Posts tagged as:

Willie Mays

A bit of trivia for “The Catch”

December 17, 2015

(Note: I posted this originally on my blog about Jews and sports, but since it’s based on a fantastic baseball book, I thought it would be appropriate here as well.) And when I say “The Catch,” of course I’m talking about Willie Mays’ iconic grab in Game One of the 1954 World Series against the […]

Tagged as: Al Rosen, Arnold Hano, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Jon Leonoudakis, Willie Mays

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Because these look nice on a bookshelf

November 25, 2015

Congrats to Willie Mays and the late Yogi Berra, two of the most recent recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. You can watch the CSPAN coverage of the event here. From NBCNews.com: New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, who died in September at the age of 90, was awarded the medal posthumously…. Celebrating Berra’s […]

Tagged as: Presidential Medal of Freedom, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra

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Another Rainy (Baseball) Day in New York City

June 1, 2015

With apologies to Chicago (the band, not the city). Feast or famine. Either I never get to Manhattan, or I’m there too much. After commuting from the New jersey suburbs to NYC for more than 15 years, I have to say it’s a culture shock whenever I go back and I’m not thrilled with it. […]

Tagged as: A Day in the Bleachers, Arnold Hano, baseball business, Charles Leehrsen, Jon Leonoudakis, Jon Pessah, New York Giants, Steve Steinberg, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, World Series

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To everything there is a season

May 15, 2015

The New York Public Library posted this list of five books that concentrate on a single season, including: 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever by Bill Madden Summer of ’68: The Season That Changed Baseball—and America—Forever by Tim Wendel Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in […]

Tagged as: Bill Madden, Cait Murphy, David Halberstam, Detroit Tigers, New York Giants, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Willie Mays

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A-Rod who?

April 23, 2015

As in  “What would (Brandon) Steiner do?” Pardon the Interruption has a regular feature in which the co-hosts discuss whether an event or story if “Something or nothing.” That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw a front-page story in today’s New York Times titled “Alex Rodriguez’s Quest Is Going, Going … […]

Tagged as: Alex Rodriguez, Brandon Steiner, Willie Mays

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Lest we forget: Charlie Williams

January 29, 2015 · 1 comment

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

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The slate is in for Casey Award finalists

November 4, 2014

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

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Bits and Pieces, Oct. 24

October 24, 2014

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

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 27

June 27, 2014

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 […]

Tagged as: baseball fiction, baseball rules, Bernard Malamud, Bill Madden, Chicago Cubs, George F. Will, Kostya Kennedy, Mariano Rivera, Michael Feinstein, minor leagues, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pete Rose, Sports Illustrated, Ted Williams, The Natural, Willie Mays, Wrigley Field

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 20

June 20, 2014

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 […]

Tagged as: baseball fiction, Bernard Malamud, Bill Madden, Chicago Cubs, George F. Will, Kostya Kennedy, Mariano Rivera, Michael Feinstein, minor leagues, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pete Rose, Sports Illustrated, Ted Williams, The Natural, Willie Mays, Wrigley Field

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 13

June 13, 2014

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… The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com, […]

Tagged as: Bill Madden, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, George F. Will, Kostya Kennedy, Mariano Rivera, Michael Feinstein, minor leagues, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pete Rose, Sports Illustrated, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Willie Randolph, Wrigley Field

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Review roundup, May 28

May 28, 2014

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

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 16

May 16, 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 […]

Tagged as: Bill Madden, Chicago Cubs, Dirk Hayhurst, George Will, Jason Kendall, John Feinstein, Mariano Rivera, minor leagues, New York Yankees, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Willie Randolph, Wrigley Field

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Bits and pieces, May 9

May 9, 2014

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

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Baseball book ‘prospects’

February 27, 2014

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

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Baseball Bookshelf review: Mickey and Willie

June 29, 2013

(Note: My review of Allen Barra’s latest appears on Bookreporter.com, and reprinted for your convenience below, with a few additional comments.) Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris may have been “the M&M boys” for a summer or two in the early 1960s, but Mantle, aka the “Commerce Comet,” and the “Say Hey Kid” (Willie Mays) were […]

Tagged as: Allen Barra, Jane Leavy, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays

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Review roundup, June 20

June 20, 2013

Overlooked this one: Former NY Mets favorite RonSwoboda contributed a review of Allen Barra’s Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age to the New York Times Sunday Book section on June 2. (One reader wrote to complain that Swoboda didn’t mention Duke Snider in his article. Perhaps, but the […]

Tagged as: Allen Barry, Mickey Mantle, Robert Weintraub, Tampa Bay Rays, Willie Mays

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Review roundup, June 5

June 5, 2013

The Huntington News (WV) published this review about Acre, a baseball “fable.” Upshot: “I’m not going to give away the plot points, other than to say to know Acre is to love him.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune posted this about Allen Barra’s Willie and Mickey. The Charlotte Post and Courier ran this review of Larry […]

Tagged as: Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays

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Review roundup, May 28

May 28, 2013

So much for the free access of information. You can read the opening of the Boston Globe‘s review of Allen Barra’s Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age. Fortunately, there are other sources that are a bit moe “generous,” including the Chicago Tribune, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and New York […]

Tagged as: Allen Barra, Jeremy Affeldt, Mickey Mantle, Robert Weintraub, To Stir a Movement, Willie Mays

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On the horizon: New baseball titles in ’13 (besides 501)

January 9, 2013

Besides my own book, there are some titles I’m really looking forward to this season. Among them: Keepers of the Game: When the Baseball Beat was the Best Job on the Paper by Dennis D’Agostino The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age by Robert Weintraub Mickey […]

Tagged as: Allen Barra, Baseball during World War II, Doc Gooden, Filip Bondy, Ira Berkow, Mickey Mantle, Mike Piazza, New York Mets, Willard Mullin, Willie Mays

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