Propounding his small ball theory of sports literature, George Plimpton proposed that the smaller the ball, the more formidable the literature. Of course he had the relatively small baseball in mind, because its literature is formidable vast and varied, instructive, often wildly entertaining, and occasionally brilliant. From this bewildering array of baseball books, Ron Kaplan has chosen 501 of the best, making it easier for fans to find just the books to suit them (or to know what they re missing).

From biography, history, fiction, and instruction to books about ballparks,...