Spring Training Special: 12 Baseball Books for under $2

Spring is finally, mercifully, upon us once again. Pitchers and catchers are back in action in Florida and Arizona and the full squad is soon to follow. To celebrate the kickoff of spring training, we've got a fantastic lineup of baseball books at a special, limited-time only discount of $1.99. The list runs from novels to non-fiction, including several former Casey Award nominees. So load up your e-reader and get ready for the season. This special ends Wednesday night. Don't miss out.

John McGraw: A Giant in His Time by Charles Alexander A 1988 Casey Award nominee, this is the definitive biography of perhaps the greatest figure of the first decades of major league baseball. It is John McGraw the battling third baseman and leader of the legendary Baltimore Orioles of the 1890s, pioneers of the hit-and-run, cut-off throws, and other essential baseball strategies. And it is John McGraw the unyielding manager of the hugely successful New York Giants, they of the 10 pennants and eight second place finishes in McGraw’s 32 years. McGraw was feared and respected by his players and just feared by his opponents and umpires. Award-winning baseball historian Charles Alexander recounts the life of the complex and elusive “Little Napoleon” on and off the field, as part of a meticulously researched history of the hard-nosed, vicious world of the first decades of professional baseball. First eBook edition. Buy Now Amazon	Stolen Season: A Journey Through America and Baseball's Minor Leagues by David Lamb On the field with baseball classics like Men at Work and The Boys of Summer, David Lamb travels the backroads of America to draw a stirring portrait of minor league baseball that will enchant every fan who has ever sat in the bleachers and waited for the crack of the bat. David Lamb's work has appeared in numbers publications, from National Geographic to Sports Illustrated. He is the author of six books on subjects as diverse as Africa and minor league baseball, and is a member of the Maine Newspaper Hall of Fame. Buy Now Amazon
The Might Have Been: A Novel by Joseph Schuster For Edward Everett Yates, split seconds matter: the precise timing of hitting a low outside pitch, of stealing a base, of running down a fly ball. After a decade playing in the minor leagues—years after most of his peers have given up—he’s still patiently waiting for his chance at the majors. Then one day he gets called up to the St. Louis Cardinals, and finally the future he wanted unfolds before him. But one more split second changes everything: In what should have been the game of his life, he sustains a devastating knee injury, which destroys his professional career. Full of passion, ambition, and possibility, The Might Have Been maps the profound and unpredictable moments that change our lives forever, and the irresistible power of a second chance. Buy Now Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million eBooks.com Google Play iBooks Kobo Random House	Nine Bucks a Pound: A Novel by James Bailey Three seasons into his minor league career, Del Tanner can no longer ignore the obvious: He lacks the power expected of a first baseman. Despite a smooth left-handed stroke and a slick glove, he’s regarded by the brass as nothing more than a warm body clogging a roster spot in A-ball. When his aspiring agent suggests he try steroids, Del makes a choice that will shadow him for the rest of his career. In his second novel, James Bailey (The Greatest Show on Dirt, 2012) humanizes the players fans are so often quick to demonize. Nine Bucks a Pound ponders life on baseball’s fringe and the dreams that tempt a young man to heed the devil on his shoulder. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark says, “Bailey hasn’t just given us a great read. He’s given us an important window into a topic we can’t seem to stop talking about.” Adds Russell Rowland, author of High and Inside, “Bailey expertly explores how the desire to succeed at any price can lead to unexpected consequences, mostly involving a man’s relationships with others, not to mention with his own conscience. This is a powerful story about the perils of success at any price.” Buy Now Amazon
How the Weather Was by Roger Kahn Robert Frost, Claudio Arrau, John Lardner, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Leo Durocher, Bobby Thomson, Al Rosen, Jascha Heifetz, and other heroic figures in their years of glory, in their times of trial. This is a book about people to be remembered, and what it was like in America at a very special time. Roger Kahn has often been called the best baseball writer in the country. He has earned this enconium as a newspaper reporter, magazine writer, columnist, and author. He lives in Stone Ridge, N.Y. with his wife and has two grown children. Buy Now Amazon	Home, Away by Jeff Gillenkirk Jason Thibodeaux has a $42 million contract to play baseball when the son he lost in a searing custody battle reappears in his life. Home, Away follows Thibodeaux’s rise as a pitcher and his agonized decision to quit in his prime to care for his troubled son. Their evolving relationship redefines the meaning of fatherhood itself. "A charming tale filled with sounds, scenes, and sensibilities that are real and vivid. Fatherhood, childhood, baseball, and marriage are all portrayed with profound and moving truthfulness." — Mario M. Cuomo, former minor league center fielder and Governor of New York Buy Now Amazon
The Book of Baseball Literacy, 3rd Edition by David Martinez Lose yourself in all the marvelous memories and hallowed history of America's national pastime. From the gloveless pioneers of the 1840s to the strife-ridden headlines of the 2000s and beyond, this comprehensive reference offers nearly 700 important baseball yarns, stats, and stories in a style as lively as the game itself. Praised by critics as “thoroughly enjoyable” (Booklist) and “instructive and fun” (USA Today) and even selected as required reading for a college course on baseball history, The Book of Baseball Literacy puts over a century and a half of legends and lore, right in your mitt. It will settle arguments and provoke them, answer questions and ask them. It’s a must for veteran baseball fans—and a perfect way for newcomers to get up to speed on baseball people, places, events, stats, stories, and more. Buy Now Amazon	The Baseball Thesaurus by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler Baseball is a sport with its own lingo — a colorful patois that’s developed over the years and millions of games. In The Baseball Thesaurus, a fascinating compendium of baseball terms, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler — broadcaster, storyteller, talker, voice — explains what baseball terms mean and how they came to be. Whether it’s Red Barber talking about the pea patch or Ernie Harwell discussing no-hitters, the language of America’s Pastime is brilliantly captured by Goldberg-Strassler. Sluggers deposit a Ballantine Blast in the nosebleeds. The top of the lineup sets the table for the heart of the order. Corner infielders guard the line. A lumberjack with a bad wheel staggers down the line while a glovesman flashes leather. This is the second edition of The Baseball Thesaurus, complete with more definitions, expanded meanings, and more vintage photographs. Buy Now Amazon
The Greatest Show on Dirt: A Novel by James Bailey Minor league baseball is the land of dreamers, where young men endure months on the road, long bus rides, bad food, and constant pressure while they hone their craft and reach for the next rung up the ladder. Like the players on the field, the men and women who work for the teams put in long hours for low pay to be part of the game they love. It doesn’t take Lane Hamilton long to understand the appeal. When he’s fired for sleeping through an important meeting at the bank where he works, Lane hooks on as an operations assistant with the Durham Bulls. Every day at historic Durham Athletic Park brings something new, and despite the grueling hours, Lane’s too busy ducking jealous co-workers and amped-up relief pitchers to ever get bored. Set in the same beloved old stadium where Bull Durham was filmed, The Greatest Show on Dirt is a realistic, yet often hilarious, account of a young man’s indoctrination into life in the bush leagues. Buy Now Amazon	Knocking on Heaven's Door by Marty Dobrow The rich slice of Americana found in minor league baseball presents a contradictory culture. On the one hand, the minors are filled with wholesome, family-friendly entertainment-fluffy mascots, kitschy promotions, and earnest young men signing autographs for wide-eyed Little Leaguers. On the other, they comprise a world of cutthroat competition in which a teammate's failure or injury can be the cause of quiet celebration and 90 percent of all players never play a single inning in the major leagues. In Knocking on Heaven's Door, award-winning sportswriter Marty Dobrow examines this double-edged culture by chronicling the lives of six minor leaguers—all struggling to make their way to "The Show." What links them together, aside from their common goal, is that they are all represented by the same team of agents, whose own aspirations parallel those of the players they represent. Buy Now Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo
The Forever Boys by Peter Golenbock The Forever Boys is the funny, heartbreaking, authentic story of the men who played in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. Best-selling author Peter Golenbock spent the season with the league champion St. Petersburg Pelicans. Like the league’s other seven teams, the Pelicans were a collection of former and near major leaguers—some desperate for a return to The Show, some in need of a pay check, all grateful for the joyous opportunity to suit up for another ballgame. Golenbock’s genius in capturing the essence of the men he writes about has never been more evident. His pitch-perfect ear for dialog and anecdotes, and deep understanding of the game, take you right onto the bus, into the clubhouse, and side-by-side with the ballplayers. Full of triumphs and failures, hopes and memories, one-liners and muscle pulls, The Forever Boys is a priceless time capsule of 1970s and 80s baseball. Buy Now Amazon	Fastball Fari: A Novel by Michael John Cruit Fari Madrigal throws 95, has an off-the-table curve, and pinpoint control. And by the way, she is a woman, a mystical 22-year old from the Dominican Republic. Minnesota Twins pitching coach Chet "Mac" Macquire sees Fari on YouTube, signs her, and inserts her into the rotation. A press conference announces Fari's arrival. An exhibition confirms her amazing skills. Disbelief turns into mass hysteria. But Fari suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. The relentless media and crazed public are unbearable and she retreats into hiding. Mac is Fari's protector, and his awe and amazement soon turn into love. Meanwhile, team trainer Doc Harris develops an obsession of his own, one that could be mortally dangerous to Fari. The world awaits Fari's debut. Will her magical baseball powers elevate her to immortality, or will her inner demons and the heartless onslaught of the material world swallow her up before her dream is realized? Buy Now Amazon