BATTER UP WITH THESE BASEBALL BOOKS

Fiction

‘LAST DAYS OF SUMMER’

by Steve Kluger

Joey Margolis is the neighborhood punching bag, growing up goofy and mostly fatherless in Brooklyn in the early 1940s. A boy looking for a hero, Joey decides to latch on to Charlie Banks, the all-star third basemen for the New York Giants. But Joey’s chosen champion doesn’t exactly welcome the extreme attention of a persistent young fan with an overactive imagination. Then again, this strange, needy kid might be exactly what Banks needs.

‘KID

WHO ONLY HIT HOMERS’

by Matt Christopher

Sylvester loves baseball, but he isn’t exactly what you’d call a good hitter. Even though he wants nothing more than to join his neighborhood team, the Hooper Redbirds, he’s sure he’ll never do anything more than warm the bench. But then he meets the mysterious Mr. Baruth who promises to make Sylvester one of the best players ever. Suddenly, Sylvester goes from the worst player on the team to the kid who can only hit homers. With his overnight success, however, come tough questions. Will Sylvester ever learn the true meaning of teamwork? And what will happen when he has to learn to stand on his own? This is a story about baseball, con dence, perseverance, and being a good teammate.

‘BASEBALL BABY’

at the park with his family where he is introduced to baseball for the rst time. He makes a few mistakes as he warms up, takes the eld, and goes to bat, but he keeps going until he scores the nal run of the day and goes to bed a winner.

Nonfiction

‘THE PHENOMENON’

by Rick Ankiel

The story of how St. Louis Cardinals prodigy Rick Ankiel lost his once-in-ageneration ability to pitch — not due to an injury, but an anxiety condition widely known as “the Yips”. It came without warning, in the middle of a playoff game, with millions of people watching. And it has never gone away. Yet the true test of Ankiel’s character came as he searched for a way to get back in the game. Eventually Ankiel made an amazing turnaround: Returning to the Major Leagues as a hitter and playing seven successful seasons.

‘THE BASEBALL 100’

by Joe Posnanski

to Greg Maddux dueling with the juiced hitters of the 1990s? How do the career and in uence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth’s? The book also highlights the players of the segregated Negro Leagues, men whose extraordinary careers were largely overlooked by sportswriters at the time and unjustly lost to history.

‘THE GRANDEST STAGE’

by Tyler Kepner

by

Diane Adams illustrated by Charlene Chua A toddler spends an afternoon

Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers, unfairly forgotten All-Stars, talents of today, and more. He doesn’t rely just on records and statistics — he lovingly retraces players’ origins, illuminates their characters, and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball’s past and present. Just how good is Clayton Kershaw in the 21st century game compared

Kepner delivers an indelible portrait of baseball’s signature event — the World Series. He digs deep for essential tales dating back to the beginning in 1903, adding insights from Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley and many others who have thrived — and failed — when it mattered most. Why do some players crave the pressure? How do players handle a dream that comes up short? What’s it like to manage in the World Series, and what are the secrets of building a champion? Kepner celebrates unexpected heroes like Bill Wambsganss, who pulled off an unassisted triple play in 1920, probes the mysteries behind magic moments and busts some long-time myths.