By James Bailey
The concept of “Top of the Order” is a good one: “25 writers pick their favorite baseball players of all time.” Original, never-before-published essays on 25 baseball heroes. How can you go wrong?
Well, for starters, any anthology like this is only as strong as its writers. Half of the names here will be familiar to most baseball fans. The rest, not so much. The lineup here is eclectic by design, with the editor seeking voices we might not normally expect to hear in a baseball anthology. For those interested in reading how and why fans pick their heroes, maybe the mix is just right. I was hoping to learn more about the players—something someone with direct access could share that I haven’t read a hundred other places—so to me “Top of the Order” felt like a pitch that just missed the sweet spot on the bat.
