April 2, 2007

Today marks one of the most significant dates in the calendar year: Opening Day for Major League Baseball.

There is, of course, no greater sport than baseball—a fact that is one of those indisputable laws of the universe. It is incumbent upon those who disagree to determine where and why they are lacking—to correct their own, shall we say, error.

One of the many reasons why baseball is the greatest sport is that it is so quintessentially American, fittingly spreading to the rest of the world at roughly the rate of the spread of freedom and democracy—values likewise so quintessentially American. It is fitting that the 20th century, which Henry Luce termed “the American Century,” was also the Baseball Century.

Baseball is in the blood of America, part of our heart and soul. It tells us, teaches us, about this country and its history. It is also the most cerebral, the most thoughtful, of all sports.

Not coincidentally, then, baseball has given rise to many intellectual musings by authors and countless good books. Here at Grove City College, more than one of our professors has been known to hold forth on the subject

In the spirit of the season, I have surveyed several of our faculty for their recommended list of must-read baseball books. As a contribution to the intellectual life of American culture, I have decided to share their responses:

Gary Smith, professor of history. Reed Browning’s Cy Young: A Baseball Life is a meticulously researched biography of the game’s most winning pitcher.  The Faith of Fifty Million: Baseball, Religion, and American Culture analyzes baseball as a civil religion and sheds light on American character and attitudes. Benjamin Rader’s Baseball: A History of America’s Game is perhaps the best short overview of our national pastime, while Charles Alexander’s Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era examines the problems baseball faced in the 1930s. Jules Tygiel’s highly acclaimed Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy explores Robinson’s pioneering role in integrating baseball. Steve Jacobson’s Carrying Jackie’s Torch chronicles the struggles of the black baseball players who followed Robinson, including Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, and Lou Brock.

Jim Bibza, professor of religion. Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a must-read for anyone who wants to see how sabermetrics is utilized by today’s newer general managers; it goes a long way toward explaining how a small-market team such as the Oakland A’s can be so good so consistently. Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle, is the most detailed book on the Barry Bonds / BALCO steroid scandal. For superb in-depth articles on all 30 teams, with projections for 2007, nothing beats Baseball Prospectus 2007, by editors Chris Kahrl and Steven Goldman.  The 2006 book, Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game is Wrong, by editor Jonah Keri, is fascinating. For those who would like to get a handle on the best minor-league prospects, the three best books, in my opinion, are Baseball America’s 2007 Prospect Handbook, John Sickels’ The Baseball Prospect Book 2007, and Deric McKamey’s 2007 Minor League Baseball Analyst.