Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Baseball

  • A History of America's Game
  • By: Benjamin G. Rader
  • Narrated by: Joe Barrett
  • Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Baseball cover art

Baseball

By: Benjamin G. Rader
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £21.99

Buy Now for £21.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Baseball 100 cover art
Baseball Goes West cover art
Fall from Grace cover art
Tales from the Deadball Era cover art
The Ultimate Yankee Book cover art
The Called Shot cover art
Negro League Baseball cover art
The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats cover art
Seasons in Hell cover art
In Pursuit of Pennants cover art
Future Value cover art
Cheated cover art
History of Baseball for Kids cover art
How to Beat a Broken Game cover art
How Football Began cover art
The Inside Game cover art

Summary

A succinct history of baseball, newly revised and updated. In this third edition of his lively history of America's game, widely recognized as the best of its kind, Benjamin G. Rader expands his scope, covering record crowds and record income, construction of new ballparks, a change in the strike zone, a surge in recruiting Japanese players, and an emerging cadre of explosive long-ball hitters.

The book is published by The University of Illinois Press.

©2008 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (P)2010 Redwood Audiobooks
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"The best single-volume history of the sport... Tackles the business and organizational evolution of the professional game, while not losing sight of how it was played on the field." ( Washington Post Book World)
"The search for a good compact history of baseball is over. This work, thoughtfully constructed to locate the national pastime within a rich social and economic context, is a model of historical synthesis.... This reviewer does not know of a better history of baseball." ( Choice)
" Baseball reflects Rader's firm grasp of the best and latest scholarship and his insightful understanding of American sport history." ( Sporting News)

More from the same

What listeners say about Baseball

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A Scholarly Work

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to Audible's "blurb" about this title, since I was expeecting a more in-depth recounting of MLB's on-field activities over the years, but this was never the author's intention (as he clearly states in the book's foreword.)
Rather, the book concerns itself more with baseball's social impact on its fans, and with the economic dealings between owners and players. Thus my low rating in terms of "story".
Nevertheless I learned a great deal about the workings of the game, from its earliest origins through to its post-BALCO present, and will definitely listen to the book again since there is such a great deal to absorb.
I found Joe Barrett's narration to be easy on the ear - a clear and well modulated voice capable of convincing imitation when such things were called for.
In summation I highly recommend this title if one wishes to learn how the business of baseball came to be where it stands currently, but for personal anecdotes and "exciting" examinations of on-field events one must look elswhere.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!