Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf — If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here

Keep a good thought for Gary Carter

January 26, 2012 · 0 comments

“The Kid” is not doing so well these days. The NY Times‘ Richard Sandomir wrote about Carter’s condition a couple of days ago, focusing on Carter’s daughter, Kimmy Bloemers, and her efforts to keep fans up-to-date through a blog, which appears to be invitation only to view.

The article refers to this 7-Up commercial, which is typical of the day and was probably shown only in the Montreal market.

Carter was the agent of a lot of happy memories for Mets fans in the mid 1980s, so here’s wishing him and his family peace.

Carter collaborated on a couple of books about his life inside and outside the game, including Still a Kid at Heart: My Life in Baseball and Beyond and A Dream Season.

Tagged as: Gary Carter, Kimmy Bloemers

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Lest we forget: Bill Mardo

January 26, 2012 · 0 comments

: Bill Mardo in 1999.

Mardo, who died Jan. 20 at the age of 88, was a journalist who worked for the Communist publication The Daily Worker in the 1940s-50s. Along with fellow MOTs Lester “Red” Rodney and Nat Low, Mardo — born William Bloom — agitated for baseball to break the color barrier, which paved the way for Jackie Robinson and others to gain entrance to the Majors Leagues.

A few weeks back I speculated about the intentions of Branch Rickey in signing a black player. After all, he’d had ample opportunity while serving as general manager of the St. Louis cardinals before he accepted the same responsibilities with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

According to Mardo’s obit, written by Richard Goldstein,

In April 1997, Mr. Mardo and Mr. Rodney (who died in 2009) spoke at a symposium at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus marking the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut with the Dodgers.

Mr. Mardo noted that Rickey had not signed blacks when he ran the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades and suggested it was not idealism but pressure from black sportswriters, trade unions and the Communist Party that persuaded him to sign Robinson.

Tagged as: Bill Mardo, Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson

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Wait Wait, Don’t Taft Me

January 24, 2012 · 0 comments

(Maybe that should be “Don’t Taft me, bro.”)

Our favorite NPR program featured piece of baseball this trivia in its “Not My Job” segment with guest Duke Fatir of The Four Tops. The three questions all had to do with “bottoms” (heh).

* * *

PETER SAGAL: Last question, President William Howard Taft had the biggest bottom of any president to date.

MO ROCCA: Yeah.

SAGAL: As a role in his legacy, according to legend, A: he claimed his bottom would tingle whenever he should veto a piece of legislation? That’s how he knew.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: B: his butt was too big for a chair at a baseball game, and when he stood up to stretch, he began the tradition of the seventh inning stretch? Or C: what was then the square office became the oval office…

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …because he needed more room to turn around?

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

FAKIR: I like B.

SAGAL: You’re going to go for B, the seventh inning stretch? Is that your choice?

ROCCA: I think it is.

FAKIR: Yeah.

SAGAL: Yes, that’s it.

ROCCA: Yes, it is.

SAGAL: That’s the…

SALIE: Wow.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: The fact is that Taft became the first president to attend a baseball game and threw out the first pitch. The legend is that he started the seventh inning stretch by standing up in the seventh inning to relieve his cramped condition.

Tagged as: Four Tops, William Howard Taft

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Pass the popcorn: Moneyball picks up four Oscar noms (Update)

January 24, 2012 · 0 comments

The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning and Moneyball came away with a “cycle” of sorts.

The unlikely cinematic version of Michael Lewis’ best-seller is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin).

UPDATE: Moneyball also earned nominations for film editing and sound mixing, bring the total to six.

The Best Picture category was expanded a few years ago to consider an additional five films. The cynic in me believes this was a way to throw a bone to studios who could now proudly proclaim such status in their advertising when they re-release their product. These are the nominations; I’ve taken the liberty of striking out those that IMHO would not have gotten a nomination under the old rules, based on the majority of reviews I’ve read coupled with my own thoughts on those I’ve seen: ~~War Horse~~, The Artist, ~~Moneyball~~, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, ~~The Help~~, ~~Hugo~~, ~~Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close~~. As you see, I wouldn’t have put Moneyball in the same category as the remaining movies (although I did see Tree of Life and just don’t get the buzz. Yes, it was lovely cinematography, but what the hell was the story about?)

If I had to bet, I might say Jonah Hill has the best chance to come away with some hardware. Christopher Plummer (Beginners) might be a sentimental favorite, but does he really belong in this category?)

Filmspotting, one of my favorite podcasts, did this review of Moneyball back when it was first released.

Tagged as: Aaron Sorkin, Academy Award, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Moneyball

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Drumroll, please: Kostya Kennedy wins coveted CASEY Award

January 23, 2012 · 0 comments

Kostya Kennedy, author of 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, has been selected as winner of the are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2012 CASEY Award, the annual prize of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine.

According to a press release issued by Spitball editor Mike Shannon, 56 received two first place votes and one second 2nd place vote to run away with the juried competition.

Kennedy, a writer for Sports Illustrated, will be presented with his CASEY Award — a Kentucky blue and gold Louisville Slugger — at the 29th annual CASEY Awards Banquet on Sunday, March 18. in Cincinnati. Kennedy’s book and the other nine Finalists, along with 150+ other baseball books all published in 2011, will be on display at the Banquet.

For more information on the CASEY Awards, please visit the Spitball website or contact Shannon at 513-442-0025.

Tagged as: Casey Award, Joe DiMaggio, Kostya Kennedy, Mike Shannon, Sports Illustrated

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Robert Creamer, Hall of Famer?

January 19, 2012 · 0 comments

After his interview with the veteran writer, Graham Womack at Baseball: Past and Present wonders if there isn’t some way for the Hall of Fame to recognize Creamer’s his contributions.

What a great idea. There are several worthy scribes who didn’t work for newspapers (and therefore don’t qualify for the Spink Award, which “or meritorious contributions to baseball writing” according to members of the Baseball Writers of America Association). Womack mentions Roger Angell and Roger Kahn.

But why stop there? Separate categories for fiction and non-fiction, perhaps. Of course, then you have to decide the qualifications for consideration: a single seminal work (Malamud, Rolfe Greenberg, Coover) or multiple publications (Harris, Kinsella, who was recently inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame). Same for non-fiction. Bill James and John Thorn have certainly changed the way fans think about the game.

Who would be on your short list for the new authors wing of the HoF?

Tagged as: Baseball Writers of America Association, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame, J. G. Taylor Spink Award, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn

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Lights, Camera, critique!

January 18, 2012 · 0 comments

Now that Moneyball is out on DVD/Blue-Ray/etc., look for a new round of reviews on the film.

Here are two to get you started. The first comes from Over The Monster, a Red Sox-centric blog.

The second is a “live-blog” post by Rob Neyer at Baseball Nation. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve never seen the film (although I did order it today). So as per his “instructions,” I haven’t read it. I have read his similar treatment of For Love of the Game.

Both of these are the blogosphere version of Mystery Science Theater.

Tagged as: Moneyball, Over The Monster, Rob Neyer

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Preparing for the next phase? Dickey, Kershaw turning author

January 18, 2012 · 0 comments

Because you always need to have a career plan.

R.A. Dickey, he of Mt. Kilimanjaro fame, will publish Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball (with Wayne Coffey) in March via Blue Rider Press, a Penguin imprint. You can get samples of Dickey’s writing (about his recent adventures) from his blogs on the New York Times‘s site.

In addition, Clayton Kershaw, the 2011 NL Cy Young winner, and his wife, Ellen, recently released Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself (with Ann Higginbottom/Regal), which covers his work with orphans in Africa whose families have been destroyed by AIDS.

These are not your typical active-player, Brosnan/Bouton/Hayhurst productions. Dickey and Kershaw write about issues away from the field that are important to them. Whether they will gain a wider audience because of their status as athletes remains to be seen.

Tagged as: AIDS, Clayton Kershaw, Mount Kilimanjaro, New York Times, RA Dickey

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Time for the ‘Golden Baseball’ awards?

January 17, 2012 · 2 comments

With the Golden Globes just handed out and the Oscars still on the horizon, look for more lists like these.

Jeff Euston over at Baseball Prospectus offered his top ten faves, including some unusual titles such as Brewster’s Millions and Rookie of the Year.

This prompted movie buff Rob Neyer to submit this one, which includes Fever Pitch (meh, imho) and “Anything from the ’40s or ’50s with real major leaguers in cameo roles.”

Well, I might as well put in my two cents:

Eight Men Out: Some pretty good athletic performances from seemingly non-athletic actors.

A League of Their Own, which deserves a lot of credit for bring the AAGPBL to renewed national attention.

Bull Durham, because it’s fun, dammit.

Damn Yankees, because “You Gotta Have Heart.”

Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Michael Moriarty, grandson of a big leaguer

The Pride of the Yankees (primitive CGI at its worst)

It Happens Every Spring. Paul Douglas, who plays Ray Miland’s sidekick, Monk Lanigan, also appeared in the original version of Angels in the Outfield, as well as manager of a baseball team in The Twilight Zone episode, “The Mighty Casey,” and in an uncredited role in Rhubarb (which, in turn, featured Leonard Nimoy as a member of the Brooklyn Loons).

Tale Me Out to the Ball Game

Field of Dreams

The Monty Stratton Story

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What might have been: Shel Silverstein, Major Leaguer?

January 17, 2012 · 0 comments

I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m frequently surprised by the interest non-baseball authors show in the national pastime.

Case in point: the poet and children’s book author, who published this piece in Playboy back in 1962.

According to the South Side Sox blog,

In a June, 1962 four-page spread for the mentioned magazine, Shel is featured practicing and hanging out with the Sox during spring training in Sarasota, Florida. Here’s the first two pages and the second two pages.

In the first link, number 6 would be light-hitting utility infielder Al Weis, who would get his major league debut that September. 10 would be Sherm Lollar, turning 38 that year, in his second-to-last season in baseball. Also, in one of the photographs, that’s Nellie Fox batting while Shel catches. The second link features young Fred Talbot as number 35. He made his major-league debut at the tail end of the 1963 season. Lastly, Tony Cuccinello, a former all-star who played on the Sox from 1943 to 1945, wears number 33.

How would culture been different if Silverstein had any talent for the game?

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Author interview: Robert Creamer

January 17, 2012 · 0 comments

Creamer, author of what many believe to be the first “adult” biography when he published Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, was the subject of this interview with the Baseball: Past and Present blog, an interesting site of which I had heretofore been ignorant.

Creamer, a fixture at Sports Illustrated and other publications, is also author of Stengel: His Life and Times and Baseball in ’41: A Celebration of the “Best Baseball Season Ever”.

Tagged as: Robert Creamer

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s baseball connections

January 15, 2012 · 0 comments

Small wonder in that they had to do with Jackie Robinson.

Robinson’s teammate, Don Newcombe, recalled ameeting between the two iconic figures for a piece in Time Magazine in 2007:

Do you know what Jackie’s impact was? Well, let Martin Luther King tell you. In 1968, Martin had dinner in my house with my family. This was 28 days before he was assassinated. He said to me, “Don, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you guys setting up the minds of people for change. You, Jackie, and Roy will never know how easy you made it for me to do my job.” Can you imagine that? How easy we made it for Martin Luther King!

Robinson devoted an entire chapter to “The Influence of Martin Luther ing, Jr.” in his 1972 autobiography, I Never Had It Made.

The photo below appeared in the June 8, 1957 edition of The Sporting News:

CALL HIM DR. ROBINSON -- Jackie Robinson, former Brooklyn Dodgers infield, now a New York restaurant chain executive, is followed by the Rev. Martin Luther King, of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, as they walk in Howard University's academic procession Friday in Washington, D.C. Both men received honorary doctorates of law from the university.

Frank Staley, Jr., Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. meet with Kentucky Governor Edward Breathitt at the Jan. 1966 signing of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.

Tagged as: Don Newcombe, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King

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Elite, if unfortunate, company

2012 title

I was over at the local Barnes and Noble and my eyes fell on The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. Being the morbid and curious fellow I am, I flipped through the book (the title is a bit odd, since obviously none of the obits are actually from 2012; they actually span Aug. [...]

Tagged as: Chuck Tanner, Duke Snider, Harmon Killebrew, Jerry Coleman, Ron Santo, Wally Yonamine, William McDonald

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Save the Date: Casey Award banquet set

2011 title

The winner of the 2011 CASEY Award will be announced Monday, January 23. Finalists for the coveted literary prize include: The Art of Fielding: A Novel, by Chad Harbach Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, by John Thorn The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs, [...]

Tagged as: Casey Award, Charles M. Conlon, Joe DiMaggio, John Thorn, Roy Campanella, Spitball

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Female umpires to get another look?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

I found the headline of this article — “Will Expanded Replay Lead to More Women Umpires?” — most intriguing. Aside from the deeper question about the opportunities (or lack thereof) for “women in blue,” as discussed in this article on the Baseball Reflections blog, I have yet to hear why the adoption of technology should [...]

Tagged as: Bernice Gera, Pam Postema

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