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 […]
Tagged as:
Adrian Burgos,
Adrian Burgos Jr.,
Andy Green,
Dan Schlossn=berg,
David Ortiz,
Jon Post,
Jose Canseco,
Nolan Ryan,
Will Leitch
Been a bit remiss in my own Bookshelf Conversations lately. But always happy to pass along what I’ve come across. Jonathan Hock’s new documentary Fastball recently hit the screens. I had the opportunity to watch a screener. Fascinating stuff. There’s a “Zelig moment” with Justin Verlander “visiting” Bob Feller during his famous “motorcycle showdown.” That […]
Tagged as:
Aroldis Chapman,
Bob Feller,
Bob Gibson,
David Price,
Fastball,
Jonathan Hock,
Justin Verlander,
Nolan Ryan,
Randy Johnson,
Steve Dalkowski,
Walter Johnson
I am a Jeopardy nut. I try to never miss an episode, much to the occasional annoyance of my family. Naturally, I’m always stoked when there’s a baseball question. At the risk of sounding judgmental, I rarely expect the brainy contestants to have sports trivia as part of their knowledge base. And when there’s an […]
Tagged as:
Blake Treinen,
Jeopardy,
Justin Verlander,
New York Yankees,
Nolan Ryan,
Randy Johnson
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 […]
Tagged as:
baseball fiction,
Cincinnati Reds,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Moneyball,
Nolan Ryan,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
Roberto Clemente,
Ted Williams
Curt Smith, author of several fine volumes about baseball broadcasters and broadcasting, offers this nostalgic essay on “Spring training: Baseball’s Brigadoon” in the Irondequoit Post. Publishers Weekly published their annual list of new baseball topics. Unfortunately, it’s only available to subscribers. I’ll see if I can find an end-around at some point. “Spring inevitably means […]
Tagged as:
Boston Red Sox,
Curt Smith,
Joe Black,
John Klima,
Mark Simon,
Nolan Ryan,
NY Mets,
Rob Goldman,
Sandy Alderson,
Steve Kettmann,
Who's Who in baseball
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… As you may have notice in recent weeks, […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Prospectus,
Cleveland Indians,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
Mariano Rivera,
New York Yankees,
Nolan Ryan,
San Francisco Giants
From the editors of Spitball Magazine, here are the finalists for the 2014 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year: Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson, by Doug Wilson The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie, and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title that Became a National Obsession, by Rick Huhn The Fight of […]
Tagged as:
Branch Rickey,
Brooks Robinson,
Chicago Cubs,
Jackie Robinson,
John Roseboro,
Johnny Evers,
Juan Maricahl,
Nap Lajoie,
Nolan Ryan,
Pete Rose,
Roy Campanella,
Ty Cobb,
Walter O'Malley,
Willie Mays,
Wrigley Field
Haven’t done one of these in awhile. Of course, I haven’t done much of anything for awhile what with working on the new non-baseball sports book. So here are a few items from recent weeks. If people knew how Michael Lewis got the inspiration to write Moneyball, I wonder if that would have made a […]
Tagged as:
baseball autographs,
baseball collectibles,
Baseball Hall of Fame,
C.C. Sabathia,
Christy Mathewson,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
Nolan Ryan,
Paul Auster,
Ty Cobb,
Willie Mays
As work on the new book about the Maccabiah Games becomes more urgent, I find I have less time to keep up with the latest baseball books news. Apologies. I guess the good part about the project is that it will be done before the time spring training — and the release of of new […]
Tagged as:
Alex Rodriguez,
Cubs,
Dominican baseball,
George Will,
Independent league baseball,
Jose Canseco,
Moneyball,
Nolan Ryan,
PED,
Portland Mavericks,
steroids
The Clermont Sun (Batavia, Ohio) ran this review of Bill Madden’s 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever. Upshot: “[T]his is not a book for casual ball-watchers or followers of modern baseball. No, it’s for fans who love the history of the game. For that […]
Tagged as:
anthology,
Bill Madden,
Nolan Ryan,
Willie Mays
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 […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
baseball fiction,
Baseball Hall of Fame,
Bill Buckner,
Bill Madden,
Bobby Thomson,
Mariano Rivera,
Mookie Wilson,
New York Mets,
New York Yankees,
Nolan Ryan,
Ralph Branca,
Willie Mays
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 3: […]
Tagged as:
Ball Four,
baseball rules,
Chicago Cubs,
George Will,
Jim Bouton,
John Feinstein,
Jonah Keri,
Kostya Kennedy,
Montreal Expos,
Nolan Ryan,
Pete Rose,
Ted Williams,
Wrigley Field
This it the time of year when the baseball media offer their considered opinions on their favorite prospects. Sometimes they’re spot on, other times, not so much. So I thought, why not apply this to the upcoming “rookie crop” of baseball books? That is, titles that are making their debuts in 2014 — no reprints/reissues […]
Tagged as:
Al Clark,
Alex Rodriguez,
Andrew Zimbalist,
Atlanta Braves,
Babe Ruth,
Ben Zobrist,
Boston Red Sox,
Branch Rickey,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Chicago Cubs,
Continental League,
Dirk Hayhurst,
Doug Harvey,
Fantasy baseball,
George F. Will,
House of David,
Jackie Robinson,
Joe DiMaggio,
John Roseboro,
Juan Marichal John Rosengren,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Marilyn Monroe,
Minnesota Twins,
minor leagues,
Montreal Expos,
Mookie Wilson,
Nap Lajoie,
Negro Leagues,
New York Mets,
Nolan Ryan,
PED,
Pete Rose,
Roger Kahn,
Roy Campanella,
sabermetrics,
steroids,
Ted Williams,
Ty Cobb,
umpires,
Walter O'Malley,
Willie Mays,
Wrigley Field
Literary birthday greetings: 1919 – Jackie Robinson, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Since I addressed this last year — and there are soooo many books about Robinson — I just thought I’d link to that entry for everyone’s convenience. 1931 – Hank Aguirre, pitcher; All-Star 1931 – Ernie Banks, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer 1947 […]
Tagged as:
Barry Bonds,
Ernie Banks,
Jackie Robinson,
Joshua Prager,
New York Giants,
Nolan Ryan,
Ralph Branca
Either he’s hurting for money or has a real hankering to show he’s a renaissance man. Whatever the reason, look for The Nolan Ryan Beef Cookbook at a bookstore near you — in May 2014. I have no idea why the publisher Little, Brown and Company chose to make the announcement so early, but there […]
Tagged as:
Nolan Ryan
I haven’t done the research, but I would venture to guess Jan. 31 has the record for most Hall of Famers born: Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan. Robinson would have been 92 today. As befits his stature in American as well as baseball history, there are dozens of books written about him, for […]
Tagged as:
Ernie Banks,
Hank Aguirre,
Jackie Robinson,
Nolan Ryan
Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, wrote this profile of Texas Rangers president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan in this Oct. 3 Sunday Times Magazine. I like Ryan. He’s old school. None of the pitch-count BS. […]
Tagged as:
Jonathan Mahler,
Nolan Ryan
The Baseball Reflections blog (“where Old School baseball meets Sabermetrics”) posted this review of Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan, The Autobiography (Macmillan 1993). Upshot: Ryan touches on many different aspects of baseball and life throughout the book and the fact that he wrote it while he was still in the middle of his career gives readers […]
Tagged as:
Nolan Ryan
January 31 marks the birthdays of no less than three Hall of Famers: Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan. There are enough books on and by Robinson to fill several shelves, including adult and, in particular, juvenile titles. Robinson’s story of courage and leadership transcended sports and stretched into the areas or sociology, race […]
Tagged as:
Ernie Banks,
Hank Aguirre,
Jackie Robinson,
Nolan Ryan
Baseball best-sellers, April 25
April 25, 2014
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 3: […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, baseball rules, Chicago Cubs, George Will, Jim Bouton, John Feinstein, Jonah Keri, Kostya Kennedy, Montreal Expos, Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Ted Williams, Wrigley Field
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