Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments

Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It is Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s known as shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters. But these are also moments raw with the humanity of the game, the unheralded heroes, the mesmerizing mistakes drenched in pine tar, and each and every story, from the immortal to the difficult to understand, is told from a unique point of view. Whether of a real fan who witnessed it, or the pitcher who gave up the home run, the umpire, the coach, the opposing player—these are fresh takes on moments so powerful they almost feel like myth.

Posnanski’s previous book, The Baseball 100, portrayed the heroes and pioneers of the sport, and now, with his trademark wit, encyclopedic knowledge, and acute observations, he gets at the true heart of the game. From nineteenth-century pitchers’ duels to breaking the sport’s color line in the ’40s, the entire way to the greatest trick play of the last decade and the slide home that became a meme, Posnanski’s illuminating take allows us to rediscover the sport we love—and thought we knew.

Why We Love Baseball is an epic that ends too soon, a one-of-a-kind love letter to the sport that has us thrilled, torn, inspired, and all the time wanting more.