The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks line up during the national anthem prior to the start of their opening day MLB baseball game Monday, April 6, 2009 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

It’s that time of the year again, the calendar turns to April, and a brand new baseball season is upon us.  And as always, every fan of a team (Giants, A’s) not sporting the title “World Series Champion” (Phillies) can lift his or her head high and know that there’s no more waiting until next year; next year begins now.

To celebrate Opening Day 2009, here are some recent additions to our collection certain to please both casual and fervent baseball observers, broken down into a couple general categories:

For the history buff:

• Baseball and the baby boomer : a history, commentary, and memoir / Talmage Boston
• We would have played for nothing : baseball stars of the 1950s and 1960s talk about the game they loved / Fay Vincent
• But didn’t we have fun? : an informal history of baseball’s pioneer era, 1843-1870 / Peter Morris
• Asian Pacific Americans and baseball : a history / Joel S. Franks
• Far from home : Latino baseball players in America / Tim Wendel, José Luis Villegas

Hot topics:

• The Yankee years / Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
• Bases loaded : the inside story of the steroid era in baseball by the central figure in the Mitchell Report / Kirk Radomski ; with David Fisher

Baseball people:

• You can observe a lot by watching : what I’ve learned about teamwork from the Yankees and life / Yogi Berra with Dave Kaplan
• Working at the ballpark : the fascinating lives of baseball people– from peanut vendors and broadcasters to players and managers / Tom Jones

Sights & sounds:

• 101 baseball places to see before you strike out / Josh Pahigian
• Your brain on Cubs : inside the heads of players and fans / edited by Dan Gordon
• Baseball’s greatest hit : the story of take me out to the ball game / Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson, Tim Wiles; [foreword by Carly Simon, introduction by Bud Selig]

The numbers game:

• The Bill James handbook 2009 / Baseball Info Solutions [and Bill James]
• Understanding sabermetrics : an introduction to the science of baseball statistics / Gabriel B. Costa, Michael R. Huber and John T. Saccoman

For teens:

• Mexican whiteboy / Matt de la Peña
• Beanball / by Gene Fehler
• No cream puffs / Karen Day

For kids:

• Keeping score / Linda Sue Park
• Edward’s eyes / by Patricia MacLachlan
• Baseball hour / by Carol Nevius ; illustrated by Bill Thomson

Even if these titles don’t satisfy the appetite of the biggest baseball nut, here are some upcoming titles that will be added to our collection in the next month or two:

• Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee / Allen Barra
• The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie / Ira Berkow
• The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound / Ron Darling
• The Fifth Season: Tales of My Life in Baseball / Donald Honig
• Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees / Jane Heller
• Stolen Bases: Why American Girls Don’t Play Baseball / Jennifer Ring
• Forever Blue: The True Story of Walter O’Malley, Baseball’s Most Controversial Owner, and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles / Michael D’Antonio
• Splitters, Squeezes, and Steals: The Plays, Strategies, and Rules of Baseball / Derek Gentile
• Yankee Colors: The Glory Years of the Mantle Era / Marvin E. Newman

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