The 5: Great Fun Baseball Books
Spring is here and the Grand Old Game is back. Baseball is filled with great stories and great story tellers. There is no sense in letting the truth get in the way. Here’s five baseball books to keep next to the easy chair this spring. Or take them down to the beach. Just like the game of baseball you are in no hurry to read ‘m. Take your time. Savor.
1. “I Ain’t an Athlete Lady…” by John Kruk
What’s better than a fat ball player who doesn’t hit for power? The 93 Phils were the Bad News Bears of the Major Leagues. They kicked the National League’s ass and had fun doing it. Too much fun. Kruk may not be an athlete but he’s hysterical.
Order “I Ain’t an Athlete, Lady…”
2. “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton
The first baseball book that threw the myth out the window and talked about booze, speed and “beaver hunting.” The other players were pissed and Bowie Kuhn called it “detrimental to baseball.” Bouton was pretty much blacklisted from the game but ironically every kid who read it wanted to be a ball player more than ever.
Order Ball Four: The Final Pitch
3. “Catcher in the Wry” by Bob Ueucker
Mr. Baseball himself, Bob Ueucker is not the best baseball player who ever lived but he may be the funniest. You know him as the announcer from the movie “Major League.” He also had his own TV show and did Miller Lie commercials. He’s a great story teller and beloved in Milwaukee for announcing his hometown Brewers.
Order Catcher In The Wry: Outrageous but True Stories of Baseball
4. “Veeck as in Wreck” by Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck was a colorful and fun baseball man. Veeck was the one-time owner of the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns, and the two-time owner of the Chicago White Sox.
He put a midget in the game to get a base on balls. He came up with the idea of names on Jerseys and Ladies Night. He’s the idea man behind Harry Caray singing during the 7th inning stretch. And he put Steve Dalh on the field for the infamous Disco Demolition riot. The book is also a riot. Every baseball fan will enjoy this one.
Order Veeck–As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck
5. “The Bronx Zoo” by Sparky Lyle
Another book about those Damn Yankees. Sparky Lyle dictated this book about the Yankees 1978 championship season. He was a Cy Young winner who was finding himself being left on the bench. George Steinbrenner, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin…do we have anyone left in the game as colorful as these guys? It really was a zoo and a really fun read.
Order The Bronx Zoo: The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees
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