Bits and pieces

The baseball book news is coming in fast and furious, so rather than wait (and forget) to do longer items, here are some highlights:

Phil Haddad is about to release his new book High Flies, Pennant Drives, and Fernandomania. You can learn more at the author’s website.

Bill Jordan at Baseball Reflections posted this review of The Little White Book of Baseball Law, by John H. Minan. Looks interesting. I’ve been meaning to pick up a copy.

Zombies are all the rage these days, so a connection to baseball was just a matter of time. Although frankly — an with all due respect to the artists — to me, these are just drawings with ketchup stains.

Steven Travers, who most recently published a bio of Tom Seaver, profiles San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Barry Zito in a cover story in the March issue of Gentry, an upscale magazine serving Northern California.

In a case of striking while the iron is hot, MLB 2K12 is employing Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton in a couple of their commercials. (How tall is Upton, or how short is Justin Verlander?)

Another “Baseball Card Mystery” by Bruce Markusen at Hardball Times. This one features Rod Carew.

Baseball Nation’s Grant Brisbee, aka “Baseball Santa,” has gifts for you, including several antiquarian baseball books you can read online. The latest: Stories of the Base Ball Field: The National Game’s Great Exponents and Their Methods written more than 100 years ago.

Gary Cieradkowski’s latest addition to The Infinite Baseball Card set: Fred McMullen, the oft-overlooked member of the Eight Men Out club.

I love the smell of pinstripes in the morning. From Entertainment Weekly this somewhat disturbing piece about a new line of Yankees-inspired fragrances.

From Jason Parham in The Atlantic, baseball’s loss was the art world’s gain.

Tagged as: Barry Zito, Hardball Times, Justin Verlander, Kate Upton