything from individual seasons to exciting pennant races. |
