Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
A Story of the First and Only Season in the Israel Baseball League, by Aaron Pribble. University of Nebraska Press, 2011. 280 pages, $24.95 For one brief shining moment, it was known as… Well, depending on who you ask, the Israel Baseball League was either a miracle, a disgrace, an opportunity, or a pleasant diversion. […]
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The semi-regular roundup of things I neglected to post previously. From DriveLineBaseball, this review of The Physics of Pitching: Learn the Mechanics, Science, and Psychology of Pitching to Success. Upshot: It “falls well short of [Robert K.} Adair’s classic text [The Physics of Baseball]. Sure, it looks a lot cooler (the photography is top notch), […]
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Marc Tracy of Tablet.com contributed reviews for the NY Times Sunday book supplement on Shawn Green’s The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 MPH. Upshot: “Those who do not share Green’s earnestness — or fondness for “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” “Siddhartha” and other namedropped works of dormitory Buddhism — may nonetheless […]
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Richard Sandomir, who covers sports media for The New York Times, has this on Ian O’Connor’s latest appearing in this week’s Sunday Book Review section. Upshots: “O’Connor rarely elevates his material beyond a narrative about Jeter’s greatness as a man and player. A straightforward storyteller, he gods up his subject without irony, detachment or recognition […]
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Defining the National Pastime, edited by Paul Dickson. Dover, 2011. In a word, Baseball is… great fun. Okay, so that’s two words, so sue me. The small, square paperback contains the wisdom of the ages when it comes to distilling the history of the game into a few sentences. There are plenty of larger books […]
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On this Memorial Day, I just wanted to offer a totally inadequate not of appreciation to all the men and women who sacrificed for this country. In addition to Gary Bedingfield’s thorough Baseball’s Dead of World War II: A Roster of Professional Players Who Died in Service, other books on baseball players and wartime include: […]
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MLB.com ran this piece about Baldassaro, author of the 2011 release, Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball. Other baseball titles by Baldassaro include The American Game: Baseball and Ethnicity (Writing Baseball), Ted Williams: Reflections on a Splendid Life, Ted Williams Reader (editor), and Ed Abbaticchio: Italian Baseball Pioneer.
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The Business Insider conducted this Q&A with Robert Weintraub, author of the 2011 release, The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923. Not surprisingly, the emphasis is on the business of baseball in the roaring 20s. You can read an excerpt from the book here. Don’t […]
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The first Jewish major Leaguer was born this date in 1845. A few months back I did an interview with Richard Michelson, author of a new children’s book about Pike. You can hear it here.
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The Journey of Derek Jeter, by Ian O’Connor. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011 (Note: This review was published on Bookreporter.com on May 20.) You wouldn’t think Derek Jeter would be the cause of any headaches for the New York Yankees. An 11-time All-Star, 1996 American League Rookie of the Year, presumptive first-round Hall of Famer. A […]
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Always happy when the mail carrier delivers a package (as long as it’s not ticking). Recently received Aaron Pribble’s Pitching in the Promised Land: A Story of the First and Only Season in the Israel Baseball League, his memoir about participating the Israel Baseball League, which lasted just one season (2007). Pribble pitched for the […]
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Haven ‘t appeared on the What’s on Second show for awhile because of my softball league obligations, but a rare Monday rainout (our Wednesday games seem to get postponed with disappointing regularity) allowed me to put in an appearance. MLB writer Jonathan Mayo (Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball’s Most Intimidating Pitcher) was the featured […]
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but it’s difficult. A couple of items about John Rocker, the former ML reliever who got into heaps of trouble for his comments about New York and the good people of Queens who ride the 7 train as reported by Sports Illustrated. Rocker, who’s been out of the Majors since 2003, will take his turn […]
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Watch out, Starlin Castro! The Cubs shortstop gets the dreaded cover treatment in the May 9 issue, written by Albert Chen, with a little something extra by Joe Sheehan. In addition An SI poll names Shin-Soo Choo as MLB’s most under-rated player. Sheehan also writes about the Twins’ recent woes. UPDATE: Chen is the subject […]
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Judy Van Sickle Johnson over at the very excellent Watching the Game blog does the occasional book review that goes beyond the normal critique. Her thoughtful takes include sundry views on life, the universe, and everything, to borrow another title. Her latest considers Matthew Silverman’s Baseball Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Baseball […]
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Tom Hoffarth adds a postmortem for his One-a-Days, including a ranking of the 30 titles. Best: Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game. Worst: Donnie Baseball: The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingl. Median: 1961*: The Inside Story of the Maris-Mantle Home Run Chase. He also has an entry on “Extra innings: The […]
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is available on Amazon.com,
In a former life, I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted an award-winning bog about Jews and Sports.
I did a profile piece on the legendary cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was very generous in immortalizing me in this caricature.
My article on Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series appears in
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
