Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

by Allen Chace on Jan 15, 2007 1:07 AM EST in Open Thread

Yes, QOTD was on hiatus yesterday. Look for it to be mainly a weekday feature until Spring Training.

I don't know about you, but I try to pass the winter months by with some baseball anyway. It can get pretty boring sometimes, especially now that the biggest news involves Alex Ochoa getting a MiL+Invite and the Sox and Kyle Snyder agreeing to contract terms.

If you're like me, you try to substitute football with limited success. These guys really only play once a week? Unbelievable.* So I guess the best solution is to A. Relive 2004 memories on DVD. or B. Read a book about baseball. So quite simply, the question today is this: What is the best baseball book you've ever read?

*Regardless, go Patriots.

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Re: Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

nothing better then: "Faithful"

by dumhic on Jan 15, 2007 1:16 AM EST reply actions

Amen

Great book. I read it every winter.
Moneyball is next on my list.

by Schulz on Jan 15, 2007 12:00 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

The one I've most enjoyed is "The Bad Guys Won" by Jeff Pearlman. If you haven't heard of it, it's about the '86 Mets. The ending is a bit painful, but the baseball and non-baseball activities before that are extremely entertaining.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it Melissa, I want an apology."-Jason Penopolis, Home Movies

by Allen Chace on Jan 15, 2007 1:57 AM EST reply actions

There are three I've particularly enjoyed.

I try to add to my baseball library every couple of months. I'd recommend the following as essential reading for every member of OTM:

Ball Four by Jim Bouton. This still stands up - nearly three decades on - as an insiders' guide to the game. Its quirkiness, traditions, wrong-headedness...

Moneyball by Michael Lewis. It's a terrific account of building a value-for-money major league team with the help of stats - particular those that the market undervalues - rather than making selections based on how good the players look in jeans. Note to Joe Morgan and his cronies: that's Michael Lewis who wrote the book, not Billy Beane.

Feeding the Monster by Seth Mnookin. Mnookin, who was given frankly unbelievable behind-the-scenes access at Fenway, details how the Red Sox front office built the 2004 World Series team. And how 2005 wasn't quite as good. And why Johnny Damon signed for the Yankees, why Pedro wasn't re-upped, and so on. I'd love Mnookin to produce a follow up in a year or two, looking at 2006 and this coming season, with a particular emphasis on the impact of Matsuzaka and the expansion into the Far East markets.

I'm polishing off You Gotta Have Wa, which is about Japanese baseball (more bizarre than you could possibly imagine), then next on my list is Game of Shadows.

Vote for Pedroia

by britsoxfan on Jan 15, 2007 4:43 AM EST reply actions

Re: There are three I've particularly enjoyed.

"Ball Four," "Moneyball" and "Feeding the Monster" were all great. I read it a long time ago, but I also really enjoyed the "Summer of 49," by David Halberstam, about the pennant race between the Sox and Yanks. "Spaceman" by Bill Lee was a fun read too. And "Field of Dreams" is a great read, especially if you haven't seen the movie in a while.

by tommy.otm on Jan 15, 2007 12:19 PM EST up reply actions

Re: There are three I've particularly enjoyed.

Thanks for the recommendations, Tommy - I'll add them to the list.

Vote for Pedroia

by britsoxfan on Jan 15, 2007 1:23 PM EST up reply actions

I Know, I'm Lame...

I'm relatively new to the world of "new baseball knowledge" and baseball literature, so I hope you guys give me a break on this one. The only baseball book that I've read so far and have been enthralled by is Moneyball. It's a remarkable, eye-opening book; it got me pointed in the right direction as far as real baseball knowledge is concerned.

I'm currently looking for Built To Win, the book written by Schuerholz about how the Braves were put together during their dynastic years (yes, they only won one WS, but winning 14 consecutive division titles and 5 league pennants still constitutes a dynasty). If anyone has read it and would like to comment, I'd love to know what you thought of it. To those of you who haven't, I'd suggest giving it a shot, even if it's just to "Know (And Critisize) Thine Enemy". ;)

by ejruiz @ Over the Monster on Jan 15, 2007 11:46 AM EST reply actions

Re: Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

I'd probably say my favorite is "The Teammates" by David Halberstam. It's a great story about the lives and friendships of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom Dimaggio and Bobby Doerr.

Also near the top are: "Moneyball," "The Numbers Game," by Alan Schwarz and "Faithful" was a pretty good read.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Jan 15, 2007 2:07 PM EST reply actions

Re: Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

You'll excuse a little self-promotion on this one. I've recently released a Red Sox based novel entitled "The Curse of Carl Mays" (the link should be in my sig).

While it's fiction, it is based on real events ("alternate history," if you will) with real Sox players serving in fictional roles. So far it's been very well received in the Red Sox blogosphere (check out Fenway Nation, Sawx Blog), and by a couple of New England newspapers. [In fact, I'm anxiously awaiting Randy's review of it, here on Over The Monster].

History, fiction, and the Red Sox -- it's got it all for the commenters to this post. And Allen, if you really liked the historical account of 1986, I predict you'll like this fictional one, better.

Read my Red Sox novel, The Curse of Carl Mays.

by Howard Camerik on Jan 15, 2007 2:45 PM EST reply actions

Re: Question of the Day, 15 January 2007.

I remember reading a book about 15 years ago called something like It Ain't Cheatin' if You Don't Get Caught. As you might expect from the title, it was all about cheating in baseball history. It was a fun read; it's no Moneyball, but it wasn't bad.