Why I Love Reading Books – “Why We Love Baseball” by Joe Posnanski

The first week of August, I received an baseball story email from Penguin Random House Publicity Agent, Julianna Meinz. In her email, she mentioned that New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski was coming to Newport, RI on a book tour to promote his new book, Why We Love Baseball (Dutton; September 5, 2023). Julianna asked if I would be interested in reading the book and helping to promote his appearance in Newport. I thought ‘Why we love baseball, geez I would need a blog and social media accounts and friends, family, and co-workers’ ears to tell them how much I love baseball. (Oh wait, I have that now.)’ Of course, I gladly accepted. Before I get to the promotion of the event, let me start with the book…

Am I dating myself when I say I love to read? Reading a great book, whether it is 127 pages of The Old Man in the Sea or 363 pages of baseball stories written by an absolutely amazing sportswriter named Joe Posnanski is just pure joy. Sure, listening to a book in your car or den on speakers, narrating beautifully by Morgan Freeman or Meryl Streep or Bob Costas (perhaps for a baseball book) is also a wonderfully emotional experience. Reading is a labor of love for the drama, suspense, slow and progressive character development, plot twists that take chapters to evolve and explode, the buildup and the climb up the steep mountain of twists and turns storywise, then the magnificent ending. Ahhhh, that was exhausting and oh so satisfying and, sorry you don’t get the same feeling from cliff notes, a made for TV adaptation, short film, or someone narrating the book to you.

Do you love baseball? I mean, really love the game? Do you love baseball stories? Do you love to tell baseball stories in your barber shop or at your community fundraisers or on Opening Day for your Little League organization? Do you sit your children or grandchildren down and tell them a great baseball story filled with the score, the leadup, the mistaken reports, the weather on that day, the chatter in the stands behind you, the type of car you drove to the stadium, the newspaper headlines the next day (that you saved and now show your audience), a play that you remember to this day some 50 years later? Can you captivate an audience with a baseball story that you know no one in your circle knows about? Can you mix in a comment about that play from a former player or manager or beat writer years or even decades later? Is there a tear in your eye when you remember your age, where you were, who you were with when that play happened? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, may I introduce Joe Posnanski’s Why We Love Baseball (Dutton; September 5, 2023).

First off, I love the color of the cover. Boston Red Sox colors, brilliantly done. Okay, that is my bias but still I love the red cover!!! Honestly, the cover is simple – a title, an author, a glove, a baseball. And if you are not hooked by “Why We Love Baseball,” well you should be. And how emotional and symbolic is a baseball glove and baseball? I remember just about every catch I had with my sons, who are now grown up and starting their own lives. I remember going to their Tee Ball games and coaching summer tournament games and throwing countless BP (batting practice) and catching sliders 60′ 6″ away, just loving every second of it. Personally, I love the cover because it doesn’t show Mantle or Mays or Aaron or Judge or Jeter or Musial or any of the great moments discussed in this book that might be a deterrent for a rival fan. The simplicity of the cover is literally daring you to open it up to the chapter page so you can connect with the author and find a commonality with his baseball stories.

For me, I was hooked from Page 1. When I am in the throws of a good book, it is like the book is magnetized to my hands and fingers. Back pain, neck pain, eye strain – merely physical obstacles I must get over to get to through this chapter. I get locked in and very little can unlock me, well except my wife telling me that I missed behind the couch again vacuuming (sorry Rachel). This baseball book is baseball stories upon baseball stories that many fans know about, but not like this. Arrogantly speaking, I saw the chapters and said ‘I know that, I was there, I saw that, oh man, I’m not sure I want to relive that’ because I am such a huge student of baseball history. Boy was I humbled because Posnanski is a brilliant storyteller, even telling me a thing or two or a thousand about a game or play that I actually saw, I witnessed it. That is talent and talented is just not a strong enough adjective for Joe Posnanski.

The book is amazing. It is easy to read. It is easy to follow along. The chapters move fast. The stories are incredible. The recaps of games and plays and events is just so fantastic. Posnanski dives in 50 baseball moments and adds so much depth in each moment, that I literally walked away as if I was just learning about the moment for the first time. Radio broadcasts, newspaper reporting, first hand accounts from players and managers, Posnanski’s stories are just littered with tons and tons of game day notes, facts, and accounts. I found out that some of the most significant moments in baseball history are grossly reported false or the facts were skewed by bad reporting. Posnanski and his research uncover the truths and set the record straight on some very, very important moments in baseball history. If that alone doesn’t hook you, here is why you should read the book…

If you are 10, 30, 50, or 100 there is a baseball moment in your life that will be in this book, explained in beautiful and emotional perfection. I don’t like to guarantee or make false promises, but I promise that no matter what your age is, you will find a story to connect to in this book. Why We Love Baseball (Dutton; September 5, 2023) is a book that connects baseball fans of all ages, whether you are from Mobile, Alabama or Long Beach, California or Portland, Maine or Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic or Havana, Cuba. I’m not shy about crying and my love of baseball and I 100% cried reading some passages in this book. You will too, don’t be ashamed of it. You love baseball right? We established that. So, people get emotional about the people, places, and things they love. I love baseball and I love reading books and I cried, so there.

And I loved reading Why We Love Baseball (Dutton; September 5, 2023).

Ok, last but not least, here is Joe Posnanski’s promotional schedule, which includes a stop in Newport on September 6th at the Jane Pickens Theater. Jane Pickens, by the way, is a stone’s throw from Newport’s famous Cardines Field, where I have compiled a million and one baseball stories in my baseball lifetime. The book is due for release in early September and I highly recommend the in person event and getting your hands on Why We Love Baseball (Dutton; September 5, 2023), one of the best baseball books I have ever read!