The New York Game

Baseball and the Rise of a New City

By: Kevin Baker

Narrated by: L.J. Ganser

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • Sports Illustrated #1 Book of 2024 • A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game’s beginnings to the end of World War II.

"You’re going to beg for extra innings. Without missing a scandal or a sensation, with an eye on how assimilation transforms the picture, Kevin Baker has written a buoyant, double coming-of-age story."—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Baseball is “the New York game” because New York is where the diamond was first laid out, where the bunt and the curveball were invented, and where the home run was hit. It’s where the game’s first stars were born, and where everyone came to play or watch the game. With nuance and depth, historian Kevin Baker brings this all vividly back to life: the still-controversial, indelible moments—Did the Babe call his shot? Was Merkle out? Did they fix the 1919 World Series? Here are all the legendary players, managers, and owners, in all their vivid, complicated humanity, on and off the field.

In Baker’s hands the city and the game emerge from the murk of nineteenth-century American life—driven by visionaries and fixers, heroes and gangsters. He details how New York and its favorite sport came to mirror one another, expanding, bumbling through catastrophe and corruption, and rising out of these trials stronger than ever.

From the first innings played in vacant lots and tavern yards in the 1820s; to the canny innovations that created the very first sports league; to the superb Hispanic and Black players who invented their own version of the game when white baseball sought to exclude them. And all amidst New York’s own, incredible evolution from a raw, riotous town to a new world city. The New York Game is a riveting, rollicking, brilliant ode to America’s beloved pastime and to its indomitable city of origin.

©2024 Kevin Baker (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Let me put it this way: You’re going to beg for extra innings. Without missing a scandal or a sensation, with an eye on how assimilation transforms the picture, Kevin Baker has written a buoyant, double coming-of-age story. He leaves plenty of myths—and Abner Doubleday—by the wayside. He carries us on a high-octane tour from baseball’s early, pre-league days to the first box scores, past Giants, Bridegrooms, and Highlanders, to stadium singalongs and brawling, betting, and umpire-flattening. A naked Babe Ruth is the least of the wonders in this exuberant, deliriously readable, glorious grand slam of a book."—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

"[This] book is a masterly narrative that will leave readers impatient for the second installment.... Mr. Baker....has absorbed the vast historiography of baseball and added to it.... He knows both the broad themes and the nuances of the city’s history....[And the] novelist in Mr. Baker is responsible for all the tasty details...First page to last, 'The New York Game' is a pleasure to read. Today, a high energy basketball player is said to have a good 'motor.' The same is true of Mr. Baker’s paragraphs. Each one reflects his verve, and precision, and scholarship, and has enough juice to power a Tesla across the country."—Ben Yagoda, The Wall Street Journal

"The New York Game impressively chronicles the rise of America’s pastime....Kevin Baker does a riveting job of detailing The Big Apple’s importance in baseball history. From the origins of the game, to Ruth, Mantle, and many others, Baker weaves monumental moments together into an entertaining and informative tale. The title...has reviewers around the country crossing their fingers for a second installment."—"10 Best Sports Books Released in 2024," Sports Illustrated

Places baseball in historical context

Wonderful interweaving of baseball history within context of NYC and U.S. history. Great story and analysis.

Evan's Review

If you like a good history of baseball I recommend this book
It gives you good overview of baseball in New York plus some history of other teams that evolved during early years of professional baseball.

Great Baseball Book

Very well written and performed book. To me the book ended at an odd point. I assumed the story would progress all the way until the Dodgers and the Giants relocated out of NY. Fantastic book but I think it was a no-brainer to tell the story for another decade.

Sure.. Baseball… but so much more!

This book was an absolute delight to surrender to. A sweeping history of not just baseball in NY through WWII, but of the city and its people. LJ Ganser’s narration captured the sense of the times perfectly… he passed my test of listening at 1.0 speed and maintaining the proper tempo. A must listen for baseball fans and for those of us who hanker for simpler times!

Great History of the Game and the City

A brilliant delightful book. I’m a lifelong New Yorker but I learned a ton about my city. And about baseball. Sad to see it end. I will be giving this book to many people.

Baseball, Broads, and Badasses

This book was amazing. The best baseball book I’ve ever read. It’s well written and the narration is superb. It filled with interesting details about the players and teams of New York baseball. If you are a fan of baseball history this is an absolute must read.

Highly recommended

Outstanding book. Well researched. More than just a baseball book but a book about American history from mid 19th to mid 20th century. A must read for any dedicated baseball fan and/or history buff. Good narration, too.

Baseball and the City

Combining baseball and NYC history was brilliant. Smooth and well told I appreciated that it gave an in depth perspective on the baseball in NYC and did not neglect Robert Moses or Jane Jacobs or LaGuardia. A few mispronunciations made me cringe. The team is the Baltimore “E”light Giants and I have no idea how Tony Lazzeri’s name got so mispronounced. Those are minuscule criticisms of a great audio book.

Baseball and New York

"The New York Game" is a superb history of baseball in New York City from the game's origins in the 19th century until 1945.
Ganser's narration brings alive this wonderful book.

Great coverage of a long span of history

From origins of the game to the imminence of integration, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.