From the category archives:

Baseball art

The Comic Book Story of Baseball: The Heroes, Hustlers, and History-Making Swings (and Misses) of America’s National Pastime, by Alex Irvine with Tomm Coker and C.P. Smith A brief one today. I fear these things are becoming unsustainable, but we’ll see. I first came across the work of Alex Irvine with his short “speculative” piece, […]

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It’s about time

July 29, 2019

If they ever put this out in a miniature form, tell me where I can get one; it’s going straight on the bookshelf. As per the Los Angeles Times, “Legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax will get a statue at Dodger Stadium.” Wouldn’t be surprised if this shows up in the next edition of Josh Pahigian’s 101 […]

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Fifteen bobbleheads for $300 seems like a bargain. (especially when you can buy them individually for $25 bucks apiece) but when you see that these are figurines from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, it’s a true find. Teams represented include: Rockford Peaches Chicago Colleens Battle Creek Belles Grand Rapids Chicks Fort Wayne Daisies South […]

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Baseball Card Day! Hooray!

August 11, 2018

Did you have it on your calendar? August 11 is National Baseball Card Day. MLB.com posted this story yesterday in advance of the occasion, listing the coolest card for each year since Topps launched in 1951. No spoiler alerts here, but if you want to jump to the specific decade… 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s […]

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And how we love to hate some of those shirts (and pants). Todd Radom, a graphic designer specializing in branding for professional sports franchises, has compiled an entertaining collection and deconstruction of some of the greatest, worst, and most unusual baseball attire in his recent release, Winning Ugly: A Visual History of the Most Bizarre Baseball Uniforms […]

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These are my favorite posts, taking a look at what new baseball books are on the horizon. A few notes: Traditional print rules the land here here. There may be a Kindle edition involved, but no Kindle-only titles are included herein. Second, Amazon does not want top make my life easier. I practically never include […]

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‘Tis the season…

March 6, 2017

Not only is baseball season upon us, but baseball book season is upon us as demonstrated by the bouquet that arrived since Friday. My apologies, dear mail carrier. So in an attempt to catch up a bit… Meet Andy Green, San Diego Padres manager and bibliophile. A Q&A with Dan Schlossberg, author of the just-released […]

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Art event: Vincent Scilla

April 21, 2016

Should have posted this earlier, but the opening reception is tonight and Scilla will be a the featured speaker at an event on May 5 at the Italian American Museum in Manhattan.

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In addition to the regular reasons — the signaling of the start of summer, the lazy evenings, the smell of the grass, etc. — I love the beginning of the baseball season because of the previews in the newspapers. These have often come in the form of supplements of substantial length and breadth and tailored, […]

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I wouldn’t mind having some of these on my bookshelf. The “odd” could have a double meaning: yeah, there are 100-something items on display (the exhibit actually features more than 150 paintings). And yeah, some of them are pretty odd. The LA-based Skirball Cultural Center will offer this exhibition by Southern California–based artist Ben Sakoguchi, […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Here’s a sample of a regular card from the 2016 Topps series: It’s all right, but I start thinking about television commercials and how much is “enhanced” by computers. You can throw in all the bells and whistles you want, but it doesn’t necessarily make for a superior product. Now here’s one from their 2016 […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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(Japanese for “Big Windup!) Tanoshinde kudasai!

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We’re getting to the time of year when spring training is about a month away and publishers are warming up as well. The bulk of baseball titles won’t be released until after opening day, but the handful of glossy magazines, which seem to be dwindling year by year, will be on newsstands shortly. Last week […]

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I know most of you have more pressing things to do today, you procrastinators, you. But here’s something for when you take a break. ♦ Like the Bookshelf, DiamondHoggers has a podcast segment. This episode features Rob Miech, author of the 2012 release, The Last Natural: Bryce Harper’s Big Gamble in Sin City and the […]

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On our first day of our trip to the Berkshires, my wife and I ventured into Lee for dinner. We found an antiques store where I chanced upon this little item. At $85, it was one of the more pricey things in the shop, where it remained as of our leaving. *** Later in the […]

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Say hello to my little friend

September 21, 2015

Funny how things work out. If I had parked in my usual spot at the library on Saturday, I would have missed a yard sale where I picked up this: This plastic Ruth figurine was part of a larger collection, but he seemed to be in the best shape. Many were missing bats or were […]

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In the Seinfeld episode, “The Boyfriend,” Jerry and his friend George Costanza encounter guest star and Mets player Keith Hernandez at their gym. GEORGE: look at this guy. Does he have to stretch in here? JERRY: You know who that is? That’s GEORGE: Keith Hernandez? The baseball player? JERRY: Yeah, that’s him. GEORGE: Are you […]

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If you’re nine. Seriously, I ruined a great desk because I put some of those Fleer logo stickers on it and could never get them off cleanly. I was reminded of this thanks to a post on Yahoo sports by Chris Cwik featuring “every MLB team’s logo changes through the years in one GIF.” Pretty […]

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