Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
NEW STUFF: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So… […]
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Kind of weird: it’s almost June and still no baseball book reviews in The New York Times? I know space is precious on those pages, but still. There are any number of worthy candidates. Get on it, Times. In the meantime: From the Rockford, Ill., Rock River Times, this piece on Steven K. Wagner’s Perfect: The […]
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Time is running out for At the Ballpark: A Fan’s Companion, a Kickstarter project promoted as “an interactive and engaging hardball handbook for young and new baseball fans.” As of this posting — and with nine days to go — authors Kevin O’Malley & Charlie Vascellaro have collected $5,396 of the $12,000 they are seeking. […]
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Posting a bit earlier than usual today because Rachel has her second graduation ceremony today. Where did the time go? NEW STUFF: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked […]
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When I saw Richard Sandomir’s article in The New York Times last year about about Jeff Katz , the Mayor of Cooperstown who writes about baseball, I thought: there but for the grace of God…. My wife, a veterinarian, had a chance to get a job in Cooperstown way back when our daughter was two. […]
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I recently compared book excerpts with movie trailers. It’s my contention that the publications concentrate on the most salacious or controversial passages they can find because, let’s face it, people love the dirt. So when you see headlines such as “Jorge Posada bitter toward Yankees management in book,” or “Yankee great Jorge Posada still steamed […]
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NEW STUFF: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So… […]
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Sometimes things just work out in surprising fashion. Last week I received an e-mail from Fred Harris to let me know he was re-releasing one of my favorite books, The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading And Bubblegum Book, co-written with Brendan Boyd, as an e-book (though previous versions are still available on-line). TGABCFTABB is […]
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Publishers occasionally offer excerpts of the books to major newspapers an/or magazines to give potential consumers a free sample of their product.In many cases, the selections are the literary equivalent of movie trailers, picking the most interesting plot points. Often a local publication will give the treatment to a person associated with the market reach. […]
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Two pieces from Kris Kosaka in The Japan Times on the “national game there and here. First she tells us about Robert Fitts’ new biography on Masanori Murakami, the first baseball player from Japan to play for a Major League team in the U.S. when he appeared for the San Francisco Giants in 1965. Then […]
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Guess who has a new tune out about baseball? The song has been getting mixed reviews. Actually, the only “review” I’ve found so far is far from favorable, but since it’s from Deadspin, you have to take that into consideration. That’s it. I’m outta here. Enjoy your Mothers’ Day.
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NEW STUFF: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So… […]
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(As opposed to ESPN’s 30 for 30 series). Once again, Tom Hoffarth of the LA Daily News has done a great service to the baseball reading community with his annual 30-books-in-30-days series on his “Farther off the Wall” blog. I advise going deep into each piece because Hoffarth offers interesting links among his DVD-type “extras.” […]
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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]
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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
