The SABR Bookshelf

The SABR Bookshelf is a listing of books received at the SABR office. To get your NEW book listed on The SABR Bookshelf, send an e-book file in PDF, EPUB or MOBI format to jpomrenke@sabr.org.

To ensure a listing in The Baseball Index — SABR’s online catalog of baseball research materials — 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.

In addition, check out new books published by SABR at SABR.org/ebooks.

Click here for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • The 1939 Baltimore Elite Giants, edited by Frederick C. Bush, Thomas Kern, and Bill Nowlin
  • Dodger Stadium: Blue Heaven on Earth, edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks
  • Sandy Koufax, edited by Marc Z. Aaron, Bill Nowlin, and Glen Sparks
  • Dazzling Debuts: First At-Bat Home Runs, edited by Giselle Stancic, Bill Nowlin, and Jacob Pomrenke
  • The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough
  • Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman, by Scott Longert
  • Cookie Rojas: A Baseball Life, by Lou Hernández
  • Baseball’s Shooting Stars: Improbable Ascents and Burnouts in the National Pastime, by David J. Gordon
  • The Louisville Grays and the Myth of Baseball’s First Great Scandal, by Wendell Lloyd Jones
  • Pitching to the Corners: My Post-MLB Career Abroad, by Don August with Mark Knudson
  • World Series ’64: The Cardinals, the Yankees and the End of a Dynasty, by John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden
  • Foxy Ned Hanlon: The Baseball Life of a Hall of Fame Manager, by Tom DeLise and Jay Seaborg
  • Roger Bresnahan: A Baseball Life, by John R. Husman
  • The Memphis Red Sox: A Negro Leagues History, by Keith B. Wood
  • Sudden Deaths in Sports: 75 Athletes Lost Without Warning, by Douglas Putnam
  • The Lineup Card: An Illustrated History of the Baseball Collectible, by Tom O’Reilly
  • Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports, by Mark Jacob and Matthew Jacob
  • Season of Shattered Dreams: Postwar Baseball, The Spokane Indians, and a Tragic Bus Crash that Changed Everything, by Eric Vickrey
  • It’s a Beautiful Day for Baseball: The National Pastime in the 1960s, by Doug Kurkul
  • A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to Japan and Back, by Aaron Fischman
  • Larry Doby in Black and White: The Story of a Baseball Pioneer, by Jerry Izenberg
  • Home Run King: The Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron, by Dan Schlossberg
  • Remembering Torn-Down Ballparks Over a Cold Beer, by Ken Finnigan
  • The Obscure History of Baseball in San Diego: Before the Padres Came to Town, 1870-1936, by Carlos Bauer
  • Game Changers: Sports Photographs from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, edited by Michèle Gates Moresi and Laura Coyle
  • Jim Gilliam: The Forgotten Dodger, by Stephen W. Dittmore
  • Bitten by the Red Sox Baseball Bug: A Fan’s Lifelong Passion, by Bill Nowlin
  • Ivan the Terrible Goes on a Family Picnic, by Charles Holdefer
  • The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning, by Tim Newby
  • The Wizard of College Baseball: How Ron Fraser Elevated Miami and an Entire Sport to National Prominence, by David Brauer
  • Leave While the Party’s Good: The Life and Legacy of Baseball Executive Harry Dalton, by Lee C. Kluck
  • Bad Penny: How a Maverick Owner Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, by Tom Gantert
  • The History of Fantasy Sports: And the Stories of the People Who Made It Happen, by Larry Schechter
  • re:Leaf: The Story of a Collector, a Candy Company, a Stack of Baseball Cards, and a Quest for Answers, by Brian Kappel
  • Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds, by Derek Bain and John Racanelli
  • WAR in Pieces: A Guide to Baseball’s Superstat Wins Above Replacement, by Sean Smith
  • Ten Cent Beer Night: The Complete Guide to the Riot That Helped Save Baseball in Cleveland, by Scott Jarrett
  • Joe and Mike Cantillon: Firebrands of Baseball, by Michael Bosanko

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  • One-Win Wonders, edited by Bill Nowlin
  • Sox Bid Curse Farewell: The 2004 Boston Red Sox, edited by Bill Nowlin
  • Roy White: From Compton to the Bronx, by Roy White with Paul Semendinger
  • The One Hundred Most Important Players in Baseball History, by Lincoln Mitchell
  • The Batboy and the Unbreakable Record, by Robert Skead
  • The Baseball Mysteries: Challenging Puzzles for Logical Detectives, by Jerry Butters and Jim Henle
  • Searchin’ for Toothpick Sam: A Baseball Card Odyssey, by Jamie Selko
  • Runnin’ Redbirds: The World Champion 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, by Eric Vickrey
  • Hoyt Wilhelm: Life of a Knuckleballer, by Lew Freedman
  • Yankee Stories Untold: An Insider’s Memoir from Ruth to Jeter, by Rich Marazzi
  • Save Baseball: A Prescription for the Major Leagues, by Larry Hausner
  • Baseball Heaven Up Close and Personal, What It Was Really Like in the Major Leagues, by Peter Golenbock
  • Cardinal Dreams: The Legacy of Charlie Peete and a Life Cut Short, by Danny Spewak
  • Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer, by David Ostrowsky
  • Team of Destiny: Walter Johnson, Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris, and the 1924 Washington Senators, by Gary Sarnoff
  • Work, Fight, or Play Ball: How Bethlehem Steel Helped Baseball’s Stars Avoid World War I, by William Ecenbarger
  • Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize, by Jerry Grillo
  • The Fenway Effect: A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox, by David Krell
  • Schoolboy: The Untold Journey of a Yankees Hero, by Waite Hoyt with Tim Manners
  • Game On: How Sports Media Grew Up, Sold Out, and Got Personal with Billions of Fans, by David Bockino
  • Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully, edited by Tom Hoffarth
  • Lion of the League: Bob Emslie and the Evolution of the Baseball Umpire, by Larry R. Gerlach
  • Where the Seams Meet, by Patrick Holcomb
  • Chicago Cubs Firsts, by Al Yellon
  • Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage, by Rafi Kohan
  • The Mountain Empire League, by Marshall Adesman
  • Baseball Confidential, by Al Lautenslager
  • Baseball Stats and Stories: Confessions of a Tabletop Simulation Gamer, by J. Thomas Hetrick
  • Beisbol on the Air: Essays on Major League Spanish-Language Broadcasters, edited by Jorge Iber and Anthony R. Salazar
  • The Wright Side of History: The Life and Career of Johnny Wright, Co-Pioneer in Breaking Baseball’s Color Barrier, by Carlis Wright Robinson
  • Pug Fireball and Company: 116 Years of Professional Baseball in Des Moines, Iowa, by Steve Dunn
  • Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien
  • Frank Chance’s Diamond: The Baseball Journalism of Ring Lardner, by Ron Rapoport
  • Knuckleballs: 162 Great Knuckleballing Wins—Plus Playoffs, by K.P. Wee
  • Baseball’s Great Expectations Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who Didn’t Live Up to the Hype, by Patrick Montgomery
  • When Baseball Was Still Topps: Portraits of the Game in 1959, Card by Card, by Phil Coffin
  • The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service During World War I, by Jim Leeke
  • The House That Ruth Built, by Kelly Bennett
  • 715 at 50: The Night Henry Aaron Changed Baseball and the World Forever, by Randy Louis Cox
  • Wingo: The Remarkable Life of an Unremarkable Man, by Mike Vance
  • Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen, by Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz
  • Under Jackie’s Shadow: Voices of Black Minor Leaguers Baseball Left Behind, by Mitchell Nathanson
  • Parisian Bob Caruthers: Baseball’s First Two-Way Star, by Dave Heller
  • Last Comiskey, by Ken Smoller
  • Shadows of Glory: Memorable and Offbeat World Series Stories, by Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer

Click here for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America’s First Modern Ballpark, edited by Tara Krieger and Bill Nowlin
  • Willie Mays: Five Tools, edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks
  • The Stars Shone on Philadelphia: The 1934 Negro National League Champions, edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin
  • Ebbets Field: Great, Historic, and Memorable Games in Brooklyn’s Lost Ballpark, edited by Gregory H. Wolf
  • Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1960-2019 (Volume 2), edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr
  • Bill Clinton and the Church of Baseball: The Presidency, Civil Religion, and the National Pastime in the 1990s, by Chris Birkett
  • Joe Cambria: International Super Scout of the Washington Senators, by Paul Scimonelli
  • Schnozz: The Baseball Life of Ernie Lombardi, by David L. Fleitz
  • Opening Day in Milwaukee: The Brewers’ Season Starters, 1970-2022, by Matthew J. Prigge
  • Hardscrabble Diamonds: Postwar Baseball in New England and the Maritimes, 1945-1960, by Colin Howell
  • Play-by-Play from the Minors: Profiles of Baseball Broadcasters from Scranton to Yakima, by John Kocsis Jr.
  • Tony Gwynn: The Baseball Life of Mr. Padre, by Scott Kingdon
  • Miracle on the Eastern Shore: The 1937 Salisbury Indians and Baseball’s Greatest Comeback, by David A. Ranzan
  • Baseball on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 1866-1950, by Marty Payne
  • The Year Without a World Series: Major League Baseball and the Road to the 1994 Players’ Strike, by Robert C. Cottrell
  • Let There Be Baseball: The 60-Year Battle to Legitimize Sunday Baseball, by Arthur G. Sharp
  • Called Up: Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers, by Zak Ford
  • Cramer’s Choice: Memoir of a Baseball Card Collector Turned Manufacturer, by Mike Cramer
  • Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years, by Steven P. Gietschier
  • Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and A Sports Town’s Fight for Survival, by Andy Dolich and Dave Newhouse
  • Pinstripes by the Tale: Half a Century In and Around Yankees Baseball, by Marty Appel
  • Ron Cey: Penguin Power, by Ron Cey with Ken Gurnick
  • Smart, Wrong, and Lucky: The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars, by Jonathan Mayo
  • The New Ball Game: The Not-so-Hidden Forces Shaping Modern Baseball, by Russell A. Carleton
  • 1934: The Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ Barrier Breaking Year, by Heidi L.M. Jacobs
  • The Ballplayer’s Son: Following the Footsteps and Escaping the Shadow of Big Moe Franklin, by Dell Franklin
  • Vintage Base Ball’s Enduring Legacy, by Jack Pelikan
  • Baseball West of Eden, by John Wells
  • The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams, by Adam Lazarus
  • Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series, by Traci Sorell; illustrations by Arigon Starr
  • The Greatest Summer in Baseball History: How the ‘73 Season Changed US Forever, by John Rosengren
  • Can We Play Baseball, Mr. DeMille?, by Mark Angelo
  • Hidden History of Twin Cities Sports, by Joel Rippel
  • Sunny Jim Bottomley: A Biography of a Hall of Fame First Baseman, by Kent Krause
  • Sit Behind The Nets! A Memoir of a Mother Killed by a Foul Ball at an MLB Game, by Jana Goldbloom Brody
  • Gentleman Jake: The Success and Tragedy of the Deadball Era’s Greatest First Baseman, by Harry J. Deitz Jr.
  • Baseball Puzzles, by Stephen Bratkovich
  • “Cy” Williams: Baseball’s Most Unique Star Slugger, by Gary Williams
  • Burial at Home Plate: An Oddball History of the Pittsburgh Pirates, by Bob Fulton
  • Baseball From 3,000 Miles Away: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Being an East Coast San Francisco Giants Fan, by Gary Mintz

Click here for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1907-1958 (Volume 1), edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr
  • When the Babe Went Back to Boston: Babe Ruth, Judge Fuchs and the Hapless Braves of 1935, by Bob LeMoine
  • Bill Virdon: A Life in Baseball, by David Jerome
  • Pete Hill: Black Baseball’s First Superstar, by Bob Luke
  • World Series ’48: The Cleveland Indians and Boston Braves in Six Games, by John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden
  • Field of Magic: Baseball’s Superstitions, Curses and Taboos, by John Cairney
  • Fans Called Him “Turkey,” I Called Him Dad: A Daughter Remembers Baseball Hall of Famer Norman Thomas Stearnes, by Rosilyn Stearnes-Brown
  • Baseball’s Wildest Season: Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884, by William J. Ryczek
  • Black Stats Matter: Integrating Negro League Numbers into Major League Records, by Philip Lee
  • Baseball’s Union Association, by Justin Mckinney
  • Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess, by Evan Drellich
  • Do You Believe in Magic? Baseball and America in the Groundbreaking Year of 1966, by David Krell
  • The Voices of Baseball: The Game’s Greatest Broadcasters Reflect on America’s Pastime (Updated Edition), by Kirk McKnight
  • Sons of Baseball: Growing Up with a Major League Dad, by Mark Braff
  • Baseball at the Abyss: The Scandals of 1926, Babe Ruth, and the Unlikely Savior Who Rescued a Tarnished Game, by Dan Taylor
  • Jazz Age Giant: Charles R. Stoneham & New York City Baseball in the Roaring Twenties, by Robert F. Garratt
  • Road to Nowhere: The Early 1990s Collapse and Rebuild of New York City Baseball, by Chris Donnelly
  • One Season in Rocket City: How the 1985 Huntsville Stars Brought Minor League Baseball Fever to Alabama, by Dale Tafoya
  • Baseball’s Endangered Species: Inside the Craft Scouting by Those Who Lived It, by Lee Lowenfish
  • Daybreak at Chavez Ravine: Fernandomania and the Remaking of the Los Angeles Dodgers, by Erik Sherman
  • Get in the Game: An Interactive Introduction to Sports Analytics, by Tim Chartier
  • Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry, by David Vaught
  • Fields Apart, by J.N. Kelly
  • Baseball Is In My DNA: A History of Baseball in Freehold, New Jersey 1857-1973, by Glenn Cashion
  • Black College Nines: The History of HBCU Baseball and Integrators of Historically White College Baseball Programs, by Jay Sokol
  • Major League Debuts 2023, by James Bailey
  • Name that Hall of Famer: Marathon Ump, by Troy Grimes
  • A Baseball Birthright: Chronicles & Connections, by Pasquale A. Carlucci
  • The Boys of Spring: The Birth of the Dodgers, by Allen Schery

Click here for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • From Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium: Great Games in Philadelphia’s Lost Ballpark, edited by Gregory H. Wolf
  • ¡Arriba! The Heroic Life of Roberto Clemente, edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks
  • We Are, We Can, We Will: The 1992 World Champion Toronto Blue Jays, edited by Adrian Fung and Bill Nowlin
  • Our Game, Too: Influential Figures and Milestones in Canadian Baseball, edited by Andrew North
  • The First Negro League Champion: The 1920 Chicago American Giants, edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin
  • The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics: American Association Champions, edited by Paul Hofmann and Bill Nowlin
  • Not an Easy Tale to Tell: Jackie Robinson on the Page, Stage, and Screen, edited by Ralph Carhart
  • Metropolitan Stadium: Memorable Games at Minnesota’s Diamond on the Prairie, edited by Stew Thornley
  • Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever, by Dan Good
  • The Dean of Clinton County: A Baseball Novel, by Doug Feldmann
  • Once Upon a Time in Baseball: My Pastime Summers, by Jan Sumner
  • Go The Distance: The Inspirational Story of Tom Tunison, Thurman Munson and a Lifelong Quest for Baseball Immortality, by Gary Kaschak
  • Intentional Balk: Baseball’s Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating, by Daniel R. Levitt and Mark Armour
  • Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant, by Vince Guerrieri
  • Beauty at Short: Dave Bancroft, the Most Unlikely Hall of Famer and His Wild Times in Baseball’s First Century, by Tom Alesia
  • Bush League Blues, by G. Mike Floyd
  • Last Time Out, by John Nogowski
  • Major League Baseball Players of the 1970s: A Biographical Dictionary from Aase to Zisk, by Bill Ballew
  • Canadian Minor League Baseball: A History Since World War II, by Jon C. Stott
  • Pee Wee Reese: The Life of a Brooklyn Dodger, by Glen Sparks
  • Frank Grant: The Life of a Black Baseball Pioneer, by Richard Bogovich
  • Johnny Mize: A Biography of Baseball’s “Big Cat”, by Lew Freedman
  • Farewell to Flatbush: The 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers, by Ronnie Joyner
  • Dodgers! An Informal History from Flatbush to Chavez Ravine, by Jim Alexander
  • The Lineup: Ten Books That Changed Baseball, by Paul Aron
  • The Mustache Gang Battles the Big Red Machine: The 1972 World Series, by John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden
  • There’s a Bulldozer on Home Plate: A 50-Year Journey in Minor League Baseball, by Miles Wolff
  • Saving Buffalo Baseball: 1956 Buffalo Bisons, by Howard W. Henry
  • The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series, by Tyler Kepner
  • Long Way Home, by Dwayne Brenna
  • Hardball Architects, Volume 2 (National League Teams), by Derek Bain
  • The Gamekeepers: Whitewash, Blackmail, and Baseball’s Darkest Secrets, by J.B. Manheim
  • Doubleday Doubletake: One Ball, Three Strikes, One Man Out, by J.B. Manheim
  • “The Kid” Blasts a Winner: Ted Williams’ 110 Game-Winning Home Runs, by Bill Nowlin
  • Covey: A Stone’s Throw from a Coal Mine to the Hall of Fame, by Harry J. Deitz Jr.
  • Baseball Under the Palms: The History of Miami Minor League Baseball Volume Two: 1962 – 1991, by Sam Zygner
  • Deadball Trailblazers: Single-Season Records of the Modern Era, by Ronald T. Waldo
  • Just Like Me, Volume 2: When the Pros Played on the Sandlot, by Kelly G. Park
  • Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta — and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports, by Clayton Trutor
  • Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America, by Randall Balmer
  • Baseball and Cultural Heritage, by Gregory Ramshaw and Sean Gammon
  • Candy Cummings: The Life and Career of the Inventor of the Curveball, by Stephen Robert Katz
  • Cooperstown at the Crossroads: The Checkered History (and Uncertain Future) of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, by G. Scott Thomas

Click here for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • Dominicans in the Major Leagues, edited by Bill Nowlin and Julio M. Rodriguez
  • Hebrew Hammer: A Biography of Al Rosen, All-Star Third Baseman, by Joseph Wancho
  • Black Stats Matter: Integrating Negro League Numbers into Major League Records, by Philip Lee
  • Stumbling around the Bases: The American League’s Mismanagement in the Expansion Eras, by Andy McCue
  • Baseball Rebels: The Players, People, and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America, by Peter Dreier and Robert Elias
  • Stolen Dreams: The 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars and Little League Baseball’s Civil War, by Chris Lamb
  • Red Barber: The Life and Legacy of a Broadcasting Legend, by Judith R. Hiltner and James R. Walker
  • Lefty and Tim: How Steve Carlton and Tim McCarver Became Baseball’s Best Battery, by William C. Kashatus
  • Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman behind the Chicago Cubs, by Jason Cannon
  • The Umpire Is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self, by Dale Scott and Rob Neyer
  • Pinnacle on the Mound: Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball, by Doug Wedge
  • Whispers of the Gods: Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It, by Peter Golenbock
  • The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell, by Sam McDowell with Martin Gitlin
  • Classic Baseball: Timeless Tales, Immortal Moments, by John Rosengren
  • Historic Ballparks of the Twin Cities, by Dale Scott and Stew Thornley
  • Gabe Paul: The Long Road to the Bronx Zoo, by William A. Cook
  • Joe Nuxhall: The Old Lefthander & Me: My Conversations with Joe Nuxhall About the Reds, Baseball & Broadcasting, by John Kiesewetter
  • Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The 1972 White Sox and A Transforming Chicago, by John Owens and David Fletcher
  • Meditations in Panic City, by Roger Cormier
  • Victory on Two Fronts: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball through the World War II Era, by Scott Longert
  • It Happened in Boston: Harry & George Wright’s Creation of Professional Baseball in the Year 1872, by Wayne Soini

Looking for previous listings of the SABR Bookshelf? Check out the archives page.