Reading The Game

Baseball For Kids is packed full of fun information for kids learning about baseball, getting them up to speed on the game’s origins and bringing them up to date with all of the key events in the history of the game.

Author Adam C. MacKinnon is a contributing baseball writer for Baseball Almanac and Call to the Pen, and founder of Romantic About Baseball, a baseball blog and podcast, and he was generous enough to join us on the sho...

Combining statistical analysis, common sense, and a host of intangibles, Brian Wright’s book Met’s All-Time All-Stars constructs a Mets line-up for the ages. An obvious must-read for fans of the Amazin’ club, the book is also an interesting resource for any baseball history buff.

We were delighted to welcome Brian to the show to discuss the book’s inception and main themes, and to chat about the process of writing the book, as well...

Conflict is journalist and author Ryan Ferguson’s tell-all account about how he committed the unspeakable act of switching allegiances from the Red Sox to the Yankees. Part memoir, part history, and tackling difficult topics such as mental health, racism, class, identity and domestic violence, Ferguson pours his heart onto the page, spitting the truth on a lifetime of pent-up insecurity and secrecy.

We were delighted to welcome Rya...

In his remarkable book from 1990, author Robert Whiting offers an intriguing and often humorous look at the differences and similarities between the national obsession over baseball in Japan and in the United States and a detailed account of the game of 'besoboru'.

To discuss the book we were thrilled to be joined again by John McGee from Bat Flips & Nerds, who was making his second appearance on the show after talking about Bo...

The Wax Pack chronicles author Brad Balukjian’s remarkable road trip across the US  in the summer of 2015, spanning 11,341 miles through thirty states in forty-eight days to tell the stories of a set of players who turned up in a random pack of 1986 of Topps baseball cards.

We were delighted to be joined by the author to find out what inspired his trip and how he came to bring the book to publication, and also by Rob from Bat ...

Astroball is the definitive account of the Houston Astros' unexpected rise to win the 2017 World Series, by the writer who famously predicted it three years earlier on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Somewhat overshadowed by the subsequent scandal surrounding the Astros, the book is nevertheless an insightful and gripping read, and one which chronicles one of the most remarkable reversals of fortune in baseball history.

We were th...

The Incredible Women of the AAGPBL by Anika Orrock is a remarkable book - one that seamlessly weaves together the history of the league with the voices of the women involved and the broader societal context of the 1940s and 1950s in America, with a unique and evocative illustrative style.

After a great chat with Anika about her wonderful book, we were lucky to be joined by Leslie Heaphy, Vice-President of SABR and Chair of the SABR...

This episode we are talking about the book ‘Will Big League Baseball Survive: Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports, and the Future of Major League Baseball’ by Lincoln A. Mitchell, a fascinating 2016 book which examines the extent to which MLB can continue to thrive in its current form, and analyses some of the key factors likely to threaten the future health of the sport. 

We were fortunate to speak to the autho...

A book of essays on a journey through baseball fandom, Paddy Johnston's beautifully written Stealing Home features brilliant illustrations by Samuel C. Williams and Rozi Hathaway, and was published in 2019.

We invited Paddy and Sam on to the show to discuss the book and to talk a bit about their love of baseball and what they miss about the game in 2020. 

Please take a minute to rate and review the podcast, and please don't he...

Covering in depth the history of baseball in 41 European countries, Josh Chetwynd's Baseball in Europe is a comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and highly entertaining read - ideal both for fans of European baseball and those completely oblivious to the sport on the continent.

Fresh from a break of six months, (in which we welcomed Steve's second daughter, Bonnie, into the world!) we are delighted to be back discussing baseball b...

In her remarkable 2017 book, Stacey May Fowles shows us how we can use the lens of baseball to examine who we are. The book has been described as a passionate ode to baseball, its culture, and its community, which both celebrates and challenges the game – and reminds us why it really matters.

We were delighted to be joined by Stacey and in the first part of the episode we chatted about her writing process and some of the book's mai...

When it was first published in 1970, Ball Four stunned the sports world. The commissioner, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and a "social leper." Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue, but fans loved the book and many critics hailed it as an important social document.

50 years after his chronicling of the 1969 season, and just months after Bouton’...

The MVP Machine is a 2019 book about how innovations in science and technology have launched a movement which is revolutionising player development. 

Co-authored by Ben Lindbergh, a staff writer for the ringer and host of the Effectively Wild podcast, and by Travis Sawchik, a staff writer for Five Thirty Eight, the book aims to transform our understanding of teaching and talent.

We were delighted to be joined by Ben Lindbergh ...

The Art of Fielding is a 2011 novel by American author Chad Harbach. It focuses on the fortunes of shortstop Henry Skrimshander and his career playing college baseball with the fictional Westish College Harpooners.

We were delighted to be joined by the author himself and in the first part of the episode we chatted about his inspiration and the long process of bringing the book to publication as well as some of the book's themes.

We...

With a background in clinical psychology as well as experience of working in major league front offices, former Baseball Prospectus writer and all-round nice chap Russell A. Carleton was uniquely placed to provide a marriage of sabermetrics and cognitive science in his excellent 2018 book, The Shift.

Fortunate (and very grateful!) to be given the opportunity to discuss the book with the author himself, in the first part of the epis...

In his 2015 book, the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga goes behind the scenes at the Washington Nationals, to tell the untold stories of life in the major leagues over 'The Grind' of a 162 game season.

The first part of the episode is an interview with Barry Svrluga himself (6:40), who kindly joined us to speak about his motivation for writing the book, how he put it all together and the story of how he brought it to publication. He...

First published as an essay in Harper's Magazine in 1992, and later reworked as the prologue to Underworld, Don DeLillo's Pafko at the Wall is set against the backdrop of the 1951 NL Pennant decider between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers and Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round The World. 

To discuss the book we were joined by freelance writer and editor Jon Mackenzie, who is best known to baseball fans for the excel...

Episode 2 - Bottom of the 33rd

Bottom of the 33rd, by Dan Barry, describes the longest game ever played in professional baseball history, between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings in 1981, and the myriad characters who were involved. 

At the beginning of the episode we welcomed author Dan Barry, who very kindly agreed to answer some questions about the book. He provided an outline of the book, and talked a bit ...

Welcome to Reading the Game - the podcast where baseball fans discuss the baseball books they love!

In this first episode we were joined by Matt Smith (@MattBaseballGB) and Russell Eassom (@REassom) to discuss Moneyball by Michael Lewis.

We talked about how Billy Beane's A's impacted the game, and how influential the ideas described in the book have been, and the extent to which the landscape of baseball in 2019 differs as a result...