Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees during their glory years of the 1950s-early 60s, passed away Tuesday at the age of 90. Needless to say, Berra was one of a kind. One of the last great players of his generation as well as a “colorful character,” the media is […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Any parent knows your kid will have this one TV show you absolutely cannot stand, be it Barney or in my situation, Full House. My daughter is now a college graduate and we were recently near a movie theater that was screening The Man from UNCLE. Now, I remember the original series from the mid-1960s, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I miss you guys. It’s just been so darned busy around here lately that I haven’t had time to write. The final edits of my new book are due on Friday. I also have to work on a two-minute pitch for the Jewish Book Council which will hopefully generate interest for author appearances at JCCs, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Submitted for your interest from another semi-regular scan of new titles. It may seem unfair, but I do tend to judge e-books by their cover, especially when they are offered only in that format. It’s an indication of the time and effort the author/publisher puts into the project. Similarly, I’m basing my opinions strictly on […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. On with the show… Here are the top ten baseball books as […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Robin Williams died Monday, in an apparent case of suicide. The outpouring of grief and condolences would probably still be going on if not for the short attention span of an entertainment-gobbling public that has diverted their thoughts to yesterday’s passing of movie icon Lauren Bacall. To be honest, I found Williams a kind of […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the debut of one of my favorite TV shows of all time: Lost. The iconic program earned extra credit for me by including baseball in its canon: And here: Happy anniversary, Lost! Update: It appears, once again, my math is off. I was basing this entry on a […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Unless you’re too injured. I don’t know about you, but I think the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game is a colossal waste of time. As power-hitting professional athletes, hitting batting practice speed balls, you should expect them to hit it over the wall. But the upshot is injury. The Colorado Rockies’ Justin Morneau, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Looking over the overlooked in baseball books stuff. In honor of Mothers’ Day, this piece by David Seideman in Forbes urges you to “Forgive Your Mom For Throwing Out Your Baseball Cards.” Is it my imagination or are Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner turning into Ralph Branca and Bobby Thomson? MLB.com described Mookie’s new memoir […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
There are several excellent bits featuring of baseball cliches, not the least of which is this scene from Bull Durham: I previous wrote about The Final Four of Everything, focusing on Dan Okrent’s greatest Jewish baseball Players and Will Leitch’s greatest sports writers. Now it’s time for Sports Cliches, a contribution by Sports Illustrated‘s Steve […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
First of all, congratulations to Bob W. of Chantilly, VA, winner of last week’s book, Long Shot, by Mike Piazza and Lonnie Wheeler. Thank you all for your comments. This week’s offering is the brand-spankin’ new Stars and Strikes: Baseball and American in the Bicentennial Summer of ’76 by Dan Epstein. A reminder about the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Nate Silver recently began his 538.com site under the aegis of ESPN. One would hope that he and his minions will produce a lot of smart sports (i.e., baseball) stuff. Obviously a site dedicated to projections and predictions has a lot of math to it. Ugh.But you have to take the “bad” with the good. […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
is available on Amazon.com,
In my most recent "day job," I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted another blog. Busy, busy, busy.
I did a profile piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
Throwback Thursday (aka, links dump)
September 10, 2015 · 1 comment
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }