Top of the Order: 25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Players of All Time Edited by Sean Manning (Da Capo Press, 9780306818554, $15.95) There have been many anthologies devoted to our national pastime’s greatest players, but here, at last, is one dedicated to those, for reasons far more personal than stats-based, we call our favorites. In Top of the Order twenty-five of today’s premier sports journalists, cultural critics, novelists, and humorists (as well as a couple of former major leaguers) deliver memorable, never-before-published odes to their favorite players, past or present. By turns uplifting, woeful, and hilarious, these essays define what it means to be beset by that strange, incurable condition known as baseball fandom. This collection features original essays by Roger Kahn on Jackie Robinson, Buzz Bissinger on Albert Pujols, Jonathan Eig on Lou Gehrig, Neal Pollack on Greg Maddux, Laura Lippman on Brooks Robinson, Jeff Pearlman on Garry Templeton, Jim Bouton on Steve Dembowski, Pat Jordan on Tom Seaver, Michael Ian Black on Mookie Wilson, Matt Taibbi on Jim Rice, Steve Almond on Rickey Henderson, and many more.

The Funniest Baseball Book Ever Peter Handrinos (Andrews McMeel, 9780740791284, $14.99) No other sport can compare to the national pastime’s vast catalog of silly quips and quotations, unforgettable characters, memorable nicknames, and inventive pranks. The Funniest Baseball Book Ever captures it all between two covers. It’s simply the most complete, contemporary resource for baseball humor. This compendium expertly draws on a century of history and hundreds of print and online sources to lend the game a new, hilarious perspective. With over 90 percent of its material never before collected in a single volume, The Funniest Baseball Book Ever will entertain and surprise everyone from casual fans to die-hards, and from newcomers to veterans. The volume contains hundreds of hilarious baseball quotations on topics ranging from athletes, executives, broadcaster, comedians, and fans; the inside story of how players earned the nicknames of The Big Cat, The Bird, The Hawk, The Monster, The Penguin, and The Vulture; the greatest player baseball’s never seen; and insider profiles of the game’s foremost eccentrics, leaders, tricksters, showmen, rebels, pranksters, and more.

High Heat Tim Wendel (DaCapo, 9780306818486, $25.00) What is it about a quality fastball that brings us to the edge of our seats? How is it humanly possible to throw more than 100 mph? And the big question: Who is the fastest pitcher ever? Drawing on interviews with current and former players, managers, scouts, experts, and historians, Tim Wendel delivers the answers to some of the most intriguing questions about the fastball, providing insight into one of baseball’s most exhilarating yet mystifying draws. In High Heat he takes us on a quest to separate verifiable fact from baseball lore, traveling from ballparks across the country to the Baseball Hall of Fame, piecing together the fascinating history of the fastball from its early development to the present form while exploring its remarkable impact on the game and the pitchers who have been blessed (or cursed) with its gift. From legends such as Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Steve Dalkowski, and Satchel Paige to present-day standard bearers like Tim Lincecum, Billy Wagner, and Randy Johnson, Wendel examines the factors that make throwing heat an elusive ability that few have and even fewer can harness. Along the way he investigates the effectiveness of early speed-testing techniques (including Bob Feller’s infamous motorcycle test), explains why today’s radar gun readings still leave plenty of room for debate, and even visits an aerodynamic testing lab outside of Birmingham, Alabama, in order to understand the mechanics that make throwing heat possible in the first place. At its heart, High Heat is a reflection on our infatuation with the fastball-the expectation it carries, the raw ability it puts on display, and, most of all, the feats and trials of those who have attempted to master it. As Wendel puts it, “The tale of high heat can lead in several different directions at once, and the real story has more to do with triumph and tragedy that with the simple act of throwing a baseball.”

Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend James S. Hirsch  (Scribner, 9781416547907, $30.00) Considered to be "as monumental – and enigmatic – a legend as American sport has ever seen" (Sports Illustrated), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion he brought to the game. He began as a teenager in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball's bold expansion to California. With 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, and 338 stolen bases, he was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. Now, in the first biography authorized by and written with the cooperation of Willie Mays, James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player. Willie is perhaps best known for "The Catch" – his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. But he was a transcendent figure who received standing ovations in enemy stadiums and who, during the turbulent civil rights era, urged understanding and reconciliation. More than his records, his legacy is defined by the pure joy that he brought to fans and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game. With meticulous research, and drawing on interviews with Mays himself as well as with close friends, family, and teammates, Hirsch presents a complex portrait of one of America's most significant cultural icons. Authorized by Willie Mays and written by a New York Times bestselling author, this is the definitive biography of one of baseball's immortals.

The Baseball Fan's Bucket List Robert Santelli & Jenna Santelli (Running Press, 9780762438556, $15.95) The Baseball Fan's Bucket List presents the ultimate checklist of 162 places, activities, events, games, and items that every baseball fan must see, do, get, and experience before their final innings. Plan to live the baseball life year round – and from coast to coast – with this entertaining and enlightening companion that offers history, facts, and practical information on a cornucopia of items and activities sure to enrich the fan experience. From great books to great rivalries, must-see movies to amazing museums, essential items to indispensable information, and much more, The Baseball Fan's Bucket List is the ultimate companion for the true baseball fan.

The Empire Strikes Out Robert Elias (The New Press, 9781595581952, $27.95) Is the face of American baseball throughout the world that of goodwill ambassador or ugly American? Has baseball crafted its own image or instead been at the mercy of broader forces shaping our society and the globe? The Empire Strikes Out gives us the sweeping story of how baseball and America are intertwined in the export of “the American way.” From the Civil War to George W. Bush and the Iraq War, we see baseball’s role in developing the American empire, first at home and then beyond our shores. And from Albert Spalding and baseball’s first World Tour to Bud Selig and the World Baseball Classic, we witness the globalization of America’s national pastime and baseball’s role in spreading the American dream. Besides describing baseball’s frequent and often surprising connections to America’s presence around the world, Elias assesses the effects of this relationship both on our foreign policies and on the sport itself and asks whether baseball can play a positive role or rather only reinforce America’s dominance around the globe. Like Franklin Foer in How Soccer Explains the World, Elias is driven by compelling stories, unusual events, and unique individuals. His seamless integration of original research and compelling analysis makes this a baseball book that’s about more than just sports. Mixing sharp political analysis and compelling lore, The Empire Strikes Out provides an eye-opening look at baseball’s relationship to American empire, from the revolutionary era to the present.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay (Simon & Schuster, 9781416547983, $26.00) Before Jackie Robinson integrated major league baseball in 1947, black and white ballplayers had been playing against one another for decades – even, on rare occasions, playing with each other. Interracial contests took place during the off-season, when major leaguers and Negro Leaguers alike fattened their wallets by playing exhibitions in cities and towns across America. These barnstorming tours reached new heights, however, when Satchel Paige and other African-American stars took on white teams headlined by the irrepressible Dizzy Dean. Lippy and funny, a born showman, the native Arkansan saw no reason why he shouldn’t pitch against Negro Leaguers. Paige, who feared no one and chased a buck harder than any player alive, instantly recognized the box-office appeal of competing against Dizzy Dean’s "All-Stars." Paige and Dean both featured soaring leg kicks and loved to mimic each other’s style to amuse fans. Skin color aside, the dirt-poor Southern pitchers had much in common. Historian Timothy M. Gay has unearthed long-forgotten exhibitions where Paige and Dean dueled, and he tells the story of their pioneering escapades in this engaging book. Long before they ever heard of Robinson or Larry Doby, baseball fans from Brooklyn to Enid, Oklahoma, watched black and white players battle on the same diamond. With such Hall of Fame teammates as Josh Gibson, Turkey Stearnes, Mule Suttles, Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, and Bullet Joe Rogan, Paige often had the upper hand against Diz. After arm troubles sidelined Dean, a new pitching phenom, Bob Feller – Rapid Robert – assembled his own teams to face Paige and other blackballers. By the time Paige became Feller’s teammate on the Cleveland Indians in 1948, a rookie at age forty-two, Satch and Feller had barnstormed against each other for more than a decade. These often obscure contests helped hasten the end of Jim Crow baseball, paving the way for the game’s integration. Satchel Paige, Dizzy Dean, and Bob Feller never set out to make social history – but that’s precisely what happened. Tim Gay has brought this era to vivid and colorful life in a book that every baseball fan will embrace.

Perfect Lew Paper (New American Library, 9780451228192, $24.95) Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers remains the only no-hit game in World Series history and was described by The New York Times as “the greatest moment” in World Series history. Drawing upon oral histories, contemporaneous articles, and dozens of interviews with commentators and players (including all of the surviving players for the Dodgers and Yankees), Lew Paper brings that extraordinary event to life with a pitch-by-pitch narrative that incorporates profiles of the 19 players who were on the field that day, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and Roy Campanella. You will understand their backgrounds, their hopes, and their heartaches – and, most important, share the incredible tension they experienced on that unforgettable day in Yankee Stadium. On October 8, 1956, New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen took the mound for Game 5 of the World Series against the rival Brooklyn Dodgers. In an improbable performance that the New York Times called the greatest moment in the history of the Fall Classic, Larsen, an otherwise mediocre journeyman pitcher, retired twenty-seven straight Dodger batters to clinch a perfect game and, to date, the only post-season no-hitter ever witnessed in major league baseball. Here, Lew Paper delivers a masterful pitch-by-pitch account of that fateful day and the extraordinary lives of the players on the field – seven of whom would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Meticulously researched and relying on dozens of interviews, Paper’s gripping narrative recreates Larsen’s feat in a pitching duel that featured legendary figures like Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra, and Roy Campanella. More than just the story of a single game, Perfect is a window into baseball’s glorious past.

It's What's Inside the Lines That Counts Fay Vincent (Simon & Schuster, 9781439159217, $25.00) It’s What’s Inside the Lines That Counts brings together ballplayers, managers, an umpire, and the first head of the players’ union to describe the momentous changes to the game that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent draws from his ongoing oral history of the game to celebrate the era that spans the Miracle Mets through free agency to Cal Ripken’s historic consecutive-games streak. Willie McCovey remembers meeting the Giants’ other Willie and the powerful impact that Willie Mays had on him. He expresses pride that the Giants chose to honor him at their ballpark with McCovey Cove. Teammate Juan Marichal, one of baseball’s Latino pioneers, recalls encountering racism for the first time in America. He recounts fortuitously overhearing a conversation among Latino ballplayers before a Giants-Pirates game that provided him with crucial information about Roberto Clemente. Managers Dick Williams and Earl Weaver assess their Hall of Fame careers. Williams remembers his contentious relationship with Charlie Finley and explains why he never managed for George Steinbrenner. Earl Weaver says he has changed, that umpires were "fantastic people," and that he shouldn’t have gotten thrown out of so many ballgames. Read it here for yourself. Tom Seaver, one of the dominant pitchers of his era, shares a funny incident from his first All-Star game, when he was young and looked even younger, and discloses the important piece of baseball wisdom that Gil Hodges gave him early in his career that has guided him ever since. Don Baylor recalls playing with a variety of teammates and teams, including the remarkable experience of playing in three consecutive World Series with three different teams, going from the 1986 Red Sox that came so close to winning the Series to the 1987 Minnesota Twins team that actually did it. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, "the Wizard of Oz," tells the story of how he began his signature back flip and offers insights into how he was able to pull off some of the most spectacular defensive plays in baseball history. Baseball’s Iron Man Cal Ripken remembers the high expectations that came with being the son of a baseball manager and explains why the "Orioles way" was more than just a slogan for him. Bruce Froemming, MLB’s longest-serving umpire, reveals the rules behind the fine art of allowing managers and coaches to have their say and still maintain absolute control over the game. And Marvin Miller, one of the most important figures in the history of the game, explains the origins and intentions of baseball’s players’ union and why he is so proud of what it has achieved. No fan of the game will want to pass up this illustrated, fascinating remembrance of two decades when baseball changed forever.

Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas Randy Miller (Running Press, 9780762438969, $24.95) To Philadelphia Phillies fans, he was the soundtrack of summer. To millions of football fans across America, he was the “Voice of the NFL.” And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people – including all of Harry’s surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry’s longtime personal psychologist – to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life – from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler – Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called “Harry the K.”

View from the Booth: Four Decades with the Phillies Chris Wheeler as told to Hal Gullan (Camino Books, 9781933822228, $24.95) Chris Wheeler is coming up on his 40th year working for the Philadelphia Phillies, the last 33 as a widely recognized television and radio broadcaster. He is one of the few people in the Phillies to have participated in both championship seasons – 1980 and 2008. As Tim McCarver points out in his Foreword, Chris Wheeler is accomplished at telling stories. From his first experience behind a mike at Penn State in the 1960s to his reflections on the Phillies’ ring ceremony at the Ball Park on April 8, 2009, “Wheels” can paint word pictures like few broadcasters in any sport. His View from the Booth encompasses memorable portraits of people and places you’re invited to share, all the highs and lows of nearly four decades with the never-boring Philadelphia Phillies.

The Baseball Codes Jason Turbow with Micael Duca (Pantheon, 9780375424694, $25.00) Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), and some of which only a minority of players are even aware of (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box). In The Baseball Codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed – and least known – traditions. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining. At the heart of this book are incredible and often hilarious stories involving national heroes (like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays) and notorious headhunters (like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale) in a century-long series of confrontations over respect, honor, and the soul of the game. With The Baseball Codes, we see for the first time the game as it’s actually played, through the eyes of the players on the field. With rollicking stories from the past and new perspectives on baseball’s informal rulebook, The Baseball Codes is a must for every fan.