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I know this is days later but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

The Best Team Money Can Buy was great.

I also enjoyed The Arm.

The Big Chair by former Dodger GM Ned Colletti was a really interesting look from the perspective of the front office. It's more of a memoir so it starts about Ned's early life as a kid in Chicago. It gave me newfound respect for Colletti.

Currently reading The MVP Machine, which is a great look at player development.

Smart Baseball is a few years old but is a good book about newer stats and why things like RBI, pitcher wins, and stolen bases are pretty bad ways of evaluating players.

If you want more Dodger history from their Brooklyn days, Bums was a fascinating read.

Depends how much effort you want to put into it.

For general baseball knowledge and history:

• Watch all of Ken Burns Baseball (its all on Youtube).
  
• Read Moneyball for an understanding of how modern analytics revolutionized the game and upended the status quo. (Some people are still fighting this fight, but among MLB front offices the nerds have already "won" basically).
  
• Read Baseball Between the Numbers for a good primer on modern analysis (though there has been more progress since that book came out of course)
  
  
  For Dodgers specific history:
  
  
• Watch the ESPN 30 for 30 on Valenzuela (Fernando Nation).
  
• Read Jon Weisman's book about the Dodgers for a great overview of team history.
  
• Read Molly Knight's book for a good narrative look at the current team and ownership group. This is great context for understanding how we got to where we are now.
  
  For current news and analysis:
  
  
• Dodgers Digest is a great blog for level-headed, intelligent Dodgers analysis. The writers there know what they are talking about and aren't overly reactionary, as a general rule.
  
• True Blue LA, the Dodgers SB Nation blog, is run by Eric Stephen who is the most diligent Dodgers beat writer today. In the off season for example, he's writing a season review for every player who appeared for the Dodgers in 2015.

I'd like to welcome you to the Dodger family and our subreddit :)

These are bad times, some of the worst times in recent memory as a matter of fact. That's why it's even more awesome that you're joining us now! No one can ever accuse you of being a bandwagon fan, that's for sure.


Anyway, like someone else recommended, that Jackie Robinson book sounds like a good one. Another book I highly recommend is Jon Weisman's 100 Things Dodger Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Also if you're new to baseball in general, Ken Burns has an extremely fascinating documentary simply called "Baseball". That documentary is perfect for someone who is just starting out. It goes well and beyond the history and pretty much everything you need to know about the game. It's something like 10+ episodes, and each is about an hour or two long so it takes a while to watch the entire thing, but it's worth it.




Other things in general you should know.. Vin Scully, our TV announcer, is a God among men. Vinny can do no wrong. He's been with us for about 64 years! Check out his Wikipedia page for a basic rundown of his awesomeness. Our rivals are the San Francisco Giants. People say the Yankee/Red Sox rivalry is the best in baseball, I say they've got nothing on ours. Tommy Lasorda was the last great manager we had. And one very important thing... I can't speak for everyone, but there are a lot of us here that get really negative. We'll start talking all sorts of shit about the Dodgers. Please don't take that the wrong way. We love our Dodgers with every fiber of our being. It's sort of a defense mechanism we use to not get our hearts broken over and over. It's not easy being a Dodger fan, so buckle up!



You should join us in our daily game chat threads here. You'll get to see and interact with all the "regulars" of /r/Dodgers. And please feel free to ask any questions, these guys and gals are the friendliest people you'll ever run into here on reddit. Hope all this helps!

• How are you spending this off day?
  
  Work and then heading to the diamond for game 1 of my baseball team's championship series
  
  
• As we approach the holiday season, what is your favorite family tradition?
  
  i'm not a big holiday guy, but i do love the big meals that are a part of them
  
  
• What was the last book you read?
  
  White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America
  
  
• Frozen yogurt is still a thing, right? What flavor/toppings you go for if you go get some?
  
  I'm a fan of plain tart with some fresh raspberries on top
  
  
• And finally, what was the most memorable time you got first place in something?
  
  I'm hoping it will be a nice championship series sweep for my team this week.

Late 2 years ago I had just really gotten back into baseball after having paid less attention to it for like a decde and was basically in the same place - so i went to my local library are they had this massive book The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball. It covers basically everything you'll ever need to know about the dodgers - it even covers teams that aren't "technically" part of brooklyn/Los Angeles dodgers "lineage" like teams which played in brooklyn but left or died or whatever. I'd also recommend True Blue stories(a documentary series on FOX sports about the dodgers), it's not the most unbias history but it's good for what it is. Outside of that wikipedia is your friend, you can find just about anything there.

(EDIT: if you want to be heartbroken read Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers I teared up at the end and hated Walter O'malley even though he brought the dodgers to the best coast.)

Outside of that i'd recommend watching all 10 innings of ken burns' documentary Baseball. It's on netflix and i'm sure you could find it in shadier ways but it'll give you a real appreciation for the sport and it's history as a whole. Moneyball is also really good, but it's not that applicable to us...because we're the second biggest market in baseball.

/u/LeeroyJenkins- has a good start in his post.

I would add Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn and Pull up a Chair The Vin Scully Story.
Not Dodger specific but Watching Baseball Smarter is also very good. It will help you appreciate the game you watch that much more.

The Baseball documentary by Ken Burns (as mentioned by /u/LeeroyJenkins-) is a must watch. It is long, around 20 hours including the 10th inning follow up, but it is well worth it. Available streaming on Amazon and Netflix.

I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you really want to be a hero, bring this thing:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000197NXM/

I got one for my house because I felt like my living room needed to be more like the Dodger dugout. When it says "Bubble Hurricane", it means BUBBLE HURRICANE. So many bubbles, so fast.

Great film.

My first exposure to Jackie was as a kid in some obscure baseball history book I read with my dad. I later read In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson in school and was hooked. The lessons on acceptance, breaking racial barriers, and how great of a sport baseball is still stick with me.

Okay, class. I insist you read this book if youre a Dodgers fan. Test and group discussion next VVednesday. #2 pencils only. CLOSED BOOK

I'm not evn sure what the lineup is. If Utley is in it, my money is on Dad.

The first time Baseball broke my heart was in 1998 when the Mets, not the fucking Dodgers signed Mike. Fucking. Piazza. No other trade , no signing, etc I dislike more

Mom Brag: My son was accepted into a small selective middle school today because he is fucking awesome. . . AND THE PRINCIPAL IS A DODGERS FAN (which is more exciting when you realize I live in the Bay Area) . I think when we talked about baseball during the parent interview, I nailed it.

Happy Thursday!

Edit: oh shit! AGon is back!!!

This book is pretty hand and the illustrations are neat: Baseball Field Guide: An In-Depth Illustrated Guide to the Complete Rules of Baseball

["The Boys of Summer"] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0060883960/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_a38BzbK07YC9Q)

Odd Man Out is also excellent. It's written by Matt McCarthy and the year he spent playing single A ball in the Angels org after graduating Yale. Not Dodgers (although he does mention playing the Ogden Raptors a few times).

He wrote a book. Looks like the Ted talk is the tl;dr version, haha

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Baseball-Finding-Stillness-mph/dp/1439191204

Dodgers From Coast to Coast is great too, got it as a present a few years ago.

I'm a Cardinals fan but I just ordered this and had it shipped to MadBum. Go Dodgers (today)!

The whole stadium should be filled with machines.

You guys hear they already have Bellinger's biography out?

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Homers-Christopher-Sports-Classics/dp/0316139874

Woke up to a temp of 33 degrees and windchill of 19. Glad to feel the brisk chill of winter, and can't wait to see my co-workers who were all bundled up when the temps were in the low 60's.

About to start reading [The Bad Guys Won] (http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Guys-Won-Championship-Uniform--/dp/0062097636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416320417&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bad+guys+won) to get my baseball fix

Getting brunch in an hour for $15 BOTTOMLESS BLOODY MARYS!

FYI - Gazillion Bubble Machine

100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600788041/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-bCwDbFFEV7TE

I think this will work

I want to become more informed about the advanced aspects of modern baseball over my college's winter break. Statistics and WAR and shit. I'm already going to read Moneyball and Watching Baseball Smarter. Anyone got any more recommendations?