Book Recommendations: Baseball Edition

I don't know about you, but I am thrilled that baseball season is finally here (even if my team is 0-2). With that in mind, I thought I would briefly discuss the baseball book I just read and the baseball book I am currently reading. (I have to be brief because I can't stop yawning. I think the Phillies' sleepy offense made me sleepy.)

• Just a Minor Perspective: Through the Eyes of a Minor League Rookie by Eric Pettis - I bought this book a year ago and it sat in my Kindle app while I read Jane Austen and lots of excellent YA fiction. I never forgot about it, though, and decided to finally start reading it during Spring Training. Pettis, a former Phillies pitching prospect, tells the story of his first year in professional baseball. I was attracted to the book by Pettis' Phillies connection but also by its subject matter. I am fascinated by the lives of professional baseball players at any level, but particularly the minors. The Mike Trouts and Bryce Harpers of the world give fans a skewed idea of prospects; most guys toil for years before they get a chance in the big leagues and, unfortunately, even more guys never get that chance because they're cut from the organization for one reason or another. This book provides a look at the minor leagues that most fans would never get otherwise; I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the minor leagues and minor league players' lives.
• Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong by the Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts - Since becoming interested in baseball I've wanted to learn more about advanced statistics. I'd seen many different people online cite this book as a great beginning resource for advanced stats. I'm not quite halfway through the book yet, but I concur with that assessment. While the book is about statistics it is not about math; the statistics are explained at a high level and the point is not what the statistics say but what they mean. I'm looking forward to finishing the book and will probably read the follow-up, Extra Innings, someday.