Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here
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Since AMC’s new original series Rubicon has received such accolades, I feel a bit stupid for not liking it as much as I “should,” according to critics, but at least it has some baseball in it. Very briefly, it’s a spy show without — for me, at least — the “thriller” part. Will is the [...]
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Peter Sagal, staunch Red Sox fan and host of NPR’s Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me, paid “tribute” to the late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner on his July 17 program. Herewith, a transcript of the segment from the “Who’s Carl this time” portion of the program: Sagal: Your last quote is from a man who was [...]
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Ran this on my other blog on Jews and Sports: Bob Sheppard, the voice of the New York Yankees for some 60 years, passed away yesterday at the age of 99. Sheppard, who was known in certain circles as “the voice of God” for his diction, timber, and dulcet tone was not Jewish, but thanks [...]
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James Traub has two piece in this weekend’s Times: A critique of The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macorís, by Mark Kurlansky in the book review section (which the critic deems a “charming and finely observed, if somewhat formless, baseball travelogue”), and a profile of Yankees’ reliever Mariano [...]
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From this week’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me: Carl Kasell: “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” Peter Sagal: That was Carl imitating a sound everybody, or at least World Cup soccer fans, know all too well. What is it? (Correct answer by the call-in contestant) Sagal: …Just last week on this show we had to explain to you all what [...]
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Today’s Wall Street Journal ran this extensive article about the differences (and similarities) between Met and Yankee fans. I took a brief on-line interactive survey, which rendered me — incorrectly — a fan of the Bronx bombers. (Only 14 people took the poll, which indicates that WSJ readers have better things to do with their [...]
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Great. Something else for Mets and Yankees fans to argue about. Now you can sing along. And I couldn’t help but add this one. A song about the Washington Nationals? How retro.
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And Other Tales from the Edge of Baseball Fandom, by Emma Span (Villard, 2010) As much as I love baseball, there are times when I take a step back and wonder, “What am I doing with this nonsense? Surely, there are better ways to spend my time and energies.” And at the risk of being [...]
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Sorry, almost done with this catching up business, so bear with me. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s my take on the November session of Yankees Fantasy Camp in the Dec, 17 issue of the New Jersey Jewish News. In addition, My teammate Ira Jaskoll wrote this piece for the Jewish Magazine [...]
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Attila the Hun and Other Yankee Stories, by Ira Berkow (Triumph) Not that anyone needs an excuse, but the Yankees winning another world championship is fodder for the book mill. There are no less than five publications in the sports magazine section of my local Barnes and Noble hoping to capitalize on the afterglow. They’re [...]
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Roy White was an all-star outfielder for the New York Yankees from 1965-79, finishing with 160 home runs, 758 RBI, and a .271 batting average and appeared in three ALCS and three World Series. White ranks among the top 10 Yankees in several offensive categories including, second in sacrifice flies, fifth in stolen bases, sixth [...]
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Any of which you can put on or near a bookshelf. We came back after our first game to find a brand new of Nike shower shows (see Bull Durham). The administrators had spoken earlier that morning about wearing such items to prevent athlete’s foot, so I thought this was just an ounce of prevention. [...]
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In my "day job," I'm the features and sports editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper. I'm also the editor of the Bibliography Committee Newsletter for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
I did a piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
My article on Yankees Fantasy Camp appears in the current issue of Broadside Bombers.
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets' 1969 post-season appears in
The Bookshelf was featured in in this column by Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News
An overview of several sports titles is one of the featured articles in the May/June issue of ForeWord Magazine.
What I'm reading now:
Banned in the Bronx: The Yankee Hater Memoirs 1953-2005
So far, so: refreshing, since I'm a Yankee hater, too.
Beyond Batting Average
So far, so: surprisingly comprehensive.
Chasing Baseball: Our Obsession with Its History, Numbers, People and Places
So far, so: early.
What I just read:
Born to Play: My Life in the Game
Grade: C. Average memoir, but Pedroia would be the first to admit he was an average student, so I don't think he'd be upset by the grade.
What's next:
L'Époque Glorieuse des Expos, by Alain Usereau (Still. Merde.)
"Housecall service for your pet"
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