By Kim J. Harmon

Re-examine the 50 greatest games the Yankees and/or the Red Sox have ever played, get insight on the game of golf from one of its legendary players and coaches, learn what it takes to be a Chicago Cubs fan, and test your managerial mettle against the baseball experts … all in books scheduled for release early in 2006.

The new baseball season is almost upon us and, as one would expect, a large portion of the new releases will focus on baseball, past and present, but sprinkled in there will be tomes on golf and youth sports and here are some to look out for in the next few months …

Baseball Chronicles (©2006 by David Gallen and Mark Harris, published by BBS Publishing Corporation, 416 pages, $7.99)

A collection of articles, profiles and essays written on some of the all-time greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson by some of the foremost authors such as John Updike, Red Smith, Roger Kahn, Ring Lardner, George Vecsey and Stephen Jay Gould. Focusing on the old-time greats such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jackie Robinson. Most of the pieces have never before appeared in book form and one of them, a speech from Bart Giamatti, appears in print for the first time in this volume.

Coming in April

It’s Only a Game: Words of Wisdom from a Life in Golf (©2006 by Jackie Burk and Guy Yocom, published by Penguin Group, 224 pages, $22.50)

 Gems of wisdom about golf and life from one of the game’s most respected elder statesmen and former champions. He is a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour, was a five-time member of the Ryder Cup team (twice as captain), and is a member of three different golf halls of fame. A former instructor of such players as Phil Mickelson, Hal Sutton, Steve Elkington and Ben Crenshaw, Jackie Burke will offer anecdotes from a long and illustrious career and bring forth pithy insights on the nature of competition and the erosion of amateur play. Insight into why the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team suffered its worst defeat ever (Burke was a co-captain), the alarmingly high cost of playing public and resort courses and country clubs that stress cosmetic appearances over the playing of the game will be among the topics he takes a look at.

Coming in April

50 Greatest Yankee Games (©2006 by Cecilia Tan, published by Wiley, John & Sons, 256 pages, $14.95)

In more than 100 years, the Yankees have won 26 world championships and Ms Tan picks out of some 17,000 games the 50 greatest ever played by the Yankees – such as the 1949 pennant race that pitted Joe DiMaggio against Ted Williams to the 1978 American League Eastern Division playoff game in Boston where Bucky Dent blasted his famous home run. The book is filled with player interviews, anecdotes, box scores, and nearly two dozen vintage photographs.

Coming in April

50 Greatest Red Sox Games (©2006 by Cecilia Tan and Bill Nowlin, published by Wiley, John & Sons, 256 pages, $22.95)

The Boston Red Sox have been around just as long as the Yankees and from the Carlton Fisk home run in the 1975 World Series to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series have played some pretty exciting games. Collected here are 50 of the greatest games the Red Sox ever played.

Coming in April

Sultans of Swat: The Four Great Sluggers of the New York Yankees (©2006, published by St. Martin’s Press, 288 pages, $29.95)

Pre-eminent sports journalists Dave Anderson, Murray Chass, Robert Lipsyte, Buster Olney and George Vecsey examined the New York Yankees and the four greatest sluggers in franchise history – Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig Joe DiMaggio andMickey Mantle.

Coming in April

Wrigleyworld: A Season in Baseball’s Greatest Neighborhood (©2006 by Kavin Kaduk, published by Penguin Group, 288 pages, $23.95)

The Cubs haven’t won a World Series in almost 100 years, but their fans remain ever faithful and those in Wrigleyville – the idiosyncratic neighborhood that has sprung up around the ballpark – are the essence of the Cubs.

Coming in April

Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager (©2006 by Buzz Bizzinger, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 304 pages, $13.95)

If you ever wanted to get inside the mind of a baseball manager as he is making the decisions he needs to make to win a ball game, pick up Three Nights in August. Watch from the dugout as a series unfolds between the Cardinals and the Cubs and uncover surprising truths about the pathology of slumps, the psychology of the clutch, the complex art of beanball retaliation, the rise of video, and the innumerable eccentricities of pitchers.

Coming in April

Take Me Out To The Ballgame (©2006 by Jack Norworth, published by Little, Brown & Company, 32 pages, $16.99)

The lyrics of the familiar song, illustrated by pictures based on the World Series games played between the Dodgers and the Yankees in 1949 in Ebbets Field. Perfect for little fans ages four to six.

Coming in March

The Washington National’s 1859 to Today: The Story of Baseball in the Nation’s Capital (©2006 by Frederick J. Frommer and Anthony Williams, published by Taylor Trade Publishing, 240 pages, $24.95)

Baseball was played in the nation’s capital last April – the third different time a team has taken to the field down there. Since the second incarnation of the Washington Senators left in 1971 (and became the Texas Rangers), the capital has been without a team. But a new chapter has opened since the Montreal Expos departed Canada.

Coming in March

Whose Game Is It Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports (©2006 by Richard D. Ginsburg, Stephen Durant and Amy Baltzell, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 320 pages, $15)

In an era when parents and kids are overwhelmed by a sports-crazed, win-at-all-costs culture, here is a comprehensive guide that helps parents ensure a positive sports experience for their children. Two of the country’s leading youth sports psychologists team up with a former Olympic athlete and expert on performance enhancement to share what they have gleaned in more than forty years of combined experience.

Coming in March

Match Wits With Baseball Experts: Test Your Dugout Savvy Against the Pros (©2006 by Watne Stewart, published by Sterling Publishing Company, 128 pages, $6.95)

Every baseball fan knows he or she could do a better job of running a club than the manager paid to do it. So here is a chance to test your managerial acumen. Would you, in an extra-inning tie game, intentionally walk the lead off batter … and has a major league manager ever done so? Is it better to use your best pinch hitter early in the game if your team has a chance to increase its lead? Go up against the real-world experts – the managers, pitchers, and bombers with the bat. See how your dugout decisions would compare to theirs.

Coming in March