Let’s be honest: Not everyone loves baseball. The powers that be instituted new rules this year to address one of the major complaints --- that the games take too long. Chalk it up to a decreased attention span or an increased interest in other activities.

Those who do love the national pastime do so for a number of reasons, not the least of which is an appreciation of history featuring names like Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, and many more stars who were covered in Joe Posnanski’s previous gem, THE BASEBALL 100.

"I doubt that many will argue with Posnanski’s #1 moment, but a few eyebrows undoubtedly will be raised and heads scratched."

For his latest instant classic, WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL, Posnanski has selected 50 iconic moments (actually more than a hundred in various forms) as justification for baseball’s enduring popularity. As with THE BASEBALL 100, these moments are offered not as a definitive answer, but as a conversation starter. What puts “A” in a higher position than “B”? How do you weigh them all? It’s worth noting that Posnanski never claims that his choices in either book are the “best” or the “greatest.” THE BASEBALL 100 doesn’t even have a subtitle, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions.

Some are important (the ones that are actually “ranked”), while others are more frivolous. Is a ball hitting an outfielder on the head and bouncing over the wall for a home run as important as a dramatic pennant-winning homer? Of course not. Some moments are not even real. In the chapter “Five Funny Things,” Posnanski mentions A League of Their Own and a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Of course, the tension builds as we count down to the final 10. A lot of people will be tempted to jump ahead. Don’t. That way lies madness. I doubt that many will argue with Posnanski’s #1 moment, but a few eyebrows undoubtedly will be raised and heads scratched.