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Best Baseball Novel

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Gold, Jul 20, 2007.

  1. Gold

    Gold Active Member

    I recently finished For the Love of the Game by Michael Shaara, and I thought it was fantastic. I'm trying to think of a better baseball novel, and I am having a hard time.

    What are some of your favorites?
     
  2. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Box Socials by W.P. Kinsella

    It's wonderfully lyrical, and a good story.
     
  3. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    An old, old, oldie but still a goodie:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  4. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    And another one dear to my heart, a historical novel from Buck Weaver's perspective:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  5. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    Another vote for Box Socials.
     
  6. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Excellent, excellent book.

    Of course, there's always The Great American Novel.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  7. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Finally...somebody on this site agrees with me. I've brought this book up on numerous threads, usually in reference to my pure hatred of the way Sam Raimi's movie fucked up my favorite book.

    It's all about the protagonist. Billy Chapel in the book is a great character, impossible not to like. Billy Chapel in the movie is a prick who can be a good guy when he feels like it.
     
  8. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    "The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop." by Robert Coover
     
  9. "You Know Me, Al" -- Ring Lardner
     
  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Is that the one with the strat-o-matic type game?
     
  11. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    Call me Gil Gamesh. Roth nailed that one.

    The Natural, as written, is a wonderful book (of course, I loved the movie, even with the different ending). So is Shoeless Joe. The Love of the Game is excellent.

    I also enjoyed The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, and Bang the Drum Slowly. There's tons of great baseball fiction out there.

    Even Eight Men Out, which, if you believe that all of the Sox actively participated in the conspiracy (sorry Buck), is also fiction.
     
  12. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    8MO is terrific fiction -- although I suspect I'm calling it fiction for a different reason than you.

    Sorry, but there's no way Weaver actively participated in throwing the games on the field. Not a chance in the world.
     
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