In 2017, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Hall of Fame’s summer Author Series following the publication of Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War. I always love visiting Cooperstown. Many years ago, my wife — a veterinarian — had an interview with a practice up there. How cool would that have been?
Well, it’s time for the 2025 “All-Star” event. This year the lineup of writers include:
The schedule for the summer includes, in order of appearance:
- All the Way: The Life of Baseball Trailblazer Maybelle Blair, by Kat Williams (Wednesday, May 28, 11 a.m. Sorry for the short notice.)
- Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman, by Scott Longert (Thursday, June 5, 1 p.m.)
- Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter, by Scott Miller (Thursday, June 12, 1 p.m.)
- Willie’s Clutch Catch, by David A. Kelly (Thursday, June 26, 1 p.m)
- 1978: Baseball and America in the Disco Era, by David Krell (Thursday, July 3, 1 p.m.)
- Art Shamsky: Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends, by Matt Silverman (Thursday, July 10, 1 p.m.)
- Don Drysdale: Up and In, by Mark Whicker (Saturday, July 12, 1 p.m. My review on Bookreporter.com.)
- The Diamondback Collection: 50 of the Greatest Cards in Sports Collecting History, by Tom Zappala (Thursday, July 17, 1 p.m.)
- A Time for Reflection: The Parallel Legacies of Willie McCovey & Billy Williams, by Jason Cannon Thursday, July 24, 1 p.m.)
- A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to Japan and Back, by Aaron Fischman (Thursday, July 31, 1 p.m.)
- Get Your Tokens Ready: The Late 1990s Road to the Subway Series, by Chris Donnelly (Thursday, August 14, 1 p.m.)
- Stolen Dreams: The 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars and Little League Baseball’s Civil War, by Chris Lamb and The Team Nobody Would Play, by Buck Godfrey (Thursday, August 21, 10:30 a.m.)
- I Felt the Cheers: The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride, by Curtis Pride and Doug Ward (Thursday, August 28, 1 p.m. My Bookshelf Conversation with the authors here.)
A note: the Godfrey book, which was published in 2008, is listed on Amazon for an amazing $500.
I hope to have as many of these authors as possible on for Bookshelf Conversations.