Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski
Every sports fan loves a good “best of all time debate” and this book provides all the ammo this very debate as it pertains to professional baseball. What is unique about Posnanski’s work, though, is that rather than argumentation he offers something more akin to odes. Yes, he is ranking the 100 greatest baseball players of all time, but more than that he is reveling in the greatness of these 100 players. More than stats and comparisons he offers anecdotes and tales to enliven the numbers and make them matter. Posnanski excels at weaving together the nerdery unique to baseball analysis and the mythology that makes its fandom so fun. This book is on the short list of books that every baseball fan should read.
2. Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival
I do not claim to be a man of fine or discerning taste (although I am one of strong opinion), and I was even less so as a middle schooler. Yet somehow, some way, this was the first ever cd I spent my own money on at around the age of 11. Why? Call it prescience. Call it happy accident. Call it an intervention of the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, it was a loud and beneficial shot of musical genius into my ears and is very likely the reason I gravitate toward driving, bluesy, southern rock to this day and why I love songs that tell stories. This is an all time classic album, and as the weather turns nicer and the windows more open it is one to turn on and turn up and enjoy
3. MLB’s Weird Batting Stances
Now that baseball season is officially upon us it is time to celebrate one of its great oddities: the variety of batting stances from across the years. It seems that with the preponderance of private coaching and off-season training players are becoming more standardized in everything they do these days, so let’s look back with delight on the Gumbys and pretzels of the batter’s box.
