Some Baseball Related Summer Reading

Our month of May consisted of both baseball and books. We had our anthology (which we wrote about earlier on the trip) as well as Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader. I think most of my classmates found the book enlightening (we learned a lot about the game) although at times it was a little dry. However, the history was important and at least for me, helped me to gain a new perspective on the game. 

On top of those two books, we also chose one book to read on our own and then report back to the class. We spread out the book talks throughout the trip and I added several books to my summer reading list. Here's a brief recap of the books we read, maybe you'll want to pick one of them up!

From NPR

Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Yes, it was a book before a movie. Read by Ryan A., Moneyball digs into the numbers behind the game. The book focuses on Billy Bean, the Oakland Athletic's General Manager. Essentially it follows Bean as he attempts to create a winning team on a low budget. The sabermetrics revolution has some of it's popularity from Bean's strategy. He looks at stats such as on base percentage as a more accurate way of judging a player's ability. This is definitely a book I want to check out (and I need to see the movie).

From Scientist Gone Wordy Blog

Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Another book into movie choice read by Kaylie. This story was later made into the classic baseball movie, Field of Dreams. I feel that this story can be summed up with the phrase, "If you build it, they will come." This is what main character Ray Kinsella is told. This voice prompts him to build a baseball field in his cornfield, much to the confusion of the town. It's a story of adventure and also a story about baseball. A must read if you like the movie.

From Field of Dreams website

Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dream's Doc Graham by Brett Friedlander. Katie read this book and was a nice follow up to Kaylie's Shoeless Joe. Friedlander wrote a biography about one of the characters Ray Kinsella befriends in Shoeless Joe, Doc Graham. The fact I really remember from Katie's report is that Doc played in the minors and went through medical school. How crazy is that? To me, that seems like a daunting and nearly impossible task!

From Simon and Schuster

Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season by Jonathan Eig. Since Brendan was especially interested in Jackie Robinson and how he broke the color barrier, this book seemed right up his alley. By the time Brendan gave his report, we had already toured the Negro Leagues Museum. The class was able to have a solid discussion about the color barrier and how Robinson was key in the whole thing. We also discussed how Robinson wasn't the only key player in breaking the barrier. Branch Rickey was also mentioned and the role he played. This was a great discussion because we were able to incorporate what we had learned.    

From Barnes & Noble

One More Around the Park: A Baseball Reader by Roger Angell. Now, if you have never read anything by Roger Angell, you really need to fix that. He was probably one of my favorite authors I discovered on this trip. We had a few essays in our anthology and then Rachel read a whole book dedicated to his essay. Angell is often considered "the man" who writes about baseball. He's also the stepson of E.B. White, so that's pretty nifty. But back to the book. This collection of essays talks about all elements of the game. Rachel really enjoyed it and it was fun to hear her talk about the various essays. Again, this one hits my reading list!

From Goodreads

I Don't Care If We Never Get Back: 30 Games in 30 Days on the Best Worst Baseball Road Trip Ever by Ben Blatt and Eric Brewster. This was actually the book Dr. Bob read. It sounds like an interesting read -- two guys on a 30 day road trip attempting to see 30 baseball games. Unlike our trip, travel days were long and difficult (no extra days like we had). Also, what makes the story more engaging is that one guy is super into baseball and the other is simply a friend along for the ride (he actually doesn't like baseball). Would make for an interesting trip (and a book)!

From UPenn website

The Sabermetric Revolution: Assessing the Growth of Analytics in Baseball by Benjamin Baumer and Andrew Zimbalist. This book was read by Ryan R. and sort of a nice follow up to Ryan A's Moneyball. Baumer and Zimbalist are responding to Moneyball and showcasing their own ideas about the sabermetric revolution. The book is full of information as well as pages upon pages of stats to back up their claims. In the end, the two authors don't necessarily disagree with the conclusions Lewis came to, but just wanted to raise some questions. While I don't have a great grasp on the ins and outs of sabermetrics, I think this book paired with Moneyball would be a pretty good introduction.

From Barnes & Noble

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I saved the best for last. Actually, it was the book I read so naturally I think it's awesome. Kearns Goodwin grew up in the late 1940s early 1950s in New York. Her family were Dodger fans, back when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. She fell in love with baseball when her father gave her a scorebook and she listened to the Dodgers on the radio. It was a great memoir, and in the process, I think I might of fallen in love with the Dodgers as well. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.