Timing is everything for new baseball bios

Here’s to the Class of 2010. And I don’t mean the newest Hall of Famers.

How cool is it that this year marks the release of biographies on some of the true icons of the game?

• The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, by Howard Bryant
• The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy
• Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch
• Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero, by Danny Peary and Tom Calvin

All were know as home run hitters, so I wonder if this timing has anything to do with the PED fallout.

Perhaps by virtue of his team and race, Mantle has frequently been referred to for his nostalgia factor, but Mays and Aaron also played during the same general period (50s to early 70s) and therefore hold special meaning for fans of that era.

Maris and Mantle (another nice touch — both books coming out in the same year), of course, passed away several years ago and Aaron and Mays are getting up there in years. Perhaps that plays into the timing, too.

Certainly there are other biographies coming out this year (Dixie Walker, Joe Cronin, Phil Rizzuto to name just a few), but these four books almost remind be of a first-time Hall of Fame ballot, in which several stars come up for consideration together, or a much-anticipated crops of rookies.

What do you think? Are there any other superstars out there you’re especially interested in reading about in new releases?

Read more on baseball books and other media on Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf.