NOVELIST ADULT BOOKS
Dreaming Baseball by J.T. Farrell (2007) Fiction
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Mickey Donovan finally achieves his childhood dream
of playing baseball for the White Sox when he makes the team in 1919, a dream that is
transformed into a nightmare by the infamous Black Sox scandal.
+The End of Baseball by Peter Schilling (2008) Fiction
After returning from Gaudalcanal in 1944 with a missing leg and no money, Bill Veeck manages
to hustle his way into buying the Philadelphia Athletics and recruits players from the Negro
Leagues to create the greatest team in baseball history.
**The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella (1996-reprint) Fiction
His quest to prove that the world-champion Chicago Cubs of 1908 met the amateur Iowa
Baseball Confederacy in an epic game of more than two thousand innings brings Gideon Clarke
and his friend Stan in touch with destiny. Reprint.
**The Annotated Baseball Stories of Ring W. Lardner, 1914-1919 by Ring W. Lardner (1995) Fiction
Twenty four short stories, two-thirds of which describe real teams, real players, and real
situations. Annotations serve to identify the many references to the real world of early
twentieth-century major league baseball. Includes some material on the Minneapolis Millers.
+The Heavenly World Series: Timeless Baseball Fiction by Frank O’Rourke (2002) Fiction
Presents a collection of stories about baseball players who play out their fantasies and dreams
through the game and the discipline that surrounds it.
Murderer’s Row: Baseball Mysteries (2001) Fiction
Lawrence Block, John Lescroart, and Elmore Leonard share stories about the mysterious deaths
of coaches and players, agents and baseball dads in complex situations, and players who exhibit
less than gentlemanly behavior.
Ring Around the Bases: the Complete Baseball Stories of Ring Lardner by Ring Lardner (2003) Fiction
A complete anthology of baseball fiction by Ring Lardner features short stories that capture the
integral role of baseball in American life.
Breaking Balls: A Novel of Baseball by Paul Lebowitz (2001) Fiction
Rum Point: A Baseball Novel by Rick Wilber (2009) Fiction
"This novel provides a blend of mystery thriller and baseball narrative. It tells the story of Felicity
Lindsay, a small-town police officer who finds a murder victim on the beach. Her curiosity about
the crime eventually leads Felicity and her father, the alcoholic manager of the major-league
baseball team, into a confrontation with a drug cartel"--Provided by publisher.
+The Spoiler: A Novel of Baseball and Murder by Domenic Stansbury (1987) Fiction
Having fled his wife and life in Denver to avoid the results of a medical diagnosis, Frank Lofton
becomes a sportswriter in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he follows the fortunes of a minorleague baseball team and gets wind of an arson scam.
The Year of the Buffalo: A Novel of Love and Minor League Baseball by Marshall Cook (2001) Fiction
+All the Stars Came Out that Night by Kevin King (2005) Fiction
A tale based on the 1934 World Series tracing the machinations of legal genius Clarence Darrow
to bring about the Cardinals win, an achievement also marked by the contributions of such
figures as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Henry Ford.
+Double Play by Robert B. Parker (2004) Fiction
In 1947, as Jackie Robinson breaks the major league baseball color barrier by playing for the
Brooklyn Dodgers, Joseph Burke, a World War II veteran and survivor of Guadalcanal, is hired
by Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to be Robinson's bodyguard.
+Waiting for Teddy Williams by Howard Frank Mosher (2004) Fiction
On the eighth birthday of Ethan "E.A". Allen, who lives with his mother and Gran in a Vermont
town decades behind the rest of New England, a drifter named Teddy comes into their world,
teaching E.A. how to play ball and the secrets of baseball.
+7000 Clams by Lee Irby (2005) Fiction
When Frank Hearn, a down-on-his-luck bootlegger and tough guy looking to score big in 1920s
America, gets his hand on a handwritten IOU for $7000 signed by Babe Ruth, he embarks on an
odyssey from New Jersey to St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Yankees are about to begin spring
training, in order to convince the Babe to give him the money.
Suitcase Sefton and the American Dream by Jay Feldman (2006) Fiction
Recounts the story of Mac "Suitcase" Sefton, a scout for the New York Yankees who discovers a
left-handed pitcher named Jerry Yamada in a Japanese-American internment camp in the
Arizona desert during World War II, his schemes to get Jerry released from the camp, and his
taboo love for Jerry's sister Annie.
**The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop (2004) Fiction
In Days of Awe by Eric. K. Goodman (1992) Fiction
With his life torn apart by gambling allegations, a suspension from baseball, the breakup of his
marriage, and facing the scorn of fans, former star pitcher Joe Singer holes up in Southern
California trying to put his life back together.
+Blockade Billy by Stephen King (2010) Fiction
A retired coach recounts the story of "Blockade Billy" Blakely, known for his skills as a catcher
and also as a formidable batter, the only player to have his record erased from baseball history,
and his time with the New Jersey Titans.
Season of Gene by Dallas Hudgens (2007) Fiction
His preference for a peaceful life shattered by the untimely death of a business partner, baseball
lover Joe Rice finds himself harassed about the whereabouts of a valuable Babe Ruth bat by an
ex-mobster, an entrepreneur, and a gun-toting minister.
If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock (1990) Fiction
Journalist Sam Fowler steps off a train in Ohio and finds himself back in the year 1869, and he
falls in with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, and accompanies
on their first nationwide tour.
+**The Entitled by Frank Deford (2007) Fiction
Howie Traveler, manager of the Cleveland Indians, and his Cuban-American star player, Jay
Alcazar, have little interaction off the field until Traveler witnesses an encounter between
Alcazar and a woman that ends in a rape charge.
Two in the Field by Darryl Brock (2002) Fiction
In the sequel to If I Never Get Back, Samuel Clemens Fowler yearns to return to 1869 Ohio,
where he had fallen in love with a beautiful Irish widow, and gets his wish when he is
transported back through time to 1875, where he becomes caught up in the tumultuous events
of the era.
+**The Natural by Bernard Malamud (1980) Fiction
This sports novel follows the career of baseball player Roy Hobbs, a natural with a bat whose
dreams of playing in the big leagues are deferred by a youthful indiscretion, but who finally
becomes a hero.
Scooter by Mick Foley (2005) Fiction
Growing up in the Bronx in the 1960s, Scooter Riley finds himself caught in the middle between
his NYPD cop father and his ex-firefighter grandfather as he discovers that baseball holds the
key to shaping his life.
+**Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella (1989) Fiction
Ray Kinsella's fanatic love of baseball drives him to build a baseball stadium in his corn field and
kidnap the author, J.D. Salinger, and bring him to a baseball game.
Sometimes You See it Coming by Kevin Baker (1993) Fiction
A baseball story for a new generation traces the heroic abilities of an elusive baseball legend
named John Barr and dwells on the cruel absurdity of a business peopled by millionaires with
high school mentalities and sportswriters desperate for a quote.
+Forced Out by Stephen W. Fry (2008) Fiction
A baseball scout, a remarkable player with a secret, and a Mafia hitman collide with violent and
unpredictable results.
The Cuban Prospect by Brian Shawyer (2003) Fiction
"With disarming intensity, humor, and great heart, Shawver tells the story of Dennis Birch, a
washed-up thirty-four-year-old ballplayer turned minor league scout. At the request of his
organization, he embarks on a plan to smuggle the hot left-handed pitcher Ramon Diego Sagasta
out of Fidel Castro's Cuba. Sagasta plays for the Cuban National Team but just might be destined
for American super-stardom. With this thought guiding him, and the hope that reflected glory
will be his, Dennis agrees to lend more than a hand in the defection. Birch is both the narrator
and a memorable character. His innocent belief in the rightness of his mission blinds him to
some of its realities, and what at first seems as if it could lead to his name on a plaque in
Coopertown's Hall of Fame, becomes a plunge into dangerous, sordid, and morally complex
waters. It becomes excruciatingly clear that Cuba is much farther from the Florida Keys than the
miles marked on a map"--Front flap.
Blue Ruin: A Novel of the 1919 World Series by Brendan C. Boyd (1993) Fiction
Sport Sullivan begins the scam that fixes the 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox
and the Cincinnati Reds.
Slider by Patrick Robinson (2002) Fiction
Hotshot young college pitcher Jack Faber returns after a stint in a summer baseball league to
find a new baseball coach who resents his success, cockiness, and talent and who sets out to
destroy Jack's confidence in himself and his pitching ability.
The Thrill of the Grass by W.P. Kinsella (2009) Fiction
Cooperstown by Eugena Pilek (2005) Fiction
The close-knit community of 1979 Cooperstown, New York is shaped by its members' faith,
family values, and devotion to baseball until the construction of a baseball theme park brings in
modern levels of commercialism and tests their old-world way of life.
+**Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (1962) Fiction
A poignant portrayal of professional ballplayers' lives on and off the field during the sport's
golden years in the 1950's.
+For Love of the Game by Michael Shaara (1999) Fiction
It's the last game of the season, Billy Chapel, a seventeen season legend and guaranteed Hall-ofFamer, has always played for the love of the game, never money nor fame. Now, at the end of
an amazing career, he finds himself playing his most crucial game. He has one last chance to
prove who he is and what really matters in life.
Havana Heat by Darryl Brock (2006) Fiction
A fictional portrait based on the life and times of an early twentieth century baseball player
follows Luther "Dummy Taylor, a fading deafmute pitcher for the New York Giants, as he
struggles to make a comeback with the baseball major leagues.
+Battle Creek by Scott Lasser (1999) Fiction
Gil--a devoted coach of an amateur baseball team whose pitcher is losing his arm, whose father
is dying of cancer, and whose son doesn't need him--feels his chance for redemption is riding on
the championship game, but unforeseen events will alter all their lives forever.
The Man Who Played Catch with Nellie Fox by John Manderino (1998) Fiction
After a routine pop-up falls on his head, Hank decides that he's through with baseball, but has a
tough time when he realizes that baseball is the only thing that's given meaning to his life.
+**The Great American Novel by Phillip Roth (1995) Fiction
A third major baseball league tries to survive, but World War II decimates it by 1943.
Columbus Slaughters Braves by Mark Friedman (2001) Fiction
A baseball star and his older brother struggle with their relationship as Joe, the Chicago Cubs
third baseman, makes a mess out of his charmed life.
**The Southpaw by Mark Harris (1962) Fiction
A coming-of-age story about a great baseball pitcher as he works his way from the bush league
to the World Series.
+Murder at Fenway Park by Troy Soos (1994) Fiction
In 1912, Mickey Rawlings reports for his first day as a Boston Red Sox player, only to discover a
faceless body in the empty stadium. When the police name him as a suspect, he knows he must
clear his name or give up baseball and his freedom. This book is the first of this series featuring
baseball player Mickey Rawlings. Other titles include, Hanging Curve and Murder at Ebbets Field
and many others.
Dugout by Adam Beechen (2008) Fiction
It's 1960, and the only thing that can save in-debt manager Cookie Palisetti and his sinking pro
baseball team is getting his star pitcher out of prison. When the courts won't show mercy,
Cookie plans an exhibition game against the prison team - as cover for the wildest, most unlikely
jailbreak ever!.
+The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (1999) Fiction
When a 9-year-old girl becomes lost on a hike on the Appalachian Trail, she relies on her
courage and faith, as she imagines her hero, baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, is with her.
+Be the One by April Smith (2000) Fiction
Returning to Los Angeles from a trip to the Dominican Republic with Alberto Cruz, the teenage
baseball star she discovered, and seductive developer Joe Galinis, hard-living female baseball
scout Cassidy Sanderson discovers that they all have become entangled in a blackmail scheme
marked by violence, voodoo, deception, and betrayal.
+The Way Home is Longer by Christopher Renino (1997) Fiction
Draws a moving parallel between Jackie Robinson's 1947 experiences with the Dodgers as the
first African American to play major league baseball and the personal life of nineteen-year-old
Vinnie, a Dodgers ball boy.
+Screwball by David Farrell (2003) Fiction
The Boston Red Sox's hottest, young player, Ron Kane alters the team's fortune when his ability
as a "killer" pitcher extends off the field, as General Manager Neville Wulfmeyer suddenly
realizes, when the FBI, media, and mobsters all become involved.
The Curious Case of Sidd Finch by George Plimpton (2004) Fiction
The author of the legendary "Sidd Finch" baseball sports hoax in Sports Illustrated transforms
the entire incident into a baseball fairy tale--a novel that probes baseball's capacity to mystify,
captivate, and deceive Americans. Reprint.
+Gift of the Bambino by Jerry Amernic (2004) Fiction
Follows the coming-of-age of a young man who makes a special connection with his grandfather
at the end of the latter's life, a period marked by the grandfather's hero-worship of Babe Ruth
and memories about one of the athlete's early home runs.
Once Upon a Fastball by Robert L. Mitchell (2008) Fiction
When a cryptic poem left by his grandfather leads him to an old baseball, Harvard professor
Seth Stein is taken back in time to 1950s New York and to the greatest baseball game ever
played, where all of his questions are answered.
+The Youngest Hero by Jerry B. Jenkins (2002) Fiction
Determined to protect her son, who has been blessed with an amazing talent, from overly
enthusiastic baseball scouts, difficult coaches, and greedy agents, a single mother uses wisdom
and love to help her son make it to the major leagues on their own terms.
+The Elements of Hitting by Matthew F. Jones (1994) Fiction
Walter Innis, the son of a violent ex-baseball star and an unhappy, unfaithful woman, finds an
escape from and a new understanding of his dysfunctional past when he takes over as a Little
League baseball coach.
7: The Mickey Mantle Novel by Peter Golenbock (2007) Fiction
A fictional memoir inspired by the life of the iconic baseball star places a surprised late Mantle in
heaven, where he confesses the truth about how he hurt his loved ones, alienated his fans,
succumbed to alcoholism, and otherwise fell short of deserving the adulation directed toward
him throughout his career.
**The Golem’s Mighty Swing by James Sturm (2001) Fiction
This graphic novel follows a Jewish barnstorming baseball team, called the Stars of David, during
the 1920s.
+Coyote Moon by John A. Miller (2003) Fiction
While rookie Henry Spencer struggles to reconcile Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle with major
league baseball, the eccentric residents of a trailer park wonder if Henry is the latest in a line of
reincarnated spirits that can be traced back to Isaac Newton.
+Caught in a Rundown: A Novel Introducing Jewel Averick and Dee Sweet by Lisa Saxton (1997) Fiction
An unlikely couple of sleuths--the beautiful, Black, spoiled Jewel Averick and her insecure
white friend, Dee Sweet--team up to locate the legendary Two-Mile McLemore, a baseball star
from the Negro Leagues.
+Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace (2010) Fiction
In early twentieth century Brooklyn, Ruby endures many hardships including the flu epidemic,
the death of family members, and even starvation, until her pitching talents open new
opportunities in the changing world of sports for women.
+Big League Dreams by Allen Hoffman (1997) Fiction
Chronicles the lives of Jews who, in the 1920s, leave Krimsk for America, where they discover
gambling, graft, and baseball.
Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery by Mary-An Tirone Smith (2008) Fiction
An abandoned baby is found in the clubhouse at Fenway Park. The nurses at Deaconess name
him Ted Williams, what else? A promising minor league pitcher goes missing. A player agent is
caught up in a web of blackmail. A woman's body turns up in the Back Bay fens. Enter Rocky
Patel, Boston Homicide Detective First Grade, ordered to connect the dots. And joining him out
of left field, an anonymous blogger who knows too much.
+How All This Started by Pete Fromm (2000) Fiction
Abilene and Austin, a brother and sister feeling stultified by the small-town Texan life imposed
on them by their parents, dream of escape, with Abilene becoming desperately and dangerously
obsessed with helping her brother become a major league pitcher.
The Legend of Mickey Tussler by Frank Nappi (2008) Fiction
Recognized as a prodigy pitcher in spite of his autism, seventeen-year-old Mickey Tussler is
recruited for a minor-league affiliate of the Boston Braves but finds his memories of an abusive
father, heckling peers, and inability to socialize hampering his prospects.
BOLD- THESE TITLES DEAL WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL AND PLAYERS AND/OR THE
NEGRO LEAGUES
**- THESE TITLES ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE UWEC-MCINTYRE LIBRARY COLLECTION
+- THESE TITLES ARE LOCATED AT THE EAU CLAIRE PUBLIC LIBRARY