Baseball

The Baseball 100

The Baseball 100

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  • Create Date：2023-03-19 06:19:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Joe Posnanski
  • ISBN：1982180595
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Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year

“An instant sports classic。” —New York Post * “Stellar。” —The Wall Street Journal * “A true masterwork…880 pages of sheer baseball bliss。” —BookPage （starred review） * “This is a remarkable achievement。” —Publishers Weekly （starred review）

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 the 100 greatest players in history， with a foreword by George Will。

Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious，？ The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski。 In the book’s introduction， Pulitzer Prize–winning commentator George F。 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， unfairly forgotten All-Stars， talents of today， and more。 He doesn’t rely just 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 21st-century game compared to Greg Maddux dueling with the juiced hitters of the nineties？ How do the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth’s？ Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history？

No compendium of baseball’s legendary geniuses could be complete without the players of the segregated Negro Leagues， men whose extraordinary careers were largely overlooked by sportswriters at the time and unjustly lost to history。 Posnanski writes about the efforts of former Negro Leaguers to restore sidelined Black athletes to their due honor and draws upon the deep troves of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and extensive interviews with the likes of Buck O’Neil to illuminate the accomplishments of players such as pitchers Satchel Paige and Smokey Joe Williams; outfielders Oscar Charleston， Monte Irvin， and Cool Papa Bell; first baseman Buck Leonard; shortstop Pop Lloyd; catcher Josh Gibson; and many， many more。

The Baseball 100 treats readers to the whole rich pageant of baseball history in a single volume。 Engrossing， surprising， and heartfelt， it is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who have played it。

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Reviews

Tom Brown ，

I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Joe Posnanski shares his 100 best players in baseball history。 Most of the players that he includes in his "top 100" will probably not surprise baseball fans。 His specific ranking might provoke some discussion or argument among fans but I think that was part of his reason for writing the book。 He wanted to get folks to think about these amazing players。 I found the various stories that he told about these players to be quite fascinating。 It was interesting to lear I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Joe Posnanski shares his 100 best players in baseball history。 Most of the players that he includes in his "top 100" will probably not surprise baseball fans。 His specific ranking might provoke some discussion or argument among fans but I think that was part of his reason for writing the book。 He wanted to get folks to think about these amazing players。 I found the various stories that he told about these players to be quite fascinating。 It was interesting to learn how many fathers drove their sons to be excellent baseball players （Mickey Mantle and Chipper Jones to name just a few。。。） If you are just a casual baseball fan， you can also enjoy this book。 The lives and careers of these players are often quite fascinating。 Many of them came from poor backgrounds and needed to work for everything that they got。 Their careers and the stories that Posnanski tells about those careers are just as interesting if not more so， than the statistics about these players。 This was a most highly entertaining book and I highly recommend it。 This book will make for some good reading as the 2023 baseball season gets ready to begin。 。。。more

Thomas ，

Solid work， research， analysis。 But what a whiny fella。 No wonder the game is dying if this is the best writer or one of the best writers following the sport， today。 No real quarrels with his choices， and enjoyed some of the esoteric touches， like ranking Joe DiMaggio at #56！It's a fine reference。 Solid work， research， analysis。 But what a whiny fella。 No wonder the game is dying if this is the best writer or one of the best writers following the sport， today。 No real quarrels with his choices， and enjoyed some of the esoteric touches， like ranking Joe DiMaggio at #56！It's a fine reference。 。。。more

Alex Liuzzi ，

（Audio） 30 hours （and lots of words） of pure joy。 Sure， chapters start sounding alike， and how many times does Posnanski say， “and he was the best ____ of all time” with the blank repeated for five or more players。 Sure， not all the stories are gloriously written。 And sure， some of the tangents are too tangential。 But， goodness， overall this is pure entertainment that reminded me why I， a lover of baseball but not a fanatic （there were 20 players or so I barely had heard of）， loved the watching （Audio） 30 hours （and lots of words） of pure joy。 Sure， chapters start sounding alike， and how many times does Posnanski say， “and he was the best ____ of all time” with the blank repeated for five or more players。 Sure， not all the stories are gloriously written。 And sure， some of the tangents are too tangential。 But， goodness， overall this is pure entertainment that reminded me why I， a lover of baseball but not a fanatic （there were 20 players or so I barely had heard of）， loved the watching and following of the game as much as I do。 I honestly can’t wait for the next 100 best player book。 And， Posnanski dealt with race issues and cheating issues and years missed by war issues repeatedly and eloquently and gave each their substantive dues。 I love that he regularly noted that amazing white players prior to 1947 did not have to face black players。 And I cannot say enough about the reader Cary Hite - he seemed to somehow embrace the joy in these stories。 I laughed aloud many times and it was more often his delivery than the words themselves （but okay， Satchel Page quotes are funny no matter what）。 I loved this book。 Loved it so much I tried to do things in my day just to listen to more of it。 Thanks， Posnanski。 。。。more

Mike Hardin ，

A beautiful book。 The author communicates his passion for our national pastime through essays on his selection of the 100 greatest baseball players of all time （in no particular order， except for 1-3）。 It is an inclusive list， embracing Japanese players， both in Japan and in the majors， and also great stars from the Negro leagues who were denied the chance to display their brilliance on a national stage by Jim Crow。 For me， the stories of these men were the most moving and tragic。 Not only the t A beautiful book。 The author communicates his passion for our national pastime through essays on his selection of the 100 greatest baseball players of all time （in no particular order， except for 1-3）。 It is an inclusive list， embracing Japanese players， both in Japan and in the majors， and also great stars from the Negro leagues who were denied the chance to display their brilliance on a national stage by Jim Crow。 For me， the stories of these men were the most moving and tragic。 Not only the tragedy of what they were denied， great as that was， but of what we all were denied: For the white players， the opportunity to measure themselves against ALL of the very best; they are diminished by it。 For all baseball fans， the opportunity to witness the game at it’ very best。 We denied ourselves this for a century。 At the end of “Romeo and Juliet，” the Duke proclaims， “We are all punished。” And so we are。 。。。more

Joshua St ，

Great stories。 Highlights are discussions regarding negro league players

Melinda ，

If you’re a baseball fanatic as I am， this is the book for you。 The author， a well known sports writer， selected， in his opinion， the top 100 players of all time。 Of course this is purely subjective but the book was so very interesting！ Each of the 100 players has a short biography， a recap of his career and the reasons he made the list。 Very well researched and an entertaining read。

Miller ，

Loved it all。。。it's quite the undertaking， but Joe is a fantastic writer and each of these chapters had the care and interest level of all these deserving players。 Fun stuff！！ Loved it all。。。it's quite the undertaking， but Joe is a fantastic writer and each of these chapters had the care and interest level of all these deserving players。 Fun stuff！！ 。。。more

Lynn ，

For baseball fans this just may be the perfect way to get through The Void between the last World Series game and the start of Spring training。 Posnanski offers an astonishing array of fascinating stories as he recounts his personal choices for the best 100 players ever。 The book is quite long （much longer than Moby Dick， he points out） and best read in small spurts， so it actually got me through two off-seasons。 My only complaint， as with so many histories， is that he is often very vague about For baseball fans this just may be the perfect way to get through The Void between the last World Series game and the start of Spring training。 Posnanski offers an astonishing array of fascinating stories as he recounts his personal choices for the best 100 players ever。 The book is quite long （much longer than Moby Dick， he points out） and best read in small spurts， so it actually got me through two off-seasons。 My only complaint， as with so many histories， is that he is often very vague about the years in which things occur。 However， for anyone who loves baseball or history， this is a great read。 。。。more

James A。 Kurtz， Jr。 ，

A must read for any baseball fan。

Brian Baker ，

Absolute entertainment。 And don't expect a smooth story like Ken Burn's baseball。 It's more like your sitting in a bar with 3 Joe Posnanskis and they are swapping stories， interrupting with tidbits and going on tangents as they come to mind。 Just an outstanding read。A must for fans of baseball history。 While the book is voluminous， it's not overwhelming to attack。 So even if you're not （yet） a baseball fan， this book of short essays allows you to quickly learn about the game's all-time greats wi Absolute entertainment。 And don't expect a smooth story like Ken Burn's baseball。 It's more like your sitting in a bar with 3 Joe Posnanskis and they are swapping stories， interrupting with tidbits and going on tangents as they come to mind。 Just an outstanding read。A must for fans of baseball history。 While the book is voluminous， it's not overwhelming to attack。 So even if you're not （yet） a baseball fan， this book of short essays allows you to quickly learn about the game's all-time greats without having to commit to the whole book， although you might have difficulty putting it down once you start。 。。。more

Jeff ，

It seems like hyperbole to say a book was for my particular style of baseball fan， but it was。 The anecdotes from life and the game that pour out of these pages are never-ending。 I’ll be revisiting this book on a pretty regular basis and not just for the Rickey Henderson stories。

Russell Siminoff ，

Must read for all baseball fans。The thing that's special about this book is the fresh takes on all of these great players。 I've read hundreds of baseball books and thought I knew almost everything about all of the greatest players。 Posnanski somehow came up with new stores about all of them！ He's one of the great unknown writers in the country。 Must read for all baseball fans。The thing that's special about this book is the fresh takes on all of these great players。 I've read hundreds of baseball books and thought I knew almost everything about all of the greatest players。 Posnanski somehow came up with new stores about all of them！ He's one of the great unknown writers in the country。 。。。more

Jibin ，

Posnanski is a good writer。 I followed him when he wrote for The Athletic。 The book is a pretty easy read even though it is quite long because you just have to get through 3-7 pages per person although cumulatively， the book is longer than Moby Dick。 He chooses players at certain spots because of their numbers。 Joe DiMaggio at 56。 Trout at 17。 Good introduction to players I never had heard of like Arky Vaughan or Negro League players like Oscar Charleston。 Solid book。

K ，

This is a pretty great book。 I'm a huge baseball fan， and I have a couple hundred baseball books and have read a couple hundred more。 So I know the sport's history， players， statistics， and lore pretty well。 This book is filled with anecdotes I've heard and many， many that are new to me。 It's told in a breezy style that carries enough reverence that you feel the author's deep love of the game and its greatest players。 An A-plus effort。"The Baseball 100" is arranged in descending order of Joe Pas This is a pretty great book。 I'm a huge baseball fan， and I have a couple hundred baseball books and have read a couple hundred more。 So I know the sport's history， players， statistics， and lore pretty well。 This book is filled with anecdotes I've heard and many， many that are new to me。 It's told in a breezy style that carries enough reverence that you feel the author's deep love of the game and its greatest players。 An A-plus effort。"The Baseball 100" is arranged in descending order of Joe Pasnanski's selection of the 100 greatest players in the game's history。 The list has a few quirks and one thing that I'll criticize in a moment。 But basically， it uses statistical analysis and then adds in the thrill level and notoriety of the player。 And then a bunch of them are put in what is arguably the wrong place because that number corresponds to something famous they did in baseball， such as Jackie Robinson wearing No。 42。 Using a player's jersey number as the placement can be argued as a cute idea。 But some of the others are stupid， such as the year a player made it to the majors or the decision to not name a No。 19 because it correlates with the throwing of the World Series in 1919。 But whatever --- there is no perfect list of 100 players， and this one is pretty darn good。For the most famous players， the essays don't contain anything new。 Posnanski deserves credit for not trying to dig up some obscure fact， just to prove he's done his research。 Instead， he sticks with the big things （Barry Bonds is a jerk， Ty Cobb was the most feared hitter of his day， Satchel Paige had astonishing control of his pitches， etc。）， and he reminds us of why they were great and famous。 For the others about which a little less is known， Posnanski does a wonderful job of bringing up a telling anecdote or two， both on and off the field。 It might be how much Albert Pujols was walked in high school， or what Walter Johnson said about how a baseball felt in his hand。 They're just snippets， but they're charming and sometimes awe-inspiring。 The stories drove me to YouTube to try to find video of these guys。 I enjoyed the sweep of baseball history encompassed by this book， as it dips into the late 19th century， with acknowledgements about how different the game was in those days。 Posnanski loves to do these timelines that link one player from one era to another player and another era， and tracing it to today。 These are helpful for fans， if you have the depth of knowledge to think about power pitchers from Cy Young and Amos Rusie to Bob Feller to Nolan Ryan， etc。 Same with the quotes that Posnanski loves to produce that are from contemporaries， trying to put into context what it was like to pitch against or hit against the greatest opponents。 To me， it's a reminder that this is supposed to be fun and entertainment; that's why ballplayers love to see greatness and love to come up with fun ways of describing it （trying to throw a fastball past Josh Gibson was like "trying to throw a steak past a wolf，" or the player who walked away from the plate after two strikes from Walter Johnson and told the ump， "I've seen enough。"）I do have one minor complaint about the list and one perhaps more significant。 They are related。 The minor one is that a few players of the 1980s and more recently are on this list who perhaps shouldn't be， such as Larry Walker， and it seems to me that they are on the list because Posnanski spent a lot of time with them and likes them。 Also， because they played in the era of 24-hour media， Posnanski knows a lot more about them than he does about a guy in the 1930s or even 1960s， despite his remarkable research。 So the claim that Larry Walker's backstory is amazing and that's part of why he's on the list seems weak to me。 Walker's story is no more interesting than 50 guys who played a long time ago and who were great， but he feels more immediate to Posnanski， and so he's on the list。My second and related criticism is that the book seems light on Hispanic players， given their dominance of the game in the last 30-40 years。 I see two reasons。 First， since their huge presence is relatively recent， they haven't had the years to accumulate as much attention as a group。 Second， with so many more teams these days， it's almost impossible to lead the league in categories year after year， compared to， say， Ralph Kiner topping the majors in home runs six years in a row。 You could maybe do that with 16 teams， but imagine doing it with 30。 To reach the level of Top 100， you probably need to lead the league a lot。 The third issue， I suspect， is that Posnanski simply knows less about them， and therefore he doesn't find them as interesting。 Since interest is part of his rating system， they lose out on that factor when compared with American players who were better communicators in English for newspapers， TV， and now social media。 To attack Larry Walker again， it's hard for me to see why he's in there instead of any one of several Hispanic players who had about the same career wins-over-replacement and were more famous on the field （Manny Ramirez， Ivan Rodriguez， etc。）。 I am guessing that the Latin guys don't get as much publicity overall and their backstories are less well-known because of the language barrier， and this hurt them in the preparation of this list。At the same time， I acknowledge this list has "only" 100 players， and tough choices had to be made。 There are all sorts of hugely great players who didn't make the book， players who dominated at their position or their skill for a decade。 Posnanski has written that he wants to take a whack at the next 50 or 100， and I'm eager to see whom he picks and what he writes about them。 I guarantee a higher percentage of Latin players will be on that list than on the 100 list -- Juan Marichal， Tony Perez， Manny Ramirez， and so on。The book includes a number of Negro League players。 Posnanski is known his advocacy for greater recognition of their achievements， and more power to him for doing it。 But the essays about those players sort of read the same。 We're told that the stats are unreliable and incomplete; that some stories are real and some are hyperbole; and that many of the famous quotes about them probably weren't said， at least by the person to whom their attributed。 It's not that I disagree with the author's assessment， but that I wish he could have a way to dispense with saying it so many times。The same goes for his love of players' nicknames。 It's cute at first to read about the names of the older players， back when nicknames were a big thing。 Posnanski has fun in listing them and in explaining their origin。 But by the time we get to the top 25 or so players， I was skipping over those paragraphs， inevitably at the start of the essay， about a player's half-dozen nicknames。 Just didn't care any more。 My complaints， however， are tiny compared to my joy of reading this book。 It's a must on every baseball fan's shelf。 。。。more

Robert Canyock ，

My rating would have been 500 if available！ Best baseball book I have ever read by a factor of 10！

Ed ，

Posnanski is an amazing storyteller。 Very interesting book。 Some of the statistics drove me crazy though。

Dara Mosley ，

This was great。 The stories woven into each of the 100 players were unfamiliar and so well told。 I highly recommend this one。

Scott ，

Simply put: incredible。

Louis Jackson ，

I didn't agree with everything Mr。 Posnanski wrote， but this book completely mesmerized me。 I know I'll re-read it again soon。 I didn't agree with everything Mr。 Posnanski wrote， but this book completely mesmerized me。 I know I'll re-read it again soon。 。。。more

Mike Sennett ，

I first read Joe Posnanski's essays on the 100 greatest baseball players when they were published on The Athletic。 Published here in book form， I enjoyed them even more。 The rankings are a little idiosyncratic - for example， Joe Dimaggio is ranked 56th as a nod to his famous hitting streak， even though most rankings would place him much higher。 But this book is really about the stories throughout each essay that really bring these players into focus。 I'm sure I will return to the book often when I first read Joe Posnanski's essays on the 100 greatest baseball players when they were published on The Athletic。 Published here in book form， I enjoyed them even more。 The rankings are a little idiosyncratic - for example， Joe Dimaggio is ranked 56th as a nod to his famous hitting streak， even though most rankings would place him much higher。 But this book is really about the stories throughout each essay that really bring these players into focus。 I'm sure I will return to the book often when I feel like delving into a bit of baseball history。 。。。more

Brian Bratt ，

I highly recommend this book to all baseball fans。 Joe P。 never disappoints。

Daniel Wilson ，

I loved this book。 It goes down as my favorite baseball book i’ve ever read

Eve Griliches ，

I read this book over a year， chapter by chapter， on each player。 Informative and amusing。

Ryan ，

A true labor of love。 The book is immense in its scope but is a joy to read。 It made me fall in love with baseball again， and I’m deeply appreciative of that。

Mike Kipfer ，

A fun winter read （or in my case listen） while waiting for spring training to roll around。 Of course， no one will agree on who are the top 100 baseball players of all time， especially after the first 20 or so。 I really enjoyed learning more about some of the Negro League players who were justifiably included in his list。

Lyle Staab ，

My favorite current sportswriter， Joe has a deep love for baseball， and it shows in this collection of mini-biographies of his listing of the 100 greatest baseball players。 It's a rare sports book that I can't put down。 This was a great holiday read。 My favorite current sportswriter， Joe has a deep love for baseball， and it shows in this collection of mini-biographies of his listing of the 100 greatest baseball players。 It's a rare sports book that I can't put down。 This was a great holiday read。 。。。more

Salvador Blanco ，

A book worth reading and essays worth re-reading when your favorite baseball player comes to mind。 Every essay is filled with extravagant detail。 When I read about the players I looked up to growing up I felt like a kid watching baseball with dad。 Isn’t the whole point of baseball， Posnaski writes， to make “kids feel like grown-ups and grown-ups feel like kids” （827）？I can’t recommend this book to baseball lovers enough。 If you’re like me and you lost your love for baseball for a bit but have re A book worth reading and essays worth re-reading when your favorite baseball player comes to mind。 Every essay is filled with extravagant detail。 When I read about the players I looked up to growing up I felt like a kid watching baseball with dad。 Isn’t the whole point of baseball， Posnaski writes， to make “kids feel like grown-ups and grown-ups feel like kids” （827）？I can’t recommend this book to baseball lovers enough。 If you’re like me and you lost your love for baseball for a bit but have returned， this is the perfect book for you also。 What I appreciated most was his attention to Negro League players， which were often not kept up with like white players。 He gives these Negro Leaguers the dignity and honor they deserve。 I wish we he would’ve written about Fernando Valenzuela。 。。。more

David Mills ，

Favorite Quote = “Who is the greatest player of all time？ You know。 Maybe your father told you。 Maybe you read about him when you were young。 Maybe you sat in the stands and watched him play。 Maybe you bask in his statistics。 The greatest baseball player is the one who lifts you higher and makes you feel exactly like you did when you fell in love with this crazy game in the first place。”

Jason Morris ，

Any baseball fan will find enjoyment with this collection of player ratings。 Posnanski is a prolific writer and used the downtime of the pandemic to create his master list。 You will undoubtedly disagree with many of his assessments - Bonds being a primary example。 Yet， he offers insights into many greats of yesteryear while blending in the modern stars。

Jake Zavracky ，

Terrific writing about baseball。 If you're really into baseball， you'll like it。 If you don't like baseball I wouldn't read this， it's exclusively about baseball。 Terrific writing about baseball。 If you're really into baseball， you'll like it。 If you don't like baseball I wouldn't read this， it's exclusively about baseball。 。。。more

tpg0 ，

As an AI language model， I don't have personal preferences， but I can provide you with some information。 'The Baseball 100' is a book by Joe Posnanski， a sports journalist， and author， published in 2021。 The book ranks the 100 greatest players in the history of baseball， with detailed profiles and analysis of each player's career。 The list includes legends like Babe Ruth， Joe DiMaggio， and Jackie Robinson， as well as modern-day stars like Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw。 The book has received positive reviews for its engaging writing style， informative content， and thoughtful ranking methodology。 If you are a baseball fan or curious about the sport， this book could be an interesting read。

tpg1 ，

As an AI language model， I cannot provide personal opinions or feelings。 However， I can tell you that 'The Baseball 100' is a book written by Joe Posnanski that ranks the best 100 players in the history of Major League Baseball。 The book provides insight into each player's career and achievements， including their statistics， achievements， and their impact on the game。 It is a must-read for baseball fans and historians alike。

tpg2 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions on books。 However， I can provide general information about the book "The Baseball 100。" "The Baseball 100" is a book written by Joe Posnanski that features a list of the top 100 baseball players of all time。 The list was compiled by using statistical analysis， expert opinions， and the author's personal observations。 Each player's entry includes a brief biography， notable statistics， and highlights from their careers。 The book has received positive reviews for its in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on some of the greatest players in baseball history。 It is a must-read for any serious baseball fan or enthusiast。

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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