From the category archives:

2007 title

Unless you’re a Mets or Knicks fan, you might not know the nae. But Dennis D’Agostino was a vital cog to both teams, serving as a statistician long before computers were de rigueur. D’Agostino, who passed away last week at the age of 66, was author or co-author of three of my favorite baseball titles: […]

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We lost two major baseball writers with the passing of Rick Wolff, 71, on April 10 and St. Louis Post Dispatch veteran scribe Rick Hummel, 77, on May 20. Wolff published numerous books on coaching and sports psychology. He collaborated with his son on Harvard Boys: A Father and Son’s Adventures Playing Minor League Baseball […]

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(WTF, right? Kids, ask your parents.) From The Hardball Times website, this on Stacey May Fowles‘ Baseball Life Advice: Loving the Game That Saved Me. Upshot: “Every day in baseball brings a chance for something new and exciting, an occurrence to talk about and focus on, to share and enjoy…. Fowles’ latest book…offers exactly that.” […]

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I’ll be the judge of that

January 6, 2017

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know I have an aversion to hyperbole. Words like “greatest” or “best” or “ever” or “forever” have always raised a red flag for me because the majority of the time, they’re not. It may be unfair because I haven’t read this one save […]

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The book(s) on David Ortiz

October 26, 2016

It almost seemed like David Ortiz had to retire this year, regardless of the impressive numbers — 38 home runs, a .315 batting average, and leading the league in five  categories, including RBIs (127), doubles (48), slugging (.620), OPS (1.021), and intentional walks (15) — at the age of 40 in his 20th and final […]

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It strikes me that Baseball Is a Funny Game, originally published in 1960, was that generation’s Moneyball. It was reissued several times and was a perennial favorite, so look for it to kick up a notch on the sales charts along with It’s Anybody’s Ballgame and Just Play Ball, published in 1988 and 2007 respectively. […]

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Lou Gehrig. Jackie Robinson. Two of the game’s most iconic players, celebrated for their courage under extreme conditions. Both the subjects of outstanding biographies by Jonathan Eig, and both of which appear in 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die Eig has worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Chicago magazine, […]

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First of all, congratulations to Keith S. of Columbia, Tennessee, winner of last week’s book, They Called Me God: The Best Umpire Who Ever Lived, by Doug Harvey and Peter Golenbock.  Thank you all for your comments. This week’s offering is A Game of Brawl: The Orioles, the Beaneaters & the Battle for the 1897 […]

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The Japanese import known — perhaps politically incorrectly — as “Godzilla,” announced his retirement at the age 38. Matsui spent most of his career with the New York Yankees. I’m guessing he’s had at least one book written about him based on his career in Japan. At least two titles were released in the U.S., […]

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Review roundup, Oct. 12

October 12, 2012

♦  The Washington Post published this piece on Tony La Russa’s memoir, One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season. ♦  Better late than never: It seems the Seattle Post-Intelligencer finally got around to posting a review of Zack Hample’s 2007 publication, Watching Baseball Smarter: […]

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Enjoyed reading a few … well, what to call them? They’re not exactly graphic novels since they deal with real-life figures.. Anyway… The first was 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, which is described as a graphic novel on the dust cover. Written/drawn by Wilfred Santiago and published by Fantographic Books last year, this is […]

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by Clay Snellgrove. Loaded Press, 2007. Those familiar with this blog know I’m not big on reviewing fiction. Most of the new stuff I’ve found disappointing but that’s just one man’s opinion. So it’s nice to come across a thoughtful and realistic story such as the one Clay Snellgrove tells in his simply-titled novel, The […]

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I had mentioned Tom Hoffarth’s annual “30-books-in-30-days” project for the LA Daily News in an earlier entry today, not knowing that he posted this preview column (in which he was kind enough to give the Bookshelf a nod). Asa bonus, his entry has links to all the books he’s covered in the past, from 2008-2011, […]

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About six months ago I pulled a lower abdominal muscle. It’s in a spot where there’s no way to rest it; just about every move engages that region. A couple of trips to the doctor ruled out anything more nefarious, but I was told “it just takes time,” not the words an impatient person like […]

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Songs and Images from the Early Years of America’s Favorite Pastime, by Jerry Silverman. Alfred Publishing Company, 2007. Fans of both old-tyme baseball and music will enjoy this one. Part-music book, part-collectible (for the reproduction of the sheet music covers), part-historical analysis, The Baseball Songbook is a collection of more than 40 tunes (mostly heretofore […]

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A bit late, but O’Neil would have celebrated his 100th birthday last Sunday. In his honor, The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America.  

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Seems every Edward/Ed gets that nickname. Lopat, born in 1918, pitched 12 seasons, mostly for the juggernaut Yankees of the late 1940s-mid 1950s. He won 21 games in 1951 and led the American League in winning percentage and ERA in 1953. He was one of the subjects of Sol Gittleman’s 2007 book, Reynolds, Raschi and […]

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Carlos Zambrano turns 30 today. In addition to being one of the best pitchers of the past decade (121-76), he is, as the old announcer used to say, a pretty fair country hitter. He leads all active pitchers-as-batters with 22 home runs and is a three-time Silver Slugger winner. Pedro Miranda wrote The Big Z: […]

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The longtime baseball executive died yesterday at the age of 82. Gorman was the general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1984-93. Here’s Bruce Weber’s obit in today’s New York Times. He published High and Inside: My Life in the Front Offices of Baseball in 2007.

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Intro: As previously stated, the recent election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven got me to thinking: how many Hall of Famers have had books written about them or penned their own stories. Here are the results. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list; almost all juvenile titles have been omitted. * * * Ben […]

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