Steve Steinberg, Lyle Spatz win 2025 SABR Larry Ritter Book Award
In recognition of their illuminating and informative biography of one of the Deadball Era’s most colorful and controversial stars, Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz are the winners of the 2025 Larry Ritter Book Award for Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen, published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Carefully researched and captivatingly written, Steinberg and Spatz’s biography recounts the family tragedies of Donlin’s childhood and his contentious and confrontational rise to major league stardom. “Turkey Mike” enjoyed a string of successful seasons and helped lead John McGraw’s New York Giants to two pennants and the 1905 World Series title. But he battled alcoholism and was unable to master his temper, missed part of a season while in jail, skirmished with teammates, management, umpires and fans, and despite his success and stellar talent, wore out his welcome in several cities.
The Ritter Award is granted annually by SABR’s Deadball Era Committee to the author of the best book about baseball between 1901 and 1919 published during the previous calendar year. The winner’s work must demonstrate original research or analysis, a fresh perspective, compelling thesis, impressive insight, accuracy, and clear, graceful prose.
“Mike Donlin provided an opportunity to explore new seasons and personalities and to delve into a new world, that of vaudeville,” Steinberg said. “This project revealed how great a ballplayer Mike had been — and could have been, had he not left the game for the woman he loved. A common focus of the books Lyle and I have written is people who have been forgotten, even though they were well known in their times.”
Steinberg and Spatz have each written several award-winning baseball books, and teamed together on four books, including The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees, winner of the 2016 SABR Baseball Research Award, and 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York, winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal.
Two other books were finalists for the 2025 Larry Ritter Award:
- Ron Rapoport, Frank Chance’s Diamond: The Baseball Journalism of Ring Lardner (Lyons Press)
- John R. Husman, Roger Bresnahan: A Baseball Life (McFarland & Co.)
Conferred annually since 2002, the Ritter Award is usually presented at the DEC meeting at SABR’s annual convention each summer.
The award winner is selected by the Larry Ritter Book Award Committee, chaired by Doug Skipper, with members Mark Dugo, Ben Klein, Craig Lammers, Mark Pattison, Andrew Milner, Don Jensen, Art Mugalian, and DEC chairman John McMurray.
For more information on the Larry Ritter Award, including a list of previous winners, click here.
Originally published: June 9, 2025. Last Updated: June 6, 2025.