The Bookshelf Conversation: Richard Goldstein

Whenever I come across an obituary about a baseball player in The New York Times, I check the byline. More often than not these days, it’s been written by Richard Goldstein (Bruce Weber, a former Times staffer and author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, about his experiences as a student in umpiring school, also published a good number of those). Goldstein recently contributed fond farewells to Charlie Silvera and Pumpsie Green.

Here are some other baseball obits by Goldstein

I have always been fascinated with obituaries, part of my obsession with death, I suppose. It’s a last chance to say something nice about the dearly departed, or if not nice, at least it’s a sendoff, rather than leaving unnoticed (“I don’t care what you say about me, just spell my name right”). By the way, I highly recommend The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries, by Marilyn Johnson.

Goldstein is the author of several books including Superstars and Screwballs: 100 Years of Brooklyn Baseball; Spartan Seasons: How Baseball Survived the Second World War ; and You Be the Umpire: The Baseball Controversy Quiz Book. He also worked with former Yankees Jerry Coleman on the ballplayer’s memoir, An American Journey: My Life On the Field, In the Air, and On the Air.