Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
I never had the chance to play Little League or in high school when I was a kid. And by the time I got to college I was so far “behind,” the best I could do was serve as manager for the varsity team. My parents didn’t want me doing anything “fun” on the Sabbath […]
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The Seattle Mariners pulled off a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. Starting pitcher Kevin Millwood came out with an injury after six innings of not allowing a safety; a parade of five relievers finished the job and the mariners came away with a 1-0 win. This comes a week after Johan […]
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An American Odyssey, by Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone. Ballantine Books, 2012. Note: My review of this bio of an overlooked superstar appears on Bookreporter.com and is reproduced here for your convenience. Vernon “Lefty” Gomez, one of the greatest pitchers in New York Yankees history, came on the scene at roughly the same time as […]
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This spring, Triumph released memoirs/bios about Oil Can Boyd and Willie Mays Aikens. All props to these guys for being members of the select fraternity of those who made it to the Majors. But they really “deserve” books about them? Boyd was 78-77 over a 10-year career while Aikens played eight seasons (done by 31) […]
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♦ Baseball Prospectus chose an odd assortment for this list of “10 Favorite Baseball Books”‘ which I suppose could be considered min-reviews. ♦ The Boston Globe published this review of They Call Me Oil Can: Baseball, Drugs, and Life on the Edge, by Oil Can Boyd with Mike Shalin. As regular readers of the Bookshelf […]
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No sooner do I get done composing an entry about Gary Bedingfield than Brett Kiser’s new book from McFarland arrives. While Bedingfield concentrates primarily on the Major and Minor Leaguers in World War II, Kiser’s Baseball’s War Roster: A Biographical Dictionary of Major and Negro League Players Who Served, 1861 to the Present, is, by […]
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(Update: I do not have a middle name. My parents were very poor. So sometimes I fiddle around with one to see what kind of junk mail it engenders. The latest one is “Fitzgerald.”) Spent the day at the BookExpo America at the Javitz Center in Manhattan. It’s always fun to see what the industry […]
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Having received the requisite number of responses, the Extra Innings review-a-thon is over. Please send your review to me at ron(at)ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf(dot)com at your earliest convenience. Two requests: Keep your critique to less than 500 words and avoid using profanity, even if you’re quoting from the book. Thanks and enjoy.
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♦ The New York Times posted their annual baseball roundup, albeit with fewer titles than usual. But remember, it’s quality, not quantity. Jim Bouton offers his review of two Yankees books: Marty Appel’s Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss and Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major League Writers on […]
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Still one copy remaining (see immediately below), so if you’re interested, let me know ASAP so we can get this party started.
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Want to take a crack at writing for the Bookshelf? The first four respondents will receive a copy of Bruce Spitzer’s Ted Williams sci-fi novel, Extra Innings, either in traditional paper format or as a e-book. The caveat: they will have to write a review — 500 words or less — on the book. The […]
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Congrats to Jerry V. from Belleville, IL, winner of the RKBB Facebook friend random selection, Hit By Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays and the Fatal Fastball by Molly Lawless. Next up: a copy of Marty Appel’s epic Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss. Tell your friends!
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♦ The Austin American Statesman posted this review of Lefty: An American Odyssey, the biography of an underrated hurler for the New York Yankees in the 1930s-earl 1940s. Upshot: “…”Lefty” charms not for the way it tells the story of a life but for the way it captures the way Gomez saw and experienced the […]
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♦ James Bailey takes a look at Marietta College Baseball: The Story of the ‘Etta Express in this review. ♦ I did an interview with Paul Staudohar last week, the results of which will be posted as a podcast in the near future, While Googling around for some info on him (among other things, he’s […]
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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
