Step into the sun-soaked fields of romance where the crack of the bat and the crowd’s cheer blend seamlessly with the beats of passionate hearts. Welcome to the League of Baseball romance books—a world where the thrill of the game and the thrill of love play out under the glow of stadium lights. If you’re captivated by stories that combine the love of the game and the game of love, you’ve found your perfect lineup.
From the tension of the bottom of the ninth to the sweetness of a first kiss, these tales promise to take you on a journey through love, loss, triumph, and teamwork that makes relationships and championships possible. So, grab your glove, your favorite ballpark snack, and let’s dive into stories that celebrate the magic of baseball and the undeniable power of love. Batter up!
5 Baseball Romance Books
Baseball has a rich history and cultural significance in America, making it a compelling setting for romance novels. Baseball romance books explore the nostalgia, traditions, and rituals associated with the sport, capturing the essence of the game and its impact on players and fans alike. Here are five romantic baseball books that feature the passion, chemistry, and intensity of romantic relationships against the backdrop of baseball. Let’s play!
| Name | Key Focus | Rating (Goodreads) |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Card by Ashley Munoz | A journalist finds a story for her writing where she meets a baseball player who is dealing with life problems. | 3.8 |
| Dirty Curve by Meagan Brandy | A college baseball player falls in love with his tutor. | 4.2 |
| The Locker Room by Meghan Quinn | Two college students accidentally meet up, then their romance begins. | 4.1 |
| Bad Boys Break Hearts by Micalea Smeltzer | A college baseball guy bullies a girl, but after sometimes it turns into a cute relationship. | 3,7 |
| Moonshot by Alessandra Torre | A top girl gets messed with by a playboy baseball player and both deal with a murder mystery. | 4.0 |
1. Wild Card (Rake Forge University)
Wild Card is a college baseball romance. Our main male character, Decker, was the baseball team star. Something happened to him where he was injured. So he’s only been able to work out with the team, but he hasn’t been able to play. Then, our heroine, Mallory, is in the journalism program at school, and the paper’s editor needs her to develop a good story.
So she goes home one night, and her stepsister has received a wild card because the boy is on this college baseball team. They have this game where the underclassmen pass out certain playing cards to girls. They want to get with, and whatever card they get shows how far they want to get with the girl. So her stepsister has received a wild card, meaning somebody wants to go all the way with her. She later gets sick and gives the card to her stepsister to go to the party so she can write her story.
Mallory gets to the party, and Decker wants to meet her stepsister. So they’re both impersonating each other, and your story will go from there. There was a revenge plot that was confusing for me. But it’s a cute, wholesome, quick, easy college sports romance read.
Author: Ashley Munoz
Tropes: Friends-to-lovers, Angsty, Betrayal, Arc
Number Of Pages: 294
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
2. Dirty Curve
Dirty Curve was one of my top reads for a year. I was obsessed with this one from start to finish. Meagan Brandy is a USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. So it is another college baseball romance, and this one is the generic blueprint for many college high school sports romances. Tobias is the baseball team star, and Meyer is a tutor. So, he gets assigned to her for tutoring. He’s the hotshot around campus. All the girls want to be with him.
So when Tobias meets Meyer, she is a hot mess. She wears the same sweater to every tutoring session. In their first few tutoring sessions, it’s very noted that she will not look up to him. Then you discover that she has other things going on in her life. So, she doesn’t have time to do anything but school tutoring and work. When he finds out what her circumstances are, it brings him to a whole new level.
The book’s first half is dull, but the second half is interesting. Also, romance or chemistry lacks reality. Overall, I enjoyed the bad boy, good girl situation, and the forced proximity between the characters.
Author: Meagan Brandy
Narrator: Savannah Peachwood, Lee Samuels
Publisher: Audible Studios
Tropes: Possessive-hero, Slow-burn, Single-parent
Number Of Pages: 323
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
3. The Locker Room (The Brentwood Boys)
The Locker Room is the first in an eight companion novel series of The Brentwood Boys. This one is another college baseball love story. Our heroine, Emory, loses her map on the first day of classes. The map flies in the wind and smacks her hero (Knox). This guy falls the first trope, and she instantly takes him. What I liked about the book was there was a lot of pining and groveling for her to go out with him. Knox was getting people on the baseball team.
So this one was another fun, enjoyable read. There wasn’t much more to this one than Knox being the baseball team’s star. He’s very focused on his baseball dream, and Emory supports his dream in return. They are fantastic characters, and their chemistry is authentic. You must read it if you believe in true love with a baseball player. The hardcover is not good, but the paperback is perfect for color, font size, binding, and cover quality.
Author: Meghan Quinn
Narrator: Rock Engle, Felicity Munroe
Publisher: Hot Lanta Publishing LLC
Tropes: Humor, Second-chance, Academic
Number Of Pages: 318
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
4. Bad Boys Break Hearts (The Boys)
Bad Boys Break Hearts is a baseball-bullying romance. The story follows Mascen, a college junior and baseball team star. He and the heroine (Rory) were best friends when they were little. When they were ten and eight, they lived next door to each other and were wealthy. Rory’s father was a senator and was about to get in trouble for embezzlement problems. So he hung himself before he could be arrested. Because of that, her family’s entire reputation was tarnished. They couldn’t have their money anymore.
So her family was forced to move out of state and into a crappy trailer park in Florida. The hero and the heroine never saw each other again. Then, you pick up at the very beginning of the story. Rory is a freshman in college. It’s her first day, and how the two run into each other is she goes out to a bar on her first night at college and hooks up with a guy.
In the morning, when she is doing her walk of shame and leaving, she runs into Mascen, who happens to be the roommate and best friend of the guy she hooked up with. So he’s not happy about that. That’s where the bullying is going to start. I enjoyed this YA baseball romance, and the bully aspect of it was a whole other level.
Author: Micalea Smeltzer
Narrator: Erin Mallon, Jacob Morgan
Publisher: Podium Audio
Tropes: Enemies-to-lovers, College-rockstar, Royalty, Cheating-heroine
Number Of Pages: 372
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
5. Moonshot
Moonshot is a mystery-thriller with a steamy high school baseball romance story. The main protagonist is Ty, the daughter of a New York Yankee. Before the story picks up, her mom died when she was little. So, she goes on the road with her father for the rest of her adolescent life. Then you flash forward to the present, and she is a senior in the spring.
Ty’s still going on the road with the Yankees. She’s the home-schooled and bad girl. So baseball and the Yankees are full-on in her blood. At the beginning of the book, the Yankees get a new player, Chase Stern. He is known as a playboy within the baseball community. He ended up on the Yankees because the Dodgers needed to trade him away. After all, he got in trouble for sleeping with a teammate’s wife. So, he gets traded to the Yankees. Chase’s very intrigued by Ty, and Ty is very intrigued by him.
This one has a time jump, but it’s halfway through, so it works with the plot and the story. Nothing was irritating, but I enjoyed the forbidden romance aspect of it. There’s a murder subplot going on, and then in the book, find out how the murders were tied into the story because the main characters are not trying to solve this. When you alternate the chapters, there are these news articles between them talking about recent women who have turned up dead and how they’re connected to her. I had no huge problem with their age gap because Chase was only five years older.
Author: Alessandra Torre
Narrator: Samantha Summers
Publisher: Select Publishing LLC
Tropes: Suspense, Mystery, Forbidden
Number Of Pages: 408
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
These books have allowed us to step into the cleats of characters who’ve shown us that love, like baseball, is all about timing, patience, and, sometimes, taking a leap of faith to steal home. Whether you’ve found a new book to cozy up with during the off-season or discovered a story that reignites your passion for baseball and romance, we hope this lineup has brought you joy and excitement.
Until the next first pitch, may the spirit of the game and the essence of romance continue to inspire you, reminding you that in both love and baseball, it’s not just about the home runs; it’s about the journey around the bases and the stories we live along the way.
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