Bits and pieces, Sept. 5

Vince McKee will discuss his book, Jacobs Field: History and Tradition at The Jake, at the Lakewood Public Library, Lakewood, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.

Another author(s) appearance: Springfield (Mass.)’s Bring It Home baseball committee will feature local writers Richard Andersen and Marty Dobrow in an Authors Night presentation on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. at Pasquale’s Restaurant, 642 North Main St., East Longmeadow. Andersen will discuss the two books he has written about Springfield’s American Legion Post 21 baseball team of 1934 – a children’s version entitled A Home Run for Bunny, and an adult version entitled We Called Him Bunny. Dobrow will discuss his book, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, which examines life in baseball’s minor leagues by telling the stories of six players.

Tickets, available through Sept. 16 at $30, can be obtained by sending checks to Bring It Home Baseball, 6 Wesson St., Springfield 01108, or by contacting mdborecki@yahoo.com.

Another Massachusetts author connection Masslive.com ran this review/profile on Baseball in the Bay State by Kevin Larkin.

Following the Mo’ne Davis Little League craze, the New York Post ran this piece asking “Will a woman ever play in the Major Leagues?” Knowing the tabloid as I do, I’m thinking all they care about is getting a wardrobe malfunction. Kudos to Davis, though, for her ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium:

The Eau Claire (Wisc.) Leader Telegram did this profile on Joe Neise, author of Burleigh Grimes: Baseball’s Last Legal Spitballer.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer website ran this profile of Russel Schneider, author of several sports titles including last his 630-page encyclopedia of the Tribe’s top players called “Cleveland Indians Legends,” published in 2013.

Put together a list of the older teams with the fewest titles about them and the Astros would be high up thereon. Mike Vance sought to clear that up a bit with his book about baseball in Houston.

This is the time of year you’re likely to hear a bit more than usual about Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg, two Jewish players who refused to take the field on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Hebrew calendar. Coincidentally, here are two pieces highlighting John Rosengren books that feature both icons (although the author is not Jewish). The Buffalo News ran this review about Rosengren’s Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes. And this item from Deadspin’s David Davis analyzes the famous photo of Juan Marichal conking John Roseboro over the head with a bat in 1965, which is also the subject of a Rosengren book: The Fight of Their Lives: How Juan Marichal And John Roseboro Turned Baseball’s Ugliest Brawl Into A Story Of Forgiveness And Redemption. Koufax is captured in the shot by Neil Leifer, trying to help calm things down at the risk of getting hurt himself.