The World Series began Tuesday night with the Atlanta Braves winning Game 1, 6-2, over the Houston Astros. With the signature event of Major League Baseball beginning, CBS Mornings invited author Joe Posnanski to file an essay on what the World Series means and how baseball warms those chilly fall nights with appreciation of the game’s present and affection for its past.
Right now, there might not be a better writer to have on a network morning show to sentimentalize about the national pastime than the man who wrote The Baseball 100, the story of baseball’s history told with its greatest players. Available in bookstores and through online booksellers for the past month (published Sept. 28), Posnanski’s book is a top seller on Amazon and made the New York Times best seller list.
CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil raved about The Baseball 100 a couple weeks ago on the show’s “Talk of the Table” segment, and is a big fan of the game, having played college baseball at George Washington University (compiling a .311 career average and .844 OPS with 15 home runs, 36 doubles, 144 RBI, and 41 stolen bases).
So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that he introduced Posnanski’s essay, recorded at Truist Field in Charlotte. Take a look:
Some argue baseball isn't what it used to be. @JPosnanski says that couldn't be further from the truth.
Baseball is "timeless," says the sports journalist in his new book, "The Baseball 100." pic.twitter.com/nyKG0JasaB
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 26, 2021
“There are those who say baseball no longer fits into the American lifestyle,” said Posnanski, “that there is no place for this leisurely and pastoral game in the midst of our frantic, chaotic, turbulent, social media-propelled, 24-hour news cycles.
“People have been saying that for a long time now, saying that our national pastime is ‘past its time.’ But then, October comes. The World Series. And we’re reminded again why we love this timeless game. That’s the word: timeless.”
Here is the “Talk of the Table” segment from Sept. 28, when Dokoupil first mentioned The Baseball 100, which was apparently a surprise to Posnanski.
“On ‘CBS Mornings,’ Tony Dokoupil, who I don’t know, gave this book the most amazing endorsement I could ever imagine,” Posnanski wrote on his Substack. “(He even emailed me to apologize about mispronouncing my name which I’m like — um, Tony, call me whatever you want.)”
The Baseball 100 is available at bookstores (you can find your nearest local one via IndieBound) and online booksellers including Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
