* Now hear this: Marty Appel

Marty Appel, former director of public relations for the New York Yankees during the tumultuous 1970s, has, to my mind, one of the dream jobs. These days he runs his own PR company and has his finger in many pies.

As an author, his recent biography, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, has done well since its release this summer and his memoirs, Now Pitching for the Yankees: Spinning the News for Mickey, Reggie and George, is an illuminating look at a job that can be thankless most of the times (although I imagine working for the number one franchise in the number one market can have its perks as well). In addition, Appel has worked on books by such baseball personalities as Tom Seaver, Bowie Kuhn, Lee MacPhail, umpire Eric Gregg, and the aforementioned Munson, as well as countless forewords, articles, and essays.

A popular guest speaker, Appel attended the Yankees Fantasy Camp in November where he spoke about his experiences at Sabbath services for the first Kosher component. He even had time to put on the pinstripes himself, collecting a hit on the first (and only) pitch he saw, then quickly announcing his “retirement.” With all his accomplishments, he considers this one of his favorite moments.

Appel spent some time with the Bookshelf discussing the work that went into Munson, as well as the behind-the-scenes process of putting together various publications for the Yankees, one of his responsibilities while with the team.