The Baseball 100
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- Create Date：2021-09-29 11:20:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Joe Posnanski
- ISBN：1797130757
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Summary
A magnum opus from acclaimed baseball writer Joe Posnanski， The Baseball 100 is an audacious， singular， and masterly book that took a lifetime to write。 The entire story of baseball rings through a countdown of 100 greatest players in history， with a foreword by George Will and published in partnership with The Athletic。
An instant classic of baseball literature and a must-read for any fan， The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the game through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players。 In the book’s foreword， Pulitzer Prize–winning commentator George Will marvels， “Posnanski must already have lived more than two hundred years。 How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport？”
Baseball’s legends come alive in these pages， which are not merely rankings but vibrant profiles of the game’s all-time greats。 Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers， stars of the Negro Leagues， forgotten heroes， talents of today， and more。 He doesn’t just rely on records and statistics—he lovingly retraces players’ origins， illuminates their characters， and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball’s past and present。 Just how good a pitcher is Clayton Kershaw in the twenty-first-century game relative to Greg Maddux dueling the juiced hitters of the nineties？ How does the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth？ Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history？
Engrossing， surprising， and heartfelt， The Baseball 100 is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who played it。
An instant classic of baseball literature and a must-read for any fan， The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the game through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players。 In the book’s foreword， Pulitzer Prize–winning commentator George Will marvels， “Posnanski must already have lived more than two hundred years。 How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport？”
Baseball’s legends come alive in these pages， which are not merely rankings but vibrant profiles of the game’s all-time greats。 Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers， stars of the Negro Leagues， forgotten heroes， talents of today， and more。 He doesn’t just rely on records and statistics—he lovingly retraces players’ origins， illuminates their characters， and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball’s past and present。 Just how good a pitcher is Clayton Kershaw in the twenty-first-century game relative to Greg Maddux dueling the juiced hitters of the nineties？ How does the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth？ Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history？
Engrossing， surprising， and heartfelt， The Baseball 100 is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who played it。
Reviews
Gillen Brown
，
The entries that make up this book were originally published on The Athletic in the spring and early summer of 2020， and this is how I read them before they were compiled into this book。 Posnanski published one each day， and they were the highlight of my day each time。 While the premise of the book is a simple ranking of the 100 best baseball players of all time， it's so much more than that。 Posnanski uses the players to tell the stories of how the game evolved and how baseball intersected with The entries that make up this book were originally published on The Athletic in the spring and early summer of 2020， and this is how I read them before they were compiled into this book。 Posnanski published one each day， and they were the highlight of my day each time。 While the premise of the book is a simple ranking of the 100 best baseball players of all time， it's so much more than that。 Posnanski uses the players to tell the stories of how the game evolved and how baseball intersected with broader American life （particularly when discussing the Negro Leagues players）。 He also discusses some of the less commonly told stories that get at who the players were as people。 It's a combination of a love letter to baseball， the story of America told through baseball， and stories about the people that made the game so compelling。 Posnanski isn't just one of my favorite sportswriters， he's one of my favorite writers in any genre， and this book has some of his best writing。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Triviasphinx
，
This 800+ page book is a massive yet accessible attempt to profile 100 of the greatest players of America's pastime， from the dead ball era of the 19th century to the superstars of the modern game。 There are few things that baseball fans enjoy more than comparing and ranking great hitters， fielders and pitchers from the vast history of the sports， and Posnanski does not fail to provide his own subjective list， backed by both statistical information and insights into the personalities of the 100 This 800+ page book is a massive yet accessible attempt to profile 100 of the greatest players of America's pastime， from the dead ball era of the 19th century to the superstars of the modern game。 There are few things that baseball fans enjoy more than comparing and ranking great hitters， fielders and pitchers from the vast history of the sports， and Posnanski does not fail to provide his own subjective list， backed by both statistical information and insights into the personalities of the 100 players he chose。 Like all such lists， the exact rankings themselves are not as important as the spotlight shown on not just some of the most famous players in the game， but also on players who have long faded into obscurity。 The author works hard to include players from the Negro Leagues and from the pre-Ruthian era who deserve to have their feats remembered。 Well-written and insightful， this is not a book to be read at one sitting， but rather to be skimmed and dived into by fans wanting to learn more about the stars of their sport。 Whether or not you agree with Posnanski's ratings， you will be intrigued by his skillful discussions of the great players of the game and why they deserve to be remembered。。 Recommended for baseball fans and a worthy addition to the sports section of libraries。 。。。more
Mark Chimel
，
This is an outstanding body of work that I thoroughly enjoyed as a baseball fan。 I have enjoyed previous works by Posnanski and the premise of ranking and writing about the top 100 baseball players of all time was right up my alley so I was very excited for this read。 It did not disappoint and I would definitely recommend to any baseball fan。 There will always be debates about who was the greatest ever in all sports， but where this book really shines is in the absolute wealth of information prov This is an outstanding body of work that I thoroughly enjoyed as a baseball fan。 I have enjoyed previous works by Posnanski and the premise of ranking and writing about the top 100 baseball players of all time was right up my alley so I was very excited for this read。 It did not disappoint and I would definitely recommend to any baseball fan。 There will always be debates about who was the greatest ever in all sports， but where this book really shines is in the absolute wealth of information provided about each of the 100 players contained in this volume。One of my favorite things about the history of baseball is the stories， especially about those lesser known players who were kept out of the major leagues or predated television broadcasts， and this book is full of them。 While I don't agree with all of Posnanski's rankings （and some players are ranked in various positions for other reasons than a true ranking）， the writing was great and the justification was always provided。 *I received an eARC via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Joe
，
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review。Joe Posnanski is a writer who sits in the middle of the venn diagram for "Stats Guy" and "Traditionalist" in baseball writing。 Instead of pitting one against the other， he often uses the stories and history that traditionalists love to explain some of the statistics from baseball's past。 On the flip side， he also uses some stats to illuminate or poke holes in some of the stories from the past。 Through it all， you can see the absolute love t I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review。Joe Posnanski is a writer who sits in the middle of the venn diagram for "Stats Guy" and "Traditionalist" in baseball writing。 Instead of pitting one against the other， he often uses the stories and history that traditionalists love to explain some of the statistics from baseball's past。 On the flip side， he also uses some stats to illuminate or poke holes in some of the stories from the past。 Through it all， you can see the absolute love that Posnanski has for the game。 I grew up with Posnanski and Jason Whitlock being the two main columnists for my hometown paper （The Kansas City Star）。 I grew to love Posnanski's writing， as his sentimental streak was balanced with a desire to have the facts and clarity about things。 While he was in KC， he had the Royals to write about， and the Royals at that time were atrocious。 Like， three 100 loss seasons in a span of four years atrocious。 However， where most writers could become cynical and worn out with all the losing， Posnanski managed to keep an upbeat look at the game， and to recognize that yes， the Royals were terrible， but they really provided a great amount of comedy。 I bring up his writing about the Royals because "The Baseball 100" deals with the complete opposite end of the spectrum。 These are the best players in baseball history （and I specifically choose the word baseball， and not MLB）。 Originally written as a series of posts on his blog， and then transferred over to The Athletic as a series of expanded essays， they've made their final arrival in book form。 Posnanski's grasp of baseball history is truly astounding。 The stories that he tells in the book， in addition to all of the statistics he had to research， had to take a lifetime of sportswriting to collect。 Posnanski doesn't shy away from the nastier side of the players， but he also finds a way to recognize that "these are grown men， these are heroes" （to quote a song by The Baseball Project）。 The rankings in the book are both serious and silly。 There are some that are clearly arbitrary， such as DiMaggio ending up at 56 （for obvious reasons） and Mike Trout ending up at 27 （to match his uniform number）。 At the end， the rankings do end up mattering， but I found myself caring less about where someone was ranked， and more curious as to where Posnanski would take their story。 The book， while long， doesn't feel that way because the chapters on each player are short and contained。 I sat down and read it straight through， but it doesn't need to be that way at all。 Rather， this is a book to flip through and land upon pages over the years。 Even though I got a digital ARC， I'm still going to purchase hard copy， I loved it that much。 。。。more
Rebecca
，
So， will I finish this book？ Honestly， no as I am not the intended demographic for this book。 And， have you seen my tbr pile？ But， 2/2 dudes have read this and love it。 And that’s pretty much all I need to know。 “Rebecca doesn’t read books about baseball。 But when she does， it’s this one。 Rebecca will sell the pants off this book”。 -Rebecca This has been a great conversation started these past few weeks。 And， with them sharing their favorite passages and me reading what I can， I have truly enjoy So， will I finish this book？ Honestly， no as I am not the intended demographic for this book。 And， have you seen my tbr pile？ But， 2/2 dudes have read this and love it。 And that’s pretty much all I need to know。 “Rebecca doesn’t read books about baseball。 But when she does， it’s this one。 Rebecca will sell the pants off this book”。 -Rebecca This has been a great conversation started these past few weeks。 And， with them sharing their favorite passages and me reading what I can， I have truly enjoyed it。 It was funny， enjoyable， and poetic。 Poetic？ Yes。 Poetic in writing and poetic in how passionate Rodger in trying to explaining the game and players to me。 So， will I finish this book？ You know， it is possible。 Easily digestible and readable。 Joe has navigated bringing his articles to book form for hard-core baseball and casual fans。 Thanks Eric for this ARC。 And thanks to Avid Press for said ARCs。 AND， special thank you to Joe himself for approving of my review （Twitter。） ☺️ 。。。more
Greville Waterman
，
What an incredible read， the whole history of baseball encapsulated in one very thick volume detailing a subjective author's view of the top 100 players in baseball history。Some were mere names to me others very well known but they all came to life given his excellent prose style and the stat used to illustrate their genius。A book to dip into rather than read cover to cover but a must， essential read for all baseball lovers。 What an incredible read， the whole history of baseball encapsulated in one very thick volume detailing a subjective author's view of the top 100 players in baseball history。Some were mere names to me others very well known but they all came to life given his excellent prose style and the stat used to illustrate their genius。A book to dip into rather than read cover to cover but a must， essential read for all baseball lovers。 。。。more
Amanda
，
I am not the hard core baseball fan that this is directed at， but found the read quite enjoyable。 And it's over 800 pages！ Dont underestimate this feat。 I learned a lot about baseball， history， and the people who played with lots of fun stories。 The stats are there， but never long enough to make my eyes glaze over enough to put the book down。 Posnanski is a big proponent of WAR and sabrmetrics， but doesnt bog down the writing or eliminate the personal （asterisk to Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds' hom I am not the hard core baseball fan that this is directed at， but found the read quite enjoyable。 And it's over 800 pages！ Dont underestimate this feat。 I learned a lot about baseball， history， and the people who played with lots of fun stories。 The stats are there， but never long enough to make my eyes glaze over enough to put the book down。 Posnanski is a big proponent of WAR and sabrmetrics， but doesnt bog down the writing or eliminate the personal （asterisk to Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds' home run comparison）。The things that kept it from 5 stars for me:Posnanski tries to be socially conscious， as I would expect from someone who writes about the Negro Leagues。 I applaud his attempts and he does include many poignant examples。 But he just misses some things， especially where it comes to the media or himself。 He talks about Yogi Berra and his depiction in the media， but Bob Gibson's allusions to the media's contribution to his perception as fierce and angry gets completely dismissed。 Despite Posnanski describing the intimidating pitching of other （white） players while not extending that to who they are as a person， he contradicts Gibson's calling out of the discrepancy。 This comes up in another way in his piece about Joe Morgan。 The last paragraph of that article， about the author's traffic stop， is incongruous and performative on Posnanski's part。 Also， I'm still confused on the goal of his argument for Oscar Charleston's placement and why it should make me angry， especially when so many "rankings" seemed random， based on Posnanski's personal history/age， and many many uniform numbers。This first appeared as 100 articles， and you can tell。 （If you read it straight through， try a game where something happens every time he says breathtaking。） There is some editing to put things together， but there could have been more。 Overall， I'd highly recommend this to baseball fans。 Expect lots of lively conversation and nostalgia。 Thank you to Joe Posnanski， Avid Reader Press， and Netgalley for an advance ecopy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion。 。。。more
Casey Wheeler
，
This book will cause fanatic baseball fans to have fits over the course of the winter （when I expect most will read it）。 The author lists is 100 greatest players of all time using “objective” stats and metrics to justify the listing and its order， but in the end it is still very subjective。 There will be a great deal of discussion on who is on the list and who is not along with the 1 to 100 order。 Overall， this will be a good book for every hardcore fan of baseball。I received a free Kindle copy This book will cause fanatic baseball fans to have fits over the course of the winter （when I expect most will read it）。 The author lists is 100 greatest players of all time using “objective” stats and metrics to justify the listing and its order， but in the end it is still very subjective。 There will be a great deal of discussion on who is on the list and who is not along with the 1 to 100 order。 Overall， this will be a good book for every hardcore fan of baseball。I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley， Goodreads， Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog。 。。。more
Chris
，
4。5 stars rounded upJoe Posnanski wrote a 100 article series counting down his top 100 baseball players of all-time。 This isn't a countdown， as the author states some players were assigned a number based on jersey number or a number significant to that player。 He also promises there are players ranked who folks may seem are too high or too low and he is right。 Tony Gwynn is far better than his number 95 ranking。Posnanski's writing style is conversational。 Like he's talking to you over the bevera 4。5 stars rounded upJoe Posnanski wrote a 100 article series counting down his top 100 baseball players of all-time。 This isn't a countdown， as the author states some players were assigned a number based on jersey number or a number significant to that player。 He also promises there are players ranked who folks may seem are too high or too low and he is right。 Tony Gwynn is far better than his number 95 ranking。Posnanski's writing style is conversational。 Like he's talking to you over the beverage of your choice。 He is never condescending and I liked that he explains many of the stats he cites for the novice fans， or those who are inexperienced in sabrmetrics。 Further， I also liked that this list is top PLAYERS of all-time and not just Major League players， meaning there are players included who played in the Negro Leagues before Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947。 Also， there are two different articles on the ever polarizing Barry Bonds。 One for fans who love him and another for those who don't。 My only complaints are that this could use some editing。 The word breathless was used so many times， I lost count。 Also， there was a lot of over romanticizing that could have been cut out。 I understand and most definitely share Posnanski's passion for baseball， as I am a baseball historian myself。 However， it made it a slog to get through at times。 Overall， this book is a brick at over 800 pages， but its actually a pretty quick read for the most part。 I would recommend this for hard core and new fans alike。Thank you to Avid Reader Press， author Joe Posnanski， and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Kyle
，
A fun read for any baseball fan looking for a bit of nostalgia。 The rankings are probably not in the order that you have them， but that is one of the aspects that make rankings fun - the debate。 Each player's chapter is a quick read， and is not just a rehashing of their career， but rather a a mix of their on the field excellence and some personal stories and/or quirks that will help humanize each player a bit more for the reader。I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my hon A fun read for any baseball fan looking for a bit of nostalgia。 The rankings are probably not in the order that you have them， but that is one of the aspects that make rankings fun - the debate。 Each player's chapter is a quick read， and is not just a rehashing of their career， but rather a a mix of their on the field excellence and some personal stories and/or quirks that will help humanize each player a bit more for the reader。I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
J Earl
，
I love lists。 I particularly love lists when the creator states up front that the list is not so much a best of ranking but a list with a rough hierarchy but also some whimsy （DiMaggio at number 56 for obvious reasons having nothing to do with actual ranking is the example he cites in his introduction）。 As such， The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski should theoretically elicit no argument。 Yeah， right， this is baseball and everything is open to argument。 And that is the joy of lists， baseball， and e I love lists。 I particularly love lists when the creator states up front that the list is not so much a best of ranking but a list with a rough hierarchy but also some whimsy （DiMaggio at number 56 for obvious reasons having nothing to do with actual ranking is the example he cites in his introduction）。 As such， The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski should theoretically elicit no argument。 Yeah， right， this is baseball and everything is open to argument。 And that is the joy of lists， baseball， and especially lists about baseball。This is no mere list however。 Each entry is a mini biography of sorts， highlighting the player and his accomplishments。 These are fascinating little sketches and that makes the reader understand， if not appreciate， each player that much more。 Like any lifelong baseball fan I have a lot of opinions about who is here and who isn't， where the ones here are ranked， and what constitutes greatness。 Yet even when I disagree with something Posnanski asserts I also acknowledge that his rationale does。 indeed， make sense for what he is doing。 This is his list and I appreciate the opportunity to see the list and I truly enjoyed reading about the characters that populated baseball over the years。I would highly recommend this to any baseball fan。 Some chapters will bring back memories， some will be little history lessons， but all of them will be a fun and informative trip into a player's life and career。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Carrie Jones
，
Loved this book！ Baseball and statistics go hand in hand。 Joe Posnanski uniquely adds humanity and soul to 100 of the greatest baseball legends。 We’ve heard of all of the players in the book， but there are so many interesting anecdotes， that we learn about these players in a new way。 Rich with history spanning generations， this is a book not just for baseball fans。 **Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Baseball 100
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Baseball 100&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Baseball 100&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0