From the category archives:

2010 title

Knowing I would have a lot of down time during my recent Jamaica trip, I loaded up on the baseball books, no small feat since I was only taking a carry on and a Jack Bauer bag. Among the titles: the new Roger Maris bio by Calvin and Peary; Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2010; Fay […]

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Bill Gallo, the veteran sports cartoonist for the New York Daily News, published this review/personal remembrance of Mays as per the Hircsh bio. I used to collect his work — along with another DN cartoonist name of Bill(?) Stark — in one of my many scrapbooks. In 1969, as the Mets were marching towards the […]

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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, March 19. S Title Rank General Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 Baseball Prospectus 2010 3 Kiss It Good-Bye: The Mystery, The Mormon, and the Moral of […]

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Actually, I suppose this is last week’s news, but since there are several baseball items worth noting, here goes: An item about Sen. Jim Bunning, who displays the same bulldog tenacity on Capitol Hill as he did the pitching hill. A profile on Orioles catcher Mark Wieters by Tom Verducci and a sidebar on the […]

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It seems that offering free PDFs as a way to garner attention for one’s website/blog/publication is rapidly gaining favor. POD (Print on demand) offers the author/publisher to produce only the amount of copies needed, rather than kill an bunch of trees for nothing. A few weeks ago, SABR published its Emerald Guide to Baseball as […]

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* Review: Willie Mays

March 1, 2010

The Sunday Times Book Review leads off with a full page about James Hirsch’s bio (which leads some to ask, why is it necessary to review the same book twice, given the limited review space). The review, by long time New York writer Pete Hamill, is quite glowing in its praise, although he doesn’t actually […]

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* TWIBB — Feb. 26

February 26, 2010

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb. 26. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects 3 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball […]

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We’ve been hearing about Jay McGwire’s book about his brother, Mark, for the past several months. And I’m sure it will get plenty of press. Only not here. I’m a bit tired of all these secondary personages trying to make a buck off their parents, husband, wife, partner, or sibling by publishing a book. Some […]

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Hirsch, author of the critically-acclaimed (and not just by me) bio of Willie Mays, talks a good game. He was very generous with his time this week in discussing his work and process (as the extended length of this interview indicates), going so far as to read a portion from his chapter, “The Catch,” which […]

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* RK Review: Willie Mays

February 25, 2010

The Life, The Legend, by James. S. Hirsch. Scribner, 2010. The long-anticipated (authorized) biography of the Say Hey Kid was worth the wait. Hirsch, a former journalist for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal certainly didn’t have an easy time in getting the gig. He had been after Mays for almost seven […]

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Blessyouboys.com, a Tigers-centric blog, ran this Q&A with Lee Panas, author of Beyond Batting Average: Baseball Statistics for the 21st Century. I haven’t read this one yet, but it made me think: One thing I forgot to ask Steven Goldman yesterday is,  does there come a point when there are just too many stats? By […]

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For a limited time only, MLB.com features a one-hour on-line documentary that takes “a look at baseball’s ancestors, the various theories behind the game’s origin and an unexpected historical discovery made along the way.” You can see the video here.

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Rutgers alum Steven Goldman is co-editor of the very popular Baseball Prospectus series and website. Barely on the bookshelves, this perennial favorite is already the top sports best-seller on Amazon.com and no. 15 in the top 100 overall. I must admit, I have never been one for such publications, siding with the veteran baseball writer […]

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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb. 19. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects 3 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball […]

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* The Annual annual

February 22, 2010

In spring a (nerdy) young man’s heart turns to thoughts of the new batch of baseball annuals. As I’ve written in the past, these publications no longer carry the weight they did when I was a kid, growing up in the pre-Internet days. Street & Smith was basically the only game in town, and I […]

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It is easy being green

February 22, 2010

Or Emerald, at any rate. Case in point: For the fourth year, the Society for American Baseball Research, of which I have been a proud member for more than 20 years, is offering at no charge, free, gratis, their very excellent Emerald Guide to Baseball. This 500-plus page volume features complete major and minor league […]

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* TWIBB — Feb. 19

February 19, 2010

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb. 19. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects 3 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball […]

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We finally got rid of football. Now if we can just get past these pesky Olympics… Baseball items will be coming fast and furious in the weeks ahead. Joe Po’s sweet piece on Willie Mays, pursuant to Hirsh’s new book. Tom Verducci’s assessment of recent retirees Frank Thomas and Tom Glavine. The Twins as the […]

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* It is easy being green

February 17, 2010

Or Emerald, at any rate. Case in point: For the fourth year, the Society for American Baseball Research, of which I have been a proud member for more than 20 years, is offering at no charge, free, gratis, their very excellent Emerald Guide to Baseball. This 500-plus page volume features complete major and minor league […]

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Semi-shameless self-promotion

February 14, 2010

I say “semi” because I’m promoting the work of others as well. Just received a copy of the Yankees 2010 Annual from Maple Street Press. Part yearbook, part magazine, it features the usual player profiles, as well as some minor league and historical background stuff. My articlem, “Koshering the Yankees,” about Yankees Fantasy Camp, an […]

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