The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2009 and other sports reads

Its sub-title proclaims: “Timeless commentary. Innovative stats. Great Baseball writing.”
And as they say it ain’t bragging if you can back it up. And “The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2009” (Acta Sports, $21.95, 380 pages, paper) backs it up page after page with new articles (40 new essays), team by team stats and graphs, reports on some of the hottest issues in baseball, number crunching and more number crunching, and lots of attention paid to the Tampa Rays and rightfully so.

“The Hardball Times” started life as a website focused on baseball writing and lucky for everyone then evolved into this book format. For the long winter and into the spring, this a book to keep by your side, for reading, browsing, finding.

“Life Is More Than 9 Innings” by Frank Sullivan (Editions Limited,$18.00, 197 pages, paper) is a real winner focused as it is with honesty on the eight year career the 6’7” right-hander had with the Red Sox in the 50s. A two time All Star, a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, “Sully” can spin a tale very well. We are there with him on and off the playing field along with such as Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Jackie Jensen Mickey Mantle, Frank Malzone and a host of others. A signed book is $23.00 including postage. Checks to Frank Sullivan P.O. Box 1873 , Lihue, HI 96766.

Gridiron tomes abound at this time of year and a quartette of especially interesting ones include: “Passing Game” by Murray Greenberg, about how Benny Friedman helped to transform the game of football (Public Affairs, $26.95, 358 pages), “Giants Among Men” by Jack Cavanaugh (Random House,$26.00, 315 pages) and two on the 1958 championship game between the Giants and Colts – “The Best Game Ever” by Mark Bowden (Atllantic Monthly Press, $23.00, 272 pages) and “The Glory Game” by Frank Gifford with Peter Richmond (HarperCollins, $25, 95, 285 pages).

Taken together these four football books contribute insights, appreciations and new awarenesses of just a small part of the large and entertaining universe of the game of football.

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in September as well as a reprint version of his "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.".

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in excess of one million and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.