-
Baseball
- A History of America's Favorite Game
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Baseball
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 399
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Stan Musial
- An American Life
- By: George Vecsey
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
When baseball fans voted on the top twenty-five players of the twentieth century in 1999, Stan Musial didn’t make the cut. This glaring omission—later rectified by a panel of experts—raised an important question: How could a first-ballot Hall of Famer, widely considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, still rank as the most underrated athlete of all time?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Vecsey is great... narrator, not so much
- By Daniel Stromme on 04-11-13
By: George Vecsey
-
How Baseball Happened
- Outrageous Lies Exposed! The True Story Revealed
- By: Thomas W. Gilbert
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
The fascinating, true origin story of baseball - how America’s first great sport developed and how it conquered a nation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
superb reading. ate it up in 2 days.
- By Bill on 01-13-22
-
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 252
From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than 300 people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Attn authors: please use professional narration.
- By Mark Erickson on 07-10-19
By: Tyler Kepner
-
The Science of Hitting
- By: Ted Williams, John Underwood
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 79
Ted Williams was arguably the greatest pure hitter who ever lived. A lifelong student of hitting, he sought advice from every great hitter - and pitcher - he met. Drawing on that advice, as well as his own legendary life in baseball, Williams produced the all-time batting classic, The Science of Hitting. Using its detailed and concise coaching, players of all skill levels will learn how to improve their fundamentals and gain keen insights into the finer points of hitting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Read for any Baseball Fan
- By Val on 07-10-23
By: Ted Williams, and others
-
The Southpaw
- By: Mark Harris, adapted by Eric Simonson
- Narrated by: Edward Asner, Amy Pietz, full cast
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Coming of age in America by way of the baseball diamond, left-hander Henry Wiggen grows to manhood in a right-handed world. From his small-town beginnings to the top of the game, Henry finds out how hard it is to please his coach, his girl, the sports page and himself - all at once. Starring Edward Asner, Amy Pietz, and a full cast!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
FUN STORY
- By T. Brown Price on 02-07-22
By: Mark Harris, and others
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 399
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Stan Musial
- An American Life
- By: George Vecsey
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
When baseball fans voted on the top twenty-five players of the twentieth century in 1999, Stan Musial didn’t make the cut. This glaring omission—later rectified by a panel of experts—raised an important question: How could a first-ballot Hall of Famer, widely considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, still rank as the most underrated athlete of all time?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Vecsey is great... narrator, not so much
- By Daniel Stromme on 04-11-13
By: George Vecsey
-
How Baseball Happened
- Outrageous Lies Exposed! The True Story Revealed
- By: Thomas W. Gilbert
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
The fascinating, true origin story of baseball - how America’s first great sport developed and how it conquered a nation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
superb reading. ate it up in 2 days.
- By Bill on 01-13-22
-
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 252
From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than 300 people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Attn authors: please use professional narration.
- By Mark Erickson on 07-10-19
By: Tyler Kepner
-
The Science of Hitting
- By: Ted Williams, John Underwood
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 79
Ted Williams was arguably the greatest pure hitter who ever lived. A lifelong student of hitting, he sought advice from every great hitter - and pitcher - he met. Drawing on that advice, as well as his own legendary life in baseball, Williams produced the all-time batting classic, The Science of Hitting. Using its detailed and concise coaching, players of all skill levels will learn how to improve their fundamentals and gain keen insights into the finer points of hitting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Read for any Baseball Fan
- By Val on 07-10-23
By: Ted Williams, and others
-
The Southpaw
- By: Mark Harris, adapted by Eric Simonson
- Narrated by: Edward Asner, Amy Pietz, full cast
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Coming of age in America by way of the baseball diamond, left-hander Henry Wiggen grows to manhood in a right-handed world. From his small-town beginnings to the top of the game, Henry finds out how hard it is to please his coach, his girl, the sports page and himself - all at once. Starring Edward Asner, Amy Pietz, and a full cast!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
FUN STORY
- By T. Brown Price on 02-07-22
By: Mark Harris, and others
-
Past Time
- Baseball as History
- By: Jules Tygiel
- Narrated by: Rodney Gardiner
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
In Past Time, Tygiel gives us a seat behind home plate, where we catch the ongoing interplay of baseball and American society. We begin in New York in the 1850s, where pre-Civil War nationalism shaped the emergence of a "national pastime." We witness the true birth of modern baseball with the development of its elaborate statistics - the brainchild of English-born reformer, Henry Chadwick. Chadwick, Tygiel writes, created the sport's "historical essence" and even imparted a moral dimension to the game with his concepts of "errors" and "unearned" runs.
By: Jules Tygiel
-
Baseball
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Ken Burns
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 123
The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Abridged
- By David Munoz on 02-15-16
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
-
Whispers of the Gods
- Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It
- By: Peter Golenbock, John Thorn - foreword
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves. Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times, this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends, pulled from hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the author. The players interviewed were All-Stars, Hall of Famers, and heroes to many, and their impact on the national pastime is still seen to this day. Baseball history comes alive, offering a fascinating account of the golden age of baseball.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Raylan Givens on 12-07-22
By: Peter Golenbock, and others
-
Eight Men Out
- The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series
- By: Eliot Asinof
- Narrated by: Harold N. Cropp
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 565
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 561
In 1919, American headlines proclaimed the fix and cover-up of the World Series as "the most gigantic sporting swindle in the history of America." In this painstaking review, Eliot Asinof has reconstructed the entire scene-by-scene story of the scandal, in which eight Chicago White Sox players arranged with the nation’s leading gamblers to throw the series to Cincinnati. Asinof vividly describes the tense meetings, the hitches in the conniving, the actual plays in which the Series was thrown, the Grand Jury indictment, and the famous 1921 trial.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome
- By TOM WORKING on 03-17-14
By: Eliot Asinof
-
Watching Baseball Smarter
- A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks
- By: Zack Hample
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
This smart and funny fan's guide to baseball explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will appeal to anyone - whether you're a major league couch potato, lifelong season ticket-holder, or a beginner. Combining the narrative voice and attitude of Michael Lewis with the compulsive brilliance of Schott's Miscellany, Watching Baseball Smarter will increase your understanding and enjoyment of the sport-no matter what your level of expertise.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not For Experts or Serious Geeks
- By Tim on 06-04-19
By: Zack Hample
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 98
Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters. But these are also moments raw with the humanity of the game, the unheralded heroes, the mesmerizing mistakes drenched in pine tar, and every story, from the immortal to the obscure, is told from a unique perspective.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
wonderful story, mediocre narration
- By D. Bhansali on 03-21-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Baseball before We Knew It
- A Search for the Roots of the Game
- By: David Block
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
It may be America's game, but no one seems to know how or when baseball really started. Theories abound, myths proliferate, but reliable information has been in short supply - until now, when Baseball before We Knew It brings fresh new evidence of baseball's origins into play. David Block looks into the early history of the game and of the 150-year-old debate about its beginnings.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Things you ought to know as a baseball fan ...
- By John on 02-11-18
By: David Block
-
The Great Book of Ice Hockey: Interesting Facts and Sports Stories
- Sports Trivia, Book 1
- By: Bill O'Neill, Ryan Black
- Narrated by: Scott Miller
- Length: 3 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 10
The Great Book of Ice Hockey is a must for anyone who loves sports trivia. It is a compendium of interesting facts and sport stories about the great game of ice hockey, with information about the early days before the National Hockey League (NHL) all the way to the stars of today. There are random facts about leagues, rules, coaches, players, and inside stories about the early days of the game. Learn about foreign leagues, junior hockey, and superstars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, and, of course, "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
King of trivia Scores
- By cosmitron on 04-05-18
By: Bill O'Neill, and others
-
The Greatest Summer in Baseball History
- How the '73 Season Changed Us Forever
- By: John Rosengren
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, American League attendance had fallen, and America's team—the Yankees—had lost more games and money than ever. Yet that season, five of the game's greatest figures rescued the national pastime. Hank Aaron riveted the nation with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's landmark home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees at a bargain basement price and began buying back their faded glory.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible, Just Terrible.
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-23
By: John Rosengren
-
Pinstripe Empire
- The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss
- By: Marty Appel
- Narrated by: Gregory Gorton
- Length: 24 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 133
Since their breakthrough championship season in 1923, when Yankee stadium opened, the New York Yankees have been baseball’s most successful, decorated, and colorful franchise. Home to Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Jackson, and Mattingly; and later Torre, Jeter, Rivera, and Rodriguez, the team has been a fixture in our national consciousness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Just Fantastic!!
- By Tim on 01-03-14
By: Marty Appel
-
Baseball in the Garden of Eden
- The Secret History of the Early Game
- By: John Thorn
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 10
This is the true story of how organized baseball started, how gambling shaped the game from its earliest days, and how it became our national pastime and our national mirror. Baseball in the Garden of Eden draws on original research to tell how the game evolved from other bat-and-ball games and gradually supplanted them, how the New York game came to dominate other variants, and how gambling and secret professionalism promoted and plagued the game.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good analysis of game origins but . . .
- By Mallard on 04-19-22
By: John Thorn
-
The League
- How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 277
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 252
The National Football League's current dominance has obscured how professional football got its start. In The League, John Eisenberg reveals that Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell took an immense risk by investing in the professional game. At that time, the sport barely registered on the national scene. The five owners succeeded only because at critical junctures in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the League.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
what a great book. loved it completely.
- By Daniel Mosca on 11-08-18
By: John Eisenberg
Publisher's summary
Vecsey's Baseball is a concise history filled with details and stories that will appeal to rookie and veteran fans alike. Narrator Alan Nebelthau's warm voice punctuates all of the wit and charm of Vecsey's prose.
Critic reviews
"Vivid, affectionate, and clear-eyed, Vecsey's account makes for an engaging sports history." (Publishers Weekly)
More from the same
Author
Related to this topic
-
A Nice Little Place on the North Side
- Wrigley Field at One Hundred
- By: George Will
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
In A Nice Little Place on the North Side, leading columnist George Will returns to baseball with a deeply personal look at his hapless Chicago Cubs and their often beatified home, Wrigley Field, as it enters its second century. Baseball, Will argues, is full of metaphors for life, religion, and happiness, and Wrigley is considered one of its sacred spaces. But what is its true, hyperbole-free history?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It's EEE-lia, not Ah-LEE-ah
- By Shawcago on 04-25-16
By: George Will
-
Game Six
- Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime
- By: Mark Frost
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Best-selling author Mark Frost takes listeners back to the 1975 World Series in this thrilling account of the greatest baseball game ever played. The Reds and Red Sox endured three soggy days of inactivity to reach game six. But all that downtime could not prepare them for what happened when the skies finally cleared.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
For the love of Baseball
- By Al on 03-23-10
By: Mark Frost
-
The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
-
Ty Cobb
- A Terrible Beauty
- By: Charles Leerhsen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 739
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 737
Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Two Cobb Books, One Review of a Maligned Legacy
- By Jonathan Love on 05-17-16
By: Charles Leerhsen
-
1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever
- By: Bill Madden
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how—and, in practice, when—did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball’s famous black experiment” did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players—Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks—in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America’s public schools.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Acumen bugaboo
- By steve finkelstein on 04-25-21
By: Bill Madden
-
Opening Day
- The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Drawing on interviews with surviving players, sportswriters, and eyewitnesses, as well as newly discovered material from archives around the country, Jonathan Eig presents a fresh portrait of a ferocious competitor who embodied integration's promise and helped launch the modern civil-rights era. Full of new details and thrilling action, Opening Day brings to life baseball's ultimate story.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, not so great reading
- By Joe Baseball on 08-30-07
By: Jonathan Eig
-
A Nice Little Place on the North Side
- Wrigley Field at One Hundred
- By: George Will
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
In A Nice Little Place on the North Side, leading columnist George Will returns to baseball with a deeply personal look at his hapless Chicago Cubs and their often beatified home, Wrigley Field, as it enters its second century. Baseball, Will argues, is full of metaphors for life, religion, and happiness, and Wrigley is considered one of its sacred spaces. But what is its true, hyperbole-free history?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It's EEE-lia, not Ah-LEE-ah
- By Shawcago on 04-25-16
By: George Will
-
Game Six
- Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime
- By: Mark Frost
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Best-selling author Mark Frost takes listeners back to the 1975 World Series in this thrilling account of the greatest baseball game ever played. The Reds and Red Sox endured three soggy days of inactivity to reach game six. But all that downtime could not prepare them for what happened when the skies finally cleared.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
For the love of Baseball
- By Al on 03-23-10
By: Mark Frost
-
The Last Innocents
- The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers
- By: Michael Leahy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Reliving my youth
- By PJ on 05-24-17
By: Michael Leahy
-
Ty Cobb
- A Terrible Beauty
- By: Charles Leerhsen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 739
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 737
Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Two Cobb Books, One Review of a Maligned Legacy
- By Jonathan Love on 05-17-16
By: Charles Leerhsen
-
1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever
- By: Bill Madden
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how—and, in practice, when—did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball’s famous black experiment” did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players—Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks—in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America’s public schools.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Acumen bugaboo
- By steve finkelstein on 04-25-21
By: Bill Madden
-
Opening Day
- The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Drawing on interviews with surviving players, sportswriters, and eyewitnesses, as well as newly discovered material from archives around the country, Jonathan Eig presents a fresh portrait of a ferocious competitor who embodied integration's promise and helped launch the modern civil-rights era. Full of new details and thrilling action, Opening Day brings to life baseball's ultimate story.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, not so great reading
- By Joe Baseball on 08-30-07
By: Jonathan Eig
-
The Year of the Pitcher
- Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age
- By: Sridhar Pappu
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
The Year of the Pitcher is the story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season, which culminated in one of the greatest World Series contests ever, with the Detroit Tigers coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cardinals in Game Seven of the World Series. In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Misleading Title
- By Paul on 01-25-19
By: Sridhar Pappu
-
Summer of '68
- The Season That Changed Baseball - and America - Forever
- By: Tim Wendel
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
From the beginning, ’68 was a season rocked by national tragedy and sweeping change. Opening Day was postponed and later played in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral. That summer, as the pennant races were heating up, the assassination of Robert Kennedy was later followed by rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But even as tensions boiled over and violence spilled into the streets, something remarkable was happening in major league ballparks across the country. Pitchers were dominating like never before, and with records falling and shut-outs mounting, many began hailing ’68 as “The Year of the Pitcher".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detroit Upsets St. Louis in 1968 World Series.
- By Matthew Tsien on 05-01-18
By: Tim Wendel
-
The Best Team Money Can Buy
- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse
- By: Molly Knight
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 215
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 190
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 190
In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
BOTH BOOK AND TEAM NEED TO BE BETTER
- By Ray on 09-06-15
By: Molly Knight
-
Fall from Grace
- The Truth and Tragedy of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson
- By: Tim Hornbaker
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
Considered by Ty Cobb as the "finest natural hitter in the history of the game," "Shoeless Joe" Jackson is ranked with the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball diamond. With a career .356 batting average - which is still ranked third all-time - the man from Pickens County, South Carolina, was on his way to becoming one of the greatest players in the sport's history. That is until the "Black Sox" scandal of 1919, which shook baseball to its core.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining and Educational
- By Colorfinger on 06-14-19
By: Tim Hornbaker
-
The Captain
- The Journey of Derek Jeter
- By: Ian O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nick Pollifrone
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 263
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, terrible narrator.
- By Butter on 05-09-14
By: Ian O'Connor
-
The Summer of Beer and Whiskey
- How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game
- By: Edward Achorn
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 108
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 96
Chris Von der Ahe knew next to nothing about baseball when he risked his life’s savings to found the St. Louis Browns, the franchise that would become the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the German-born beer garden proprietor would become one of the most important - and funniest - figures in the game’s history.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and extensive research but just not interesting
- By Samuel C on 07-30-20
By: Edward Achorn
-
Our Team
- The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball
- By: Luke Epplin
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 101
The riveting story of four men - Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige - whose improbable union on the Cleveland Indians in the late 1940s would shape the immediate postwar era of Major League Baseball and beyond.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who will like this book?
- By Brian L. Quarton on 04-03-21
By: Luke Epplin
-
The Chicago Cubs
- Story of a Curse
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 77
For Rich Cohen and millions of other fans, the Chicago Cubs have always been more than a team: they've been the protagonists of a King Arthur epic, in search of the Holy Grail that is winning the World Series. A chronicle of the last few miraculous seasons as experienced through the prism of Cubs history, The Chicago Cubs tracks the famous curse, which was placed on the team in 1945 by the infamous owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, who was ejected from Wrigley Field when he tried to bring his goat into the grandstand for the fifth game of the World Series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
just listen and it all happens again
- By Z. Kuhn on 10-28-17
By: Rich Cohen
-
Babe
- The Legend Comes to Life
- By: Robert W. Creamer
- Narrated by: Tom Parker
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 323
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
He was the biggest man baseball has ever produced. Babe Ruth transcended the sport that brought him fame, money, and adulation, moving beyond the limits of baselines and outfield fences into the mainstream of American life. In this extraordinary biography, Creamer uncovers the complex and captivating man behind the legend.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The definitive biography of Babe Ruth
- By DKT on 05-30-16
-
The League
- How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 277
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 252
The National Football League's current dominance has obscured how professional football got its start. In The League, John Eisenberg reveals that Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell took an immense risk by investing in the professional game. At that time, the sport barely registered on the national scene. The five owners succeeded only because at critical junctures in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the League.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
what a great book. loved it completely.
- By Daniel Mosca on 11-08-18
By: John Eisenberg
-
42 Faith
- The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story
- By: Ed Henry
- Narrated by: Ed Henry
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Journalist and baseball lover Ed Henry reveals for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Jackie Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights advancement as well. Through recently discovered sermons, interviews with Robinson's family and friends, and even an unpublished book by the player himself, Henry details a side of Jackie's humanity that few have taken the time to see.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
42Faith
- By Phillip L. on 04-11-17
By: Ed Henry
-
Bottom of the 33rd
- Hope and Redemption in Baseball's Longest Game
- By: Dan Barry
- Narrated by: Dan Barry
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
On April 18, 1981, a ball game sprang eternal. What began as a modestly attended minor-league game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings became not only the longest ever played in baseball history, but something else entirely. The first pitch was thrown after dusk on Holy Saturday, and for the next eight hours the night seemed to suspend its participants between their collective pasts and futures, between their collective sorrows and joys....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I love baseball
- By Sher from Provo on 04-08-13
By: Dan Barry
What listeners say about Baseball
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Little_g
- 07-09-19
A bit of a grab bag
I found it to be less a history and more of a meandering book with random bits of information. Not bad, just not what I expected.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Joseph
- 09-23-07
If you love baseball, you'll love Baseball!
This is a great book full of insight, humor and of course -- baseball. The author weaves a good story keeping baseball lore alive and well, while sprinkling in the facts, too (snicker snicker). Seriously, if you love the game, then you'll love the book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Bradley Hine
- 04-30-11
WELL worth the listen!
Fabulous retelling of baseball's creation and history. For me, this is the first time I am hearing most all of these stories dating back to the mid 1800s...and I'm a sports junkie. I thought this purchase was a risk...not so at all. I'm shocked at the number of stories with which I was previously unfamiliar. This is a great time-travel trip into the teams, players and businessmen that helped put baseball on the map and up through more modern day lore. Some things have not changed about baseball....you be the judge. One thing to note...the reader is not stellar, but the content more than makes up for his lack of flair.
I've seen some unfavorable reviews of this books pointing towards the lack of baseball strategy covered. READ THE DESCRIPTION. That is not what this purported to accomplish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marrman
- 05-18-19
I learned something.
As a baseball fan for my entire existence, I am constantly reading anything and everything baseball related, so it's no surprise that I listened to this. Glad I did, too. I actually learned a few new things and some of these chapters simply never get old, even after they have been retold thousands of times. It is well worth your purchase into the ballpark.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Coulee
- 04-13-07
Interesting
Very good and entertaining review of the history of baseball
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Margaret
- 06-18-13
What made baseball great
What did you love best about Baseball?
If you are not looking for strategy and are looking for stories of what made baseball great this is the one to go for. It isn't about stats although they are mentioned it is about the people and how they lived and what they did. The narration is top notch.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Tomilee
- 08-04-07
Disappointing
This is a dry retelling of baseball's history. It's more like listening to an old guy babble on at the bar than listening to an expert relate history. I wanted to learn more about baseball, not more about how the author thinks baseball was so much better in the old days.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful