One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed being a member of the Society for American Baseball Research is the cool publications that come with the territory. Well, they’ve only gotten better in recent years. In addition to annual Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime, SABR has taken to paying tribute to some great ball clubs in its “Memorable Teams in Baseball History” series, published by the University of Nebraska Press.

So far we have

  • The Team That Forever Changed Baseball and America: The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, edited by Lyle Spatz
  • Drama and Pride in the Gateway City: The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals, edited by John Harry Stahl and Bill Nowlin
  • Bridging Two Dynasties: The 1947 New York Yankees, edited by Spatz
  • Pitching, Defense, and Three-Run Homers: The 1970 Baltimore Orioles, edited by Mark Armour and Malcom Allen

Each team contributed to the legends of the game, either on the field, as was the case for Earl Weaver’s Orioles and the post-War Yankees, or the Cardinals and Dodgers, both of which propelled the role of African Americans in the game: Jackie Robinson as a solo pioneer, and the Redbirds as advancing efforts to end segregation in the civil rights sixties.

The books, compiled by dozens of SABRen, all follow the same format: a recap of the team’s season along with well-researched biographies, from the All Stars to the 25th man on the roster. In fact, it’s that homage to the utilitymen that make these collections truly democratic.

The Team That Forever Changed Baseball and America: The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers Drama and Pride in the Gateway City: The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals
Bridging Two Dynasties: The 1947 New York Yankees http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9780803239937_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG

To all those to participated in these wonderful volumes, kudos and keep ‘em coming.

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So was the guy holding out the candy bar like it was a microphone/recording device?

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Time out…

May 22, 2013 · 0 comments

Because baseball is, in reality, just a game.

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I’m sure I corresponded about this with Dave Jamieson after my recent purchase of a pack of 2013 cards and well before this NY Times story came out, but can’t seem to find a record in any of my e-mail accounts. Drives me nuts.

Anyway, has anyone else notice that Topps changed its card-numbering system? Used to be cards ending in number “00″ were reserved for the best of the best (usually seven players), like Mays, Mantle, Aaron, etc. Then the next tier were those that ended in “50,” followed by “x0,” then “x5,” then everybody else.

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That’s no longer the case, and it obviously has a few people upset.

To read their thoughts, you’d think this was on par with the use of the designated hitter or turf instead of real grass; I like it. Very retro.

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bbiconLucas Mann’s Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere is turning out to be the sleeper favorite in the new baseball book season. Several reviews have appeared recently, including a mention on the Hot Corner Book Club, NPR Books, Boston.com, and Bookreporter.com. Harper’s Magazine also did this Q&A with the author.

bbiconH.C.B.C., a component of the Baseball Nation site, also posted about Allen Barra’s Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age; Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights, and the Deep South’s Most Compelling Pennant Race, by Larry Colton; and Drama and Pride in the Gateway City: The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals (Memorable Teams in Baseball History), one of the excellent team profiles published by the Society for American baseball Research.

bbiconThe Daily Dayton News selected three new titles (including Class A) as significant.

bbiconNuckolBall postedthis review of oldie-but-goodie Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, while the AtHomePlate site looks at another book about the scandal, Black Sox in the Courtroom: The Grand Jury, Criminal Trial and Civil Litigation.

bbiconCleveland.com (Cleveland Plain Dealer) offers this about Edward Achorn’s new book, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America’s Game.

bbiconFinally, Baseball-Almanac.com gave 501 a very complimentary review. Upshot:

A number of the books described are, of course, out of print. A great value of this book as a guide is that alerts you to baseball books you didn’t know existed — and, which you might be able to pick up for a low price on Ebay, Amazon.com or some comparative shopping for books website. This is like finding buried treasure! I’ve ordered used copies of books of interest, about which I did not know. One stands a better chance these days, through technology, of finding these pearls than in the past when you would have to scour used bookstores. So Kaplan’s labors are valuable in not only for gaining a wide overview of important and interesting books, but also alerting one to books you’d like to read, or own. On the flip side, it may make your own baseball library pretty paltry!

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Well, one way is to sign up for the annual Cooperstown Baseball Symposium, which is where I’ll be May 29-31.

Veteran sportswriter, author, and commentator Frank Deford is the keynote speaker for this 25th anniversary edition.

You can look at the whole program here. As you will see, it’s very eclectic (and that I serve as a moderator for one of the panels).

Come up for the whole weekend or just a day. If you’ve never been to Cooperstown, it’s quite a treat.

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Talk about your odd couples.

A few weeks ago  on Kaplan’s Korner, I posted about a Jewish-themed episode of the old Bill Cosby Show. This one titled “Dennis and The Dodger,” doesn’t have a Jewish slant, aside from the appearance of Koufax himself. And this was in 1959, before Koufax began his streak of five amazing seasons (1962-66).

This link comes courtesy of the Jewish Sports Collector’s group on Yahoo. You have to sign up for Hulu, but the basic service is free.Enjoy. (It’s a trip! Get a load of the “roles” of men and women in the Eisenhower years. And women in baseball, too. So innocent. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.)

Koufax also appeared, with several other Dodgers teammates, on an episode Mr. Ed.

In fact, the pitcher who has so often been said to be an introvert, has had more than an average superstar’s share of film and TV roles. According to Wikipedia,

Koufax appeared on television from 1959 through 1962. He was cast as Ben Cassidy in the 1959 episode “Too Smart to Live” of the syndicated western series, Shotgun Slade… In 1960, he played the role of “Johnny” in the episode Impasse of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Colt .45. He made minor appearances in two other ABC/WB productions, 77 Sunset Strip and Bourbon Street Beat…. He also appeared as himself on NBC’s detective series, Michael Shayne in the 1961 episode entitled “Strike Out.”

I’ll look into those other shows to see if I can find clips.

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Back at ya

May 17, 2013 · 3 comments

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Spent a very nice evening at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on May 9, chatting about the new book. An intimate group attended. My wife accompanied me  there and commented on how knowledgeable they all seemed to be on the general topic and how impressive the conversation was. My daughter also showed up to take pictures, which I’ll be posting soon. I’m also noodling around with making a video of the proceedings using the iMovie component of the new computer. Hey, why not? It won’t be Spielberg or DeMille, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking few eggs (unless, of course, you just open a carton of egg substitute).

Here’s the link to the podcast Jay Goldberg produced for the evening. I learned that the whole event is generally too long for the technical limits of the podcast, so some of the Q&A is missing.

While in Manhattan, we paid a visit to the Strand Bookstore, a couple of blocks away from Bergino. While they didn’t have 501 — yet — I did pick a book comparing baseball and cricket; a biography of Lester “Red” Rodney, a journalist of the communist persuasion who politicked for Jackie Robinson to get a chance to try out for Major League baseball, and a paperback of two novellas by Paul Gallico, heretofore known to me only as a sports reporter/editor.

This week I had the pleasure of being interview by Bruce Berglund of NewBooksinSports.com. That should be up next week; I’ll post a link when available.

I’m scheduled to be at the Words bookstore in Maplewood, NJ, on Sunday, June 9 (just in time to pick up a book for Fathers Day, hint, hint). Then, on Wednesday, June 19, at 7 p.m., I’ll be speaking with NY Daily News sports columnist Filip Bondy at the main branch of the Montclair Public Library. This was a reschedule following a May event that was cancelled because Bondy was covering the Nets-Bulls playoff series.

What else, what else… Oh, yeah.

Received Forgotten Stars & Hometown Heroes, a lovely book produced by Gary Cieradkowski, the man behind the Infinite Baseball Card blog.

Tom Hoffarth included it in his follow-up to his “30 baseball books in 30 days” feature last month.

With so many good books coming out every year, I don’t normally reread, but I recently received an email from an author castigating me for not included his book in 501. Having never met the gentleman — and given today’s email/text etiquette (or lack thereof), I have no way of knowing if he was serious or kidding around. Regardless, it did get me to thinking on another book on the general topic of baseball during the civil war, so I picked up Thomas Dyja’s novel, Play for a Kingdom once more. As a book that was included in 501, I will be talking with Dyja at some point soon towards another podcast that will be posted on the book’s stand-alone website, along with other pertinent entries.

Finally, my review of Larry Colton’s illuminating Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights, and the Deep South’s Most Compelling Pennant Race should be up tonight (or next Friday) on Bookreporter.com.

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I have been begging for an update of the classic Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks: The Ultimate Guide to America’s Top Baseball Parks, originally published in 1988 by Bob Wood.

If they ever get around to do that, they’ll have to update the info to include not only the new teams, as well as the new ballparks for older teams, but the vegetarian sensibilities. Fortunately, soyhappy.org gives that project a jump start with this menu of accommodating venues. note: While many food items are kosher, not all are, so as they say on TV, check your local listings.

Hat-tip top Jay Goldberg of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse for putting this on Facebook.

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Can’t believe it’s been five days since my last entry. Things have just gotten so crazy of late, between my book and those from others that keep arriving at my doorstep.

So let us begin:

bbiconBoston.com posted this review about Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere, Lucas Mann’s memoir about the minor leagues. Although the review clearly appreciates the book, one comment struck me as totally nonsensical (regardless of my long-held opinion of Harbach’s debut novel):

If Chad Harbach’s “The Art of Fielding” was the “Field of Dreams” of baseball books, replete with lyricism and Roger Angellesque poetry, then “Class A” could be considered literature’s answer to “Bull Durham” — raucous and scruffy, yet heartfelt and true.

Maybe I’m just dense today; maybe someone can explain this to me. Since Field of Dreams (the film version of the Kinsella story, Shoeless Joe is already a book about baseball, how can TAOF be … I can’t even get my head around how to phrase it. I hope my meaning comes through.

bbiconThe Provo, Utah, Daily Herald posted this one about John Sexton’s Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game. Upshot: “Sexton has written an unlikely but deeply nourishing book with lasting appeal to baseball fans who are persons of faith, and vice versa.”

bbiconThis is a review? NewsOK posted about the coffee table book, Inside the Baseball Hall of Fame.

bbiconThe Minneapolis Star-Tribune published this review of Edward Achorn’s The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America’s Game. Upshot: “s with that book, Achorn’s gift for storytelling shines in the climactic games of the season.” The Oregonian also did one on Achorn’s latest.

bbiconMySanAntonio posted this on my old softball teammate Tom Dunkel’s Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line.

bbiconSince book clubs are basically group reviews of books, I’m including this entry from Baseball Nation’s Hot Corner Book Club on The Dickson Baseball Dictionary.

bbiconThe Daily Beast offers this mini-review of 15 new baseball titles, (none of which is 501Baseball Books Fans Must Read etc. I know it appears ungracious, but at what point would it be appropriate to start bitching about the lack of attention 501 is getting? Have I seriously overestimated the literary appeal and utility of such a book? I don’t want to be that guy, but it is getting a bit frustrating. Just sayin’).

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Bl1_mediumI had the opportunity to watch Big Leaguer yesterday. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I can get a little cynical at times, but I was pleasantly surprised by this modest endeavor about young athletes at a New York Giants try-out camp, led by Edward G. Robinson as a kind-but-firm former Major Leaguer. Sure it was a bit dated. The conceit of the sportswriter serving as narrator is a bit cliched, reminiscent of Terrance Mann’s “People will come” monologue in Field of Dreams, as was the son-of-an-immigrant-dad who doesn’t want to let on that he’s a ballplayer, even though he’s really, really good at it. The dialogue, too, was a bit 50s “golly-gee.” I don’t want to give too much more away. I highly recommend spending the time watching the whole thing on Youtube, as I wrote in the previous post.

Jim Baker at BaseballNation picks up on a few of these quirks, including the appearance of the wasp-waisted Vera-Ellen as the obligatory love interest (and that’s not my usual typo; her name is actually hyphenated), who looks like she’d be more at home in a grade C sci-fi movie as an emotionless alien princess.

I did not realize when composing yesterday’s post that in addition to the pro ballplayers who appeared as themselves, you also had Hall of Famer Carl Hubbard as a baseball executive. He’s no Laurence Olivier (not even Carl Weathers), but he did a decent enough job. I found the character of Chuy Aguilar, a Cuban who was never without a little dictionary, interesting. Contrary to reality, his teammates/competition seemed to welcome hi with open arms. And you might recognize William Campbell, who played an “insecure braggart,” from a couple roles on the original Star Trek series. The baseball action was fair enough, although mostly done in long shots so you couldn’t see if the actual actors had any real athletic skill.

All that angst for a $150 a month contract. Heh.

 

 

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That remains to be seen, but Baseball National posted this about one of the few baseball movies that I have missed: the 1953 vehicle Big Leaguer, starring Edward G. Robinson as a former, well, big leaguer.

Pro ballplayers Tony Ravish (!), Bob Trocolor, Harv Tomtor (in an uncredited role), and Al “Necessities” Campanis all appeared as themselves. Because, you know, they were such huge stars back then.

Yippee! Just found out the whole film is available via YouTube!

You’re welcome.

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Review roundup, April 30

2013 title

Apologies for the lapse in posting. New computers at the office and at home and necessitated some down time. So where were we? The very kind Tom Hoffarth concludes his 30/30 series with my 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. His previous week included: ==Day 29: The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: [...]

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Man, these cards are uggggggg-leeeee

"Oddballs"

Some people are nostalgic for the old days. Boomers might think the 1950s and 1960s were the best of times (despite social unrest, Jim Crow laws, fewer rights for women, worse health care, etc.). Their parents might think it was the simple more innocent time of the 30s and 40s. I know I long for [...]

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Bookshelf review: ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast

2013 title

There are a few podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, including NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Pop Culture Happy Hour and Pardon the Interruption (when I can’t catch up on the DVR). Recently I’ve added ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, hosted by Buster Olney, to that elite group. To be frank, a lot [...]

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Bookshelf review: 42

2013 title

This will be relatively short (and hopefully sweet?), since there’s not much I can add to the dozens of critiques previously offered on the new Jackie Robinson biopic. Although I had read just about everything I could find on the film, I still believe I went in with an open mind. I am predisposed to [...]

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Lest we forget: Stan Isaacs

2008 title

Ironically, I did forgot to post news about the passing of longtime sportswriter Isaacs when he passed away on April 2. According to the obituary in The New York Times, Isaacs was one of the Chipmunks, a group of young reporters, mainly in New York, who brought irreverence and daring to sports coverage beginning in [...]

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Review roundup, April 23

2013 title

At Home Plate posted this review of Tom Dunkel’s Color Blind:  The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line. Upshot: “This book is the story of those men and it’s a great story.  One worthy of being read over and over by fans who truly love the game and understand what we all lost during [...]

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42 overview

2013 title

The critics seem to fall into two main camps: movie critics with no special knowledge about baseball, who based their comments solely on the production values and storytelling and those baseball nerds with lots of knowledge about the topic who were mostly interested in the attention to detail, some to a most picayune level. Let’s [...]

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501 at Watchung Booksellers

2013 title

Well, that went well. Got the first 501 book event under my belt at, appropriately, my hometown bookstore, Watchung Booksellers. About 20 friends, neighbors, and supporters to listen to me drone on, reading a few passages from the book (I quickly learned what not to do in the future — less reading, more extemporaneousness), and [...]

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