Baseball Stories
Fiction
7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman (F TRU)
In baseball, fielding your position at third base is tricky--that's why third is called "the hot corner." You have to be aware that anything can happen at any time. This should be the best year of Scott's life: It's his last season of varsity ball, his team is about to go to the city championship, and a pro career is on the line. Instead, everything he always counted on comes crashing down at the same time, and his whole life is like one blazing hot corner--full of deadly line drives and crazy "bad hops." Scott can't believe the awful stuff coming his way, but it's time to find out whether he has what it takes to play the hot corner--on the baseball diamond and off it.
Center Field by Robert Lipsyte (F LIP)
Mike has his junior year well under control. He's got a solid group of friends. He's dating Lori, one of the hottest girls in school. And Coach Cody has all but given him the starting spot as the Ridgedale Rangers' varsity center fielder. And then Oscar Ramirez shows up. Oscar is an amazing ballplayer, as talented at the plate as he is in center field, and it's not long before Mike loses control. He's on the bench, he's getting into fights, and he finds himself in weekend detention with Katherine Herold, the most mysterious, abrasive, alluring girl in school. Mike is lost, confused, and looking to Coach Cody to help him get back on track. But the coach has his own set of rules for Mike to play by, and the decisions Mike makes are going to impact more than just the starting lineup.
Double Play by Robert B. Parker (HF PAR)
It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers - and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. A veteran of World War II and a survivor of Guadalcanal, Burke is hired by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own, in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal.
Summerland by Michael Chabon (SF CHA)
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt De La Pena (F PEN)
Danny, who is tall and skinny but has a talent for pitching a fastball, cannot seem to fit in at school in San Diego, where his Mexican and white heritage causes people to judge him before he even speaks.
Baseball's Best Short Stories (SC BAS)
Anthology of twenty-eight stories by celebrated authors, written about, or having a backdrop of, baseball.
Farm Team and others by Will Weaver (F WEA)
With his father in jail and his mother working full-time, fourteen-year-old Billy Baggs finds himself in charge of running the family farm in northern Minnesota and having to give up the thing he loves most--baseball.
For the Love of the Game by Michael Shaara (F SHA)
Baseball legend Billy Chapel, having learned that the owners are planning to trade him after seventeen seasons, determines the game he is about to pitch will be his last, and takes that opportunity to go out with a bang.
Nonfiction
Autumn Glory: Baseball's First World Series by Louis Masur (796.357 MAS)
A postseason series of games to establish supremacy in the major leagues was not inevitable in the baseball world. But in 1903 the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (in the well-established National League) challenged the Boston Americans (in the upstart American League) to a play-off, which he was sure his team would win. They didn't -- and that wasn't the only surprise during what became the first World Series. In Autumn Glory. Louis P. Masur tells the riveting story of two agonizing weeks in which the stars blew it, unknown players stole the show, hysterical fans got into the act, and umpires had to hold on for dear life.
October Men : Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 by Roger Kahn (796.357 KAH)
On the Morning of October 2nd, 1978, the World Champion New York Yankees found themselves tied for first place with the Boston Red Sox. That day these rousing ball clubs would meet at Fenway Park. Both had won 99 games. Only one would win 100. By any rational standard the Yankees should have been reaching for their golf clubs. They had feuded, barked, and roared all season, until by mid-July they were fourteen games out of first place. Then came the spectacular self-destruction of Billy Martin: The Yankees' fortunes turned and a fractious band of ballplayers finally became a team. They capped one of the most thrilling comebacks in baseball history by defeating the Red Sox that October afternoon in a game that many still remember as the greatest ever played.
Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series by Eliot Asinof (364.1 ASI)
Describes the backgrounds and motives of the players, the actual plays of the series, the indictments, and the famous 1921 trial.
Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year That Baseball Changed Forever
by John Rosengren (796.357 ROS)
Provides an account of the 1973 baseball season during which Hank Aaron, George Steinbrenner, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays, and Reggie Jackson revived interest in the national pastime which had fallen to an all-time low.
Senior Year: A Father, a Son, and High School Baseball by Dan Shaughnessy (796.357 SHA)
"Boston Globe" columnist Dan Shaughnessy chronicles his son Sam's senior year of high school and makes comparisons to his own school career, focusing on the baseball season during which Sam, a power hitter, attracted the attention of Division 1 college programs.
Biographies:
Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Josh Hamilton, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Nolan Ryan, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Ken Griffy, Jr., Satchel Paige, Billy Martin, David Cone, Orlando Cepeda, Cal Ripken, Roy Campanella, Moe Berg, Joe Torre, Jim Abbott, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ryne Sandberg, Cy Young
7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman (F TRU)
In baseball, fielding your position at third base is tricky--that's why third is called "the hot corner." You have to be aware that anything can happen at any time. This should be the best year of Scott's life: It's his last season of varsity ball, his team is about to go to the city championship, and a pro career is on the line. Instead, everything he always counted on comes crashing down at the same time, and his whole life is like one blazing hot corner--full of deadly line drives and crazy "bad hops." Scott can't believe the awful stuff coming his way, but it's time to find out whether he has what it takes to play the hot corner--on the baseball diamond and off it.
Center Field by Robert Lipsyte (F LIP)
Mike has his junior year well under control. He's got a solid group of friends. He's dating Lori, one of the hottest girls in school. And Coach Cody has all but given him the starting spot as the Ridgedale Rangers' varsity center fielder. And then Oscar Ramirez shows up. Oscar is an amazing ballplayer, as talented at the plate as he is in center field, and it's not long before Mike loses control. He's on the bench, he's getting into fights, and he finds himself in weekend detention with Katherine Herold, the most mysterious, abrasive, alluring girl in school. Mike is lost, confused, and looking to Coach Cody to help him get back on track. But the coach has his own set of rules for Mike to play by, and the decisions Mike makes are going to impact more than just the starting lineup.
Double Play by Robert B. Parker (HF PAR)
It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers - and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. A veteran of World War II and a survivor of Guadalcanal, Burke is hired by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own, in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal.
Summerland by Michael Chabon (SF CHA)
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt De La Pena (F PEN)
Danny, who is tall and skinny but has a talent for pitching a fastball, cannot seem to fit in at school in San Diego, where his Mexican and white heritage causes people to judge him before he even speaks.
Baseball's Best Short Stories (SC BAS)
Anthology of twenty-eight stories by celebrated authors, written about, or having a backdrop of, baseball.
Farm Team and others by Will Weaver (F WEA)
With his father in jail and his mother working full-time, fourteen-year-old Billy Baggs finds himself in charge of running the family farm in northern Minnesota and having to give up the thing he loves most--baseball.
For the Love of the Game by Michael Shaara (F SHA)
Baseball legend Billy Chapel, having learned that the owners are planning to trade him after seventeen seasons, determines the game he is about to pitch will be his last, and takes that opportunity to go out with a bang.
Nonfiction
Autumn Glory: Baseball's First World Series by Louis Masur (796.357 MAS)
A postseason series of games to establish supremacy in the major leagues was not inevitable in the baseball world. But in 1903 the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (in the well-established National League) challenged the Boston Americans (in the upstart American League) to a play-off, which he was sure his team would win. They didn't -- and that wasn't the only surprise during what became the first World Series. In Autumn Glory. Louis P. Masur tells the riveting story of two agonizing weeks in which the stars blew it, unknown players stole the show, hysterical fans got into the act, and umpires had to hold on for dear life.
October Men : Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 by Roger Kahn (796.357 KAH)
On the Morning of October 2nd, 1978, the World Champion New York Yankees found themselves tied for first place with the Boston Red Sox. That day these rousing ball clubs would meet at Fenway Park. Both had won 99 games. Only one would win 100. By any rational standard the Yankees should have been reaching for their golf clubs. They had feuded, barked, and roared all season, until by mid-July they were fourteen games out of first place. Then came the spectacular self-destruction of Billy Martin: The Yankees' fortunes turned and a fractious band of ballplayers finally became a team. They capped one of the most thrilling comebacks in baseball history by defeating the Red Sox that October afternoon in a game that many still remember as the greatest ever played.
Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series by Eliot Asinof (364.1 ASI)
Describes the backgrounds and motives of the players, the actual plays of the series, the indictments, and the famous 1921 trial.
Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year That Baseball Changed Forever
by John Rosengren (796.357 ROS)
Provides an account of the 1973 baseball season during which Hank Aaron, George Steinbrenner, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays, and Reggie Jackson revived interest in the national pastime which had fallen to an all-time low.
Senior Year: A Father, a Son, and High School Baseball by Dan Shaughnessy (796.357 SHA)
"Boston Globe" columnist Dan Shaughnessy chronicles his son Sam's senior year of high school and makes comparisons to his own school career, focusing on the baseball season during which Sam, a power hitter, attracted the attention of Division 1 college programs.
Biographies:
Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Josh Hamilton, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Nolan Ryan, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Ken Griffy, Jr., Satchel Paige, Billy Martin, David Cone, Orlando Cepeda, Cal Ripken, Roy Campanella, Moe Berg, Joe Torre, Jim Abbott, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ryne Sandberg, Cy Young