The latest blogosphere meme (from here via here) is to open a book to page 23 and write down the 5th sentence on that page.

I’ll add a little twist to it. Here are the 5th sentences from page 23 of ten baseball books. Can you match the quote to the book?

1) Even now before a world series you find a lot of the experts predicting that “pitching will win the series.”

2) Devore beat out an infield hit, and Doyle bunted and was safe, filling the bases.

3) Neal and Zimmer looked unchanged–Neal intense, withdrawn, talented, too tighly wound for an ideal infielder, and Zimmer eager and competitive, angrily trying to make pugnacity compensate for what he lacks in size, skill, and luck.

4) He lost, but I haven’t noticed any holes in his shoes.

5) He’ll get a look in camp and will pitch in the BOB at some point this summer, perhaps stepping into Valverde’s setup role after Mantei breaks down again.

6) But to get back to that day in 1898 when I first reported to Louisville.

7) If modern players battle fiercely for starting assignments, I have to say that the old-timers were even more wolfish.

8) Yet the Whammer felt oddly relieved.

9) Together with their own first round pick the A’s had, in effect, seven first-round picks.

10) Even now, I can’t stand a dirty house.

And your choices are:

a) Babe Ruth’s Own Book of Baseball
b) Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
c) Baseball Prospectus 2004
d) The Glory of their Times, by Lawrence Ritter
e) Moneyball, by Michael Lewis
f) My Turn At Bat, by Ted Williams
g) The Natural, by Bernard Malamud
h) Pitching in a Pinch, by Christy Mathewson
i) The Summer Game, by Roger Angell
j) Ty Cobb: My Life in Baseball

I’ll let you guess, then I’ll post the answer in the comments.