I need some bathroom reading material

by Thelonious on Feb 4, 2007 8:56 AM CST

I figured that you people, if anyone, could recommend some good books regarding baseball for my signature bathroom collection. It doesn't have to be light reading: several years ago, I read most of the Aeneid in there in short intervals. In fact, I'd say that about 90 percent of the productive things that I actually do are accomplished in my throne room with my porcelain pal.

I'm interested in anything baseball: novels, novellas, (auto)biographies, statistical studies, general histories or historical studies of specific eras (the Negro Leagues are particularly fascinating) etc. etc. etc.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

Tweet Comment 33 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

the glory of their times

is a great bathroom type book on baseball

its basically a bunch of short narratives told by players in the early stages of baseball including the negro leagues

its a fun read, somewhat educational but more fun

by DartmouthCubsFan on Feb 4, 2007 9:10 AM CST reply actions

Here's Some

-Veeck As In Wreck by Bill Veeck
-Image Of Their Greatness (another Lawrence Ritter boo, who did Glory OF Their Times)
-No Cheering In The Press Box by Jerome Holtzman
-Cobb by Al Stump
-My Turn At Bat by Ted Williams
-Boys Of Summer by Roger Kahn
-You Could Look It Up by Maury Allen
-The Teammates by David Halberstam
-The Catcher Was a Spy by Nicholas Dawidoff
-Pitching And Wooing by Maury Allen
-The Lip by Gerald Eskenazi
-Wild And Ouside by Stefan Fatsis
-Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin
-Fathers Playing Catch With Sons by Donald Hall
-Bang The Drum Slowly, It Looked Like Forever, The Southpaw, A Tciket For A Seamstitch, all by Mark Harris
-Baseball America, Baseball When The Grass Was Real, Baseball Between The Lines, October Heroes, all by Donald Honig (much like the Ritter books)
-Nice Guys Finish First by Monte Irvin
-Slouching Toward Fargo by Neal Karlen
-Baseball As I Have Known It by Fred Lieb
-Maybe I'll Pitch Forever by Satchel Paige
-Only The Ball Was White by Robert Peterson
-I Was Right On Time by Buck O'Neil
-Where's Harry by Steve Stone
-The Chicago Cubs by Warren Brown
-Wrigleyville by Peter Golenbock
-Sometimes A Fantasy by Jeff Guinn
-As Koufax Said by Randy Voorhees and Mark Gola
-Branch Rickey's Little Blue Book
-The Lords Of The Realm by Jihn Helyar
-A Great And Glorious Game by Bart Giamatti
-Ball Four, I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally, I Managed Good But Boy Did They Play Bad by Jim Bouton
-Strong Cigars and Lovely Women by Ring Lardner

There, that will get you started. I own and have all these much like you read books. I also have lots more, but this is like a basic starter set. You're bound to find something there you like.

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Feb 4, 2007 9:51 AM CST reply actions

Ahhh, typos....

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Feb 4, 2007 9:53 AM CST up reply actions

ANYTHING by Angell or Boswell etc

For Roger Angell start with 5 SEASONS
For Thomas Boswell HOW LIFE IMITATES THE WORLD SERIES

Each has numeroous collections of their baseball writings
in print. All are wonderful.

LUCKIEST MAN ( a wonderful bio of Gehrig( by Jonathan Eig
SANDY KAUFAX - A LEFTY'S LEGACY by Jane Leavy

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL

THE THRILL OF THE GRASS by W.P Kinsella. All of Kinsella's
work, novels and short stories are a must for baseball fans
but this one contains the greatest work ever written about
the Cubs: THE LAST PENNANT BEFORE ARMAGEDDON

I think everyone on the BCB should read it and we can have
an interesting thread on it

I love the ballpark. I love the city. I love the fans. Aside from how we've played this year, there's nothing not to like about Chicago." Greg Maddux 7/29/06

by jessica on Feb 4, 2007 10:29 AM CST reply actions

I second the nomination...

... of Kinsella's books, and also will name specifically "Shoeless Joe" which was the basis for "Field of Dreams".

The Koufax biography by Leavy is wonderful. She also wrote a hilarious baseball novel called "Squeeze Play", highly recommended.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 4, 2007 11:18 AM CST up reply actions

Already out of date, but

The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records
Bob Mackin

http://www.last.fm/user/baturkey

by baturkey on Feb 4, 2007 11:04 AM CST reply actions

Here's another.

"You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting, an excellent book about Japanese baseball.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 4, 2007 11:19 AM CST reply actions

Or

"The Meaning of Ichiro," also by Whiting, which updates that book and focuses on the meaning of Japanese players coming to America. A must read to understand what's going to happen with Matsuzaka this season.

A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants

by Josh Timmers on Feb 5, 2007 2:36 PM CST up reply actions

Essential Cubs

A book by Doug Myers that came out right after the 1998 season. Quite dated now, but still fun to read. It rates all the key Cubs in history by position, has fun box scores like the one from the 23-22 game, etc. If you want to know who the last Cub to hit a pinch-hit grand slam was and which pitcher he hit it against, this is your book.

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 4, 2007 11:47 AM CST reply actions

At the time that book was written...

... I believe the last Cub pinch-hit grand slam was hit by Champ Summers on August 23, 1975. I remembered that because I was at that game, a bizarre game in which the Cubs scored six runs in consecutive innings and lost anyway, 14-12.

Since then Julio Zuleta hit one on June 5, 2001, and Michael Barrett on May 28, 2004. There may be one or two I've missed.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 4, 2007 12:17 PM CST up reply actions

Wow

You're a walking encyclopedia!

The book also has a cool section called the 10 Strangest Games in Cub history. Included is the 19-0 loss to the Pirates in 1975 in which Rennie Stennett collected seven hits in one game.

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 4, 2007 2:32 PM CST up reply actions

They said it was 19-0?

That game was 22-0. It was the largest shutout in major league history.

That was tied on August 31, 2004, when the Indians shut out the Yankees 22-0.

The kicker to Stennett's seven hits is that he got them in eight innings. He was then removed from the game. His batting order slot was only two away from coming up again in the 9th. That's the only time in ML history that anyone has gotten seven hits in a nine-inning game.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 4, 2007 2:44 PM CST up reply actions

My error, not the book's

I just gave the wrong score. The book had it right. It's been 31 years, and I was 4 at the time, so my memory didn't serve.

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 4, 2007 9:41 PM CST up reply actions

Barrett's GS

I remember this one vividly because they were in Pittsburgh and were down 5-2 when Barrett came up. I recall thinking, "wouldn't it be great if he hit a grand slam?", and then the cranked a full count pitch in the bullpen in left center for a 6-5 lead. I believe this was the game that Rob Mackowiak ended with a walk-off homer (the first game of a DH, and Mackowiak ended the other one too); boy, the Cubs could've used both of these games at the end of that season.

"What kind of a person are you?" "I don't know."

by gauchodirk on Feb 4, 2007 2:46 PM CST up reply actions

A few more:

"Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Chicago Cubs" by our old friend, Carrie Muskat.

"For Cubs Fans Only" by Rich Wolfe.

"Where's Harry?" by Steve Stone.

"Teach Yourself to Win" by Steve Stone.

"Tales From the Cubs Dugout" / "More Tales from the Cubs Dugout" by Bob Logan.

"The Chicago Cubs: An Illustrated History" by Donald Honig (a history through the 1989 season)

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Feb 4, 2007 12:01 PM CST reply actions

My whole family...

...enjoyed "Where's Harry".

PTBNL!

by gravedigger on Feb 4, 2007 1:54 PM CST up reply actions

Since Al probably won't mention this

BLEACHERS: A USMMER IN WRIGLEY FIELD
by Lonnie Wheeler about the 1987 Season
Al is mentioned often , I am alluded to once

I love the ballpark. I love the city. I love the fans. Aside from how we've played this year, there's nothing not to like about Chicago." Greg Maddux 7/29/06

by jessica on Feb 4, 2007 12:15 PM CST reply actions

oops

That would of course be a SUMMER in Wrigely Field

I love the ballpark. I love the city. I love the fans. Aside from how we've played this year, there's nothing not to like about Chicago." Greg Maddux 7/29/06

by jessica on Feb 4, 2007 12:16 PM CST up reply actions

I wouldn't say "often"...

... but yes, I'm in that book. So is my friend Mike who draws the cartoons here.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 4, 2007 12:18 PM CST up reply actions

Don't be so modest Al

You're in there at least two or three times, with quotes. I have that book sitting on my bookshelf as I write this, and it, despite a few inaccuracies (that I've noticed now but didn't notice when I first read it at about age nine), it's a great story. The stuff about Andre Dawson is classic, and I've always enjoyed the quote where some fan said that the '87 team was two years away. How right they were. Notable also for being about the last season played entirely during the day, though I don't think that was Wheeler's plan at the outset (how could it have been?).

"What kind of a person are you?" "I don't know."

by gauchodirk on Feb 4, 2007 2:42 PM CST up reply actions

A few more

A few more recommendations are Summer of '49 and October 1964 by David Halberstam. I've enjoyed most of his books so of course I'd like his baseball books.

Glory of Their Times, Only The Ball Was White and Boys of Summer are essential if you've never read them.

by rlpete on Feb 4, 2007 4:43 PM CST reply actions

I wrote you a nice poem

about Jason Marquis on your bathroom wall if you need some reading.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 5, 2007 3:45 PM CST reply actions

There's also a number on the wall

867-5309

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 5, 2007 3:57 PM CST up reply actions

If it's 708

It's my ex girlfriend's, have at it.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 5, 2007 3:59 PM CST up reply actions

Song

I was referring, of course, to the song of that title by Tommy Tutone. Anyone here remember that one?

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 5, 2007 4:49 PM CST up reply actions

Of course.

That song forced several people in various area codes who had that number to change it.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 5, 2007 4:52 PM CST up reply actions

I have it on my iPod

It was a big hit when I was in 5th grade.

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 5, 2007 8:31 PM CST up reply actions

Limerick or haiku??

or other?

MCDONOUGH!

by secdelahc on Feb 5, 2007 4:05 PM CST up reply actions

it's actually a epic story really

I'll post it later, it's about how I went to work and slayed the evil smelling Polish monster that wanted the sale price from two weekse ago on some bifold doors.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 5, 2007 4:07 PM CST up reply actions