New baseball books I need this off-season

Steve, I'll look at the movie on "Eight Men Out" and keep that in my mini video library. I'm finding my way around slowly so patience w/me goes a long way.

Originally posted by satchel
I read the book - by Eliot Asinof. It was excellent and I highly recommend if you're interested in the Black Sox. It tells a meticulously detailed and compelling story, and you can learn a great deal not just about that team, but about baseball and its figures of that era - Comiskey, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and such.

I've only read this and a few others on the infamous Black Sox scandal. I wouldn't mind getting into more detail and do definitely appreciate this lead.

Yogi, I read "Talkin' Baseball" this summer and posted some thoughts and excerpts here on NDF. See the archives for a smattering if you'd like.

Also, between Total Baseball (which rocks), James's Historical Abstract, and Lee's disk, you will probably have all the historical stat info you need, and may find other "all time sourcebook" type books somewhat redundant. You might consider that if your baseball book budget is finite.

My budget is definitely finite. Had I not spent on plastic like it was deep-pocketed house money and not my own, that mightn't have been true. Anyway, I do intend to get everything before year's end and hope Lee is a little patient.

I'll check the archives later and see what's up. It should be here by Thursday or next week I guess so we'll see. Thanks all and bye for now.

I've finally received my books from Amazon.com. I'll read through them very carefully, hoping that they are as good as I've heard they are, which I'm sure will be true. I've also got Lee's software on the way so I'll be up to speed shortly.

[nyy26wc]

Originally posted by Yogi#8Fan

If by chance I get through those 4 books ordered, my next additions to my "growing" library (all of the above 4 books) would be:

1. The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary
2. Talkin' Baseball, An Oral History of Baseball in the 1970's
3. All-Time Major League Handbook
4. All-Time Baseball Sourcebook

Yogi,

I have to recommend that you don't spend the money on the all time major league handbook and the sourcebook.

Other than having the material in book form, the handbook doesn't give you anything that's not in my software. In fact, my software is more complete, considering the additional statistical categories and the fact that is updated to include the 2001 season. Unless you also need the data in book form, put the money towards other books.

As far as the sourcebook is concerned, that has some things that the encyclopedia doesn't have. It has post season box scores, MVP and Hall of Fame voting, a listing of first round draft picks and maybe one or two other things. But, the bulk of what's in that book is contained in the encyclopedia. Depending on how important those other things are to you, you may want to consider putting that money towards other books too.

[nyy26wc]

I didn't realize Yogi's other messages were written a few weeks ago and it's too late for him for take my advice. But, maybe someone else can benefit from it.

Lee, actually not too late. I've only got Bill James' latest Historical Abstract, then Total Baseball and two Yankee books. I don't have them in front of me, but will agree I'll need to use your software much more, especially in digging up goddies on Willie McCovey, then voting on the others.

In either case, the books you quoted I was considering but when I saw the size of Total Baseball, I figured it's better to put something to good use than have far too many but not reading any of them.