'Tis the Season

'Tis the season for baseball. 'Tis also the season for baseball books! Every spring when a young man's or woman's thoughts turn to baseball, the publishers are right there ahead of them. This year is no exception. While we are barely a month into the season, and no, the Red Sox are not going to stay in last place in the American League East, and yes, the Yankees could quite possibly stay in first place for the entire season, but I doubt that too; baseball books are crowding the shelves of bookstores and libraries alike.

While there are a plethora of titles to pick from this baseball and publishing season, I have chosen to highlight the books that will be soon or are now available at your Ledyard Libraries. For the Red Sox fans, we have a new book by the current longest tenured player on the team; Tim Wakefield. Knuckler: my life with baseball's most confounding pitch is Tim's story of his long baseball career and throwing the knuckleball. For those interested in the history of baseball, John Thorn has written Baseball in the Garden of Eden: the secret history of the early game. The fans of the old Brooklyn Dodgers will enjoy two recent books, Campy: the two lives of Roy Campenella by Neil Lanctot and Jimmy Breslin's Branch Rickey. Three new books are being added to the collection of New York Yankee lore. Kostya Kennedy's 56: Joe DiMaggio and the last magic number in sports is about that magical baseball year of 1941. The House that Ruth Built: a new stadium, the first Yankees championship and the redemption of 1923 by Robert Weintraub, takes us back to earlier times. Current Yankee fans will enjoy The Captain: the journey of Derek Jeter by Ian O'Connor.

If you are a fan of baseball books, 'tis the season to request them from your local library.