Best American Sports Writing 2009

Each year since 1991, Glenn Stout, the series editor for Houghton Mifflin’s The Best American Sports Writing, has read a lot of stories set in sports. And each year he has sent the best of them to the guest editor of the volume. This time around, that was author Leigh Montville, late of Sports Illustrated and, before that, The Boston Globe. Together Stout and Montville have produced another fine collection of stories.

Montville seems to lean toward the quirky, but fans of the writers who’ve been present in earlier volumes won’t be disappointed. Gary Smith is here again, as are Michael Lewis, Ian Thomsen, and L. Jon Wertheim.

I welcome this book each year, because invariably it features stories that I’ve missed over the course of the year. Beyond that, it’s encouraging to be reminded annually that lots of thoughtful and energetic writers are engaged in discovering what’s worthy of comment in our games.