* Let's hear it for the boys in blue

Dodger Blue and umpires, that is.

The Leonard Lopate Show on NPR today featured two baseball segments.

In the first,

Although Walter O’Malley has been dead for nearly 30 years his, the former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers owner is still one of the most controversial persons ever associated with the sport. Michael D’Antonio’s exhaustive biography of O’Malley is called Forever Blue.

Event: Michael D’Antonio will be in conversation with Walter O’Malley’s son Peter, moderated by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times
Saturday, March 21, at 1:00 pm
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn

You can hear it here:

D’Antonio was also the subject of a Q&A for The New York Times‘ Bats’ blog today. And here’s a review of his book from the New York Post.

In the other baseball segment on the Lopate show, and speaking of the Times,

New York Times reporter Bruce Weber gives you an insider’s look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America’s favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true. Weber not only interviewed dozens of professional umpires, but entered their world and trained to become an umpire for his book As They See ‘Em.

You can listen to that one here.

Thanks to my mother-in-law for bringing this one to my attention so quickly.