The SABR Bookshelf: Fall 2016
Here are the SABR Bookshelf listings for Fall 2016.
To get your NEW book listed on The SABR Bookshelf, make sure a review copy is sent to: The SABR Bookshelf, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004. An e-book file will also suffice; please send the e-book in PDF, EPUB or Kindle/MOBI format to jpomrenke@sabr.org.
To ensure a listing in The Baseball Index — SABR’s online catalog of baseball research materials at www.baseballindex.org — make sure a review copy is sent to The Baseball Index, 4025 Beechwood Pl., Riverside, CA 92506.
Bolded names indicates that the author(s) is a SABR member. Click here for a list of publishers found in the SABR Bookshelf, along with their contact information.
All new SABR Bookshelf listings can be purchased at the SABR Bookstore, powered by Amazon.com. In addition, check out new books published by SABR at SABR.org/ebooks.
Boston’s First Nine: The 1871-75 Boston Red Stockings
Edited by Bob LeMoine and Bill Nowlin
Publisher: SABR
Retail Price: $9.99 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-9438-1628-6
Buy It: SABR
Summary: A SABR BioProject book on baseball’s first dynasty, a National Association powerhouse in Boston, along with recaps of each season, player biographies, and essays on their world tours of Canada, England, and Ireland.
When Pops Led the Family: The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Gregory H. Wolf
Publisher: SABR
Retail Price: $9.99 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-9438-1634-7
Buy It: SABR
Summary: A SABR BioProject book on one of baseball’s most memorable teams, a World Series champion whose pillbox caps and garish uniforms helped define their era.
Clearing the Bases: A Veteran Sportswriter on the National Pastime
By Jim Kaplan
Publisher: Levellers Press
Retail Price: $18.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-9454-7307-4
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Ten pieces by one of America’s premier baseball writers, some of them original essays and others reprints or updates with topics such as Paul Molitor, Tim McCarver, and playing right field.
They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota
By Frank M. White
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Retail Price: $19.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-6813-4004-3
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: A century before Kirby Puckett, Minnesota was home to many talented African-American ballplayers in the Negro Leagues whose stories and careers are little-known.
The Life, Times, and Tragic Death of Pitcher Win Mercer: A Baseball Biography
By Jimmy Keenan
Publisher: CreateSpace
Retail Price: $12.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-5399-4905-3
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: The story of a Detroit Tigers pitcher from the turn of the 20th century who was mysteriously found dead in a San Francisco hotel room.
The Passion of Baseball: A Journey to the Commissioner’s Office of Major League Baseball
By Bob Wirz
Publisher: CreateSpace
Retail Price: $20.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-5369-8961-8
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Wirz’s autobiography covers his career from his sportswriting days to the Kansas City Royals front office to his stint as chief spokesman at the MLB Commissioner’s Office.
Long Before The Miracle: The Making of the New York Mets
By Bill Sullivan
Publisher: CreateSpace
Retail Price: $16.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-5346-8678-6
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Tracing the story of the Mets franchise from the Dodgers and Giants’ departure from New York to their memorable early existence.
Blue Hombres: The Life and Times of Major League Baseball’s Latino Umpires
By Phil Ross
Publisher: CreateSpace
Retail Price: $10.00 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-5330-5880-5
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Interviews and stories with baseball’s Latino umpires, from MLB’s Angel Hernandez and Laz Diaz to the “men in blue” who toil in minor leagues in Mexico and throughout the world.
The Anatomy of Baseball Nicknames
By Ken Melley
Publisher: CreateSpace
Retail Price: $12.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-5306-3795-9
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: An alphabetical listing of more than 600 baseball players and the origin of their nicknames, including some players from the Negro Leagues and women’s leagues.
Major League Baseball Organizations: Team Performances and Financial Consequences
By Frank P. Jozsa Jr.
Publisher: Lexington Books
Retail Price: $95.00 (hdcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4985-4278-4
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: A comparison of team franchises, including its current ownership group, its market size, its financial status and business relationships within the game.
Maybe Next Year: Long-Suffering Sports Fans and the Teams that Never Deliver
By Greg Pearson
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $35.00 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4766-6679-2
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Only a quarter of the 24 essays in this volume concern baseball franchises, but it does include the Cubs and the Indians. Timing is everything.
Plié Ball! Baseball Meets Dance on Stage and Screen
By Jeffrey M. Katz
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $39.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4766-6406-7
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: From vaudeville through O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg, Katz trades how various modes of entertainment have combined baseball and dance.
Johnny Temple: All-Star Second Baseman
By William A. Cook
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $29.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4766-6391-3
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: The first biography of an All-Star infielder with a fiery disposition.
J.L. Wilkinson and the Kansas City Monarchs: Trailblazers in Black Baseball
By William A. Young
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $35.00 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4766-6299-2
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Wilkinson was a behind-the-scenes force in the Negro Leagues, providing a stable base for his players, his competitors, and the leagues they played in.
Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star
By Sherman L. Jenkins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Retail Price: $38.00 (hdcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4422-6727-5
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: The first biography of a two-sport star athlete in the 1930s and ’40s who played in both the Negro Leagues and for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Will Big League Baseball Survive? Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports, and the Future of Major League Baseball
By Lincoln A. Mitchell
Publisher: Temple University Press
Retail Price: $24.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-1-4399-1379-6
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: A provocative, wide-ranging study of baseball’s lucrative monopoly in North America and the sport’s place in a changing global media and entertainment culture.
Ossie & The Babe: Unlocking the Secrets Behind a Historical Baseball Photograph
By David Beattie
Publisher: Self-published
Retail Price: $14.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-9951-9520-2
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: The author comprehensively explores an obscure and previously unidentified photo of Babe Ruth, uncovering other avenues of research along the way.
Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah
By Gene Kirby, with Bo Carter and Mark S. McDonald
Publisher: Cool Cat Communications
Retail Price: $24.95 (hdcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-9909-9711-39
Buy It: Email the authors or call (214) 418-6132
Summary: This is the completion of an original manuscript produced by the late Gene Kirby, Dizzy Dean’s longtime friend and broadcast partner, along with dozens of high-quality photos.
The Low Self-Esteem Club: The Stories Behind Baseball’s Most Unflattering Nicknames
By C. Terry Walters
Publisher: Terremoto Grande Publishing
Retail Price: $14.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-9833-2853-7
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Anecdotes on 125 baseball players whose nicknames were unflattering if not downright insulting.
Pud Galvin: Baseball’s First 300-Game Winner
By Brian “Chip” Martin
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $29.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-7864-9977-9
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: A full-life biography of baseball’s first 300-game winner who was largely forgotten after his premature death.
Frick*: Baseball’s Third Commissioner
By John P. Carvalho
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $29.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-7864-9532-0
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: The first full-length biography of the Commissioner who oversaw the move to the West Coast, the first expansions, and the birth of the TV age (and, of course, the asterisk).
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s
By Jason Turbow
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Retail Price: $26.00 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-5443-0317-1
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: A sprawling history of the turbulent, dominant Oakland A’s dynasty of the 1970s.
Baseball’s Most Baffling MVP Ballots
By Jeremy Lehrman
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $29.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-4766-6675-4
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Not so much an examination of individual ballots, but of the history of the award, the difficulties of defining MVPness, and the flukes of the process.
The Cubs and the A’s of 1910: One Dynasty Ends, Another Begins
By Richard Bressler
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
Retail Price: $29.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: 978-0-4766-6436-1
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: Covers the pennant races of 1910, with an emphasis on the decline of the Cubs and the rise of Connie Mack’s first dynasty with the A’s.
Baseball in the Mining Camps: A Deadwood Baseball Book
By David Kemp and Michael Runge
Publisher: Mariah Press
Retail Price: $14.95 (sftcvr)
ISBN: n/a
Buy It: Mariah Press
Summary: A brief pictorial history of early baseball in Deadwood, South Dakota, and the teams that represented the Black Hills.
The Couch Potato’s Guide to Baseball Statistics
By Daniel Knoblach and Gerald D. Oster
Publisher: Self-published
Retail Price: $3.99 (ebook)
ISBN: n/a
Buy It: Amazon
Summary: An introduction to sabermetrics written for everyday fans.
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