Haven’t done one of these for a while… Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their newsletter. This one was received on March 2. […]
Tagged as:
Jim Bouton,
SABR,
San Francisco Giants,
Seymour Medal
Ever since Moneyball came out in 2003, most books analyzing the national pastime dealt with cold hard numbers. Putting a team together, it seems, is a lesson in math. But according to veteran journalist and author Joan Ryan, it’s a science. Chemistry, to be precise. (Full disclosure: I was never very good in that particular […]
Tagged as:
Barry Bonds,
Joan Ryan,
Jonny Gomes,
San Francisco Giants
Get ready, get set, go… This is the time of year when publishers gear up for their quickie season recaps for teams in the hunt for the World Series crown. But it seems that in recent years, you don’t even have to get that far. Maybe the League Championship series are good enough. Or perhaps […]
Tagged as:
San Francisco Giants
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:
Derek Jeter,
Jeremy Affeldt,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
San Francisco Giants,
Yogi Berra
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 […]
Tagged as:
All Star Game,
Bang the Drum Slowly,
baseball anecdotes,
Baseball Cards,
baseball fiction,
Chaim Potok,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Mark Harris,
oral history,
San Francisco Giants
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, […]
Tagged as:
Harlem Shake,
Joy Horwitz,
New York Mets,
San Francisco Giants
Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer by Robert Fitts. University of Nebraska Press. 256 Pages, $28.95. Fitts — whose previous books on the game in the Land of the Rising Sun include Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball (2008) and the award-winning Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, […]
Tagged as:
Japanese baseball,
Masanori Murakami,
Rob Fitts,
San Francisco Giants
Books have been written about the use of baseball as an imperialist tool by the United States. We send people to foreign countries; they bring baseball with them, and pretty soon the residents of those foreign have embraced the game to a degree even more enthusiastic than back in the good ole U.S.A. Case in […]
Tagged as:
Japanese baseball,
Masanori Murakami,
Rob Fitts,
San Francisco Giants,
Wally Yonamine
There’s a cute little three-part video on Youtube titled “When Giants Fan Met Dodgers Fan.’” The premise is a blind date that starts off great, until the two participants realize they each hate the other’s favorite team. They spend the whole time arguing about the merits of their respective teams But here’s the pertinent clip […]
Tagged as:
Los Angeles Dodgers,
San Francisco Giants,
Sandy Koufax,
Vin Scully
NEW STUFF: 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… […]
Tagged as:
baseball history,
Baseball instruction,
Bill Pennington,
Billy Martin,
Boston Red Sox,
Derek Jeter,
H.A. Dorfman,
Jim Kaat,
John Feinstein,
Michael Lewis,
minor leagues,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
Pedro Martinez,
San Francisco Giants,
Ted Williams,
Triumph Publishing
NEW STUFF: 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… […]
Tagged as:
Baltimore Orioles,
baseball history,
Baseball instruction,
Bill Pennington,
Billy Martin,
Derek Jeter,
H.A. Dorfman,
Hal McCoy,
Jim Kaat,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
San Francisco Giants,
Ted Williams,
Triumph Publishing
NEW STUFF: 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… […]
Tagged as:
Billy Martin,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
John Feinstein,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
New York Mets,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
San Francisco Giants,
Sandy Alderson,
Steve Kettmann,
Ted Williams
NEW STUFF: 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… […]
Tagged as:
Billy Martin,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
Hal McCoy,
John Feinstein,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
San Francisco Giants,
Ted Williams
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. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as […]
Tagged as:
Baseball instruction,
baseball prospects,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
New York Yankees,
San Francisco Giants,
Ted Williams,
World Series
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. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books […]
Tagged as:
Bill James,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
Mariano Rivera,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
San Francisco Giants,
World Series
Boy, these things really do come in threes, don’t they? Charlie Williams is the answer to a trivia question: Who was traded for Willie Mays? The 67-year-old pitcher died on Tuesday. No obituary, so far, from the NY papers, but I think (hope) it’s only a matter of time. Williams was actually born in Flushing […]
Tagged as:
Charlie Williams,
New York Mets,
San Francisco Giants,
Willie Mays
Happy New Year, everyone. Hope nothing but the best comes your way in 2015, including the best baseball books available. Almost done with the non-baseball book and greatly looking forward to catching up on my regular reading, writing, and wrangling authors, filmmakers, and artists into discussing their work on new podcast segments. In the meantime, […]
Tagged as:
baseball prospects,
Bill James,
Cleveland Indians,
Derek Jeter,
Fantasy baseball,
Oakland As,
San Francisco Giants,
Ted Williams,
World Series
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
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:
Chicago Cubs,
Cleveland Indians,
Derek Jeter,
Mariano Rivera,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
San Francisco Giants,
World Series,
Wrigley Field baseball rules