Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
“New Book … Brings St. Louis Baseball History Back to Life.” Said book is titled 50 Forgotten Cardinals and “uncovers the stories of players whose contributions to the St. Louis Cardinals have faded from mainstream memory—but remain essential to the rich fabric of the team’s history,” according to a press release. It seems to only […]
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Steve Kettman, a former Bookshelf Conversation guest, discusses his work on Dusty Baker’s new book, Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life (out June 9). A reminder: The National Baseball Poetry Festival will be held May 7-10 at Polar Park in Worcester, MA. I had a BC with Steve Biondilillo, founder of the Festival, earlier this […]
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Congrats to Sandy Koufax for winning Baseball Digest’s sixth annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The announcement appears in the May/June 2026 issue. “The name Sandy Koufax has become a synonym for ‘great pitcher,’” according to Baseball Digest publisher David Fagley. Koufax turned 90 this past December and still looks like he could toss an inning or […]
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I can’t remember where I first saw an article about nightstand books, but it made me stop and think. At any one time, I am juggling my reading. Ninety percent is baseball, but you have to mix in other things just to spice it up. This is what’s currently on my nightstand. I always try […]
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I reviewed four New York-themed baseball titles for Bookreporter.com last week, including: The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner by Mike Vaccaro Mickey & Billy: The Glory and Tragedy of a Yankee Friendship, by Tony Castro The Heyday of Willie, Buke and Mickey: New York City Baseball’s Golden […]
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The most confusing day for those keeping scorecards, as every player is wearing the celebrated Number 42. Here’s what I posted 10 years ago (“Wayback Wednesday”?). The sentiment remains the same, although the list of books about Robinson has grown since then, including, from 2026 alone: Integration at Second Base: Jackie Robinson and the Quest […]
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In Her Own League, a novel by Liz Tomforde about the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, is among a recent top five most-read books of the past week by Bookriot.com, which posted, “Almost 25,000 Goodreads users read it this week, and it has a 4.5 average rating.” Tomforde’s novel has to remind […]
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Tim Wiles, a past director of research for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, will give a presentation of “Got her, need her. Got her, need her,” the story of women’s professional baseball as told through baseball cards at the Guilderland Historical Society on Thursday, April 16, at the Guilderland Public Library. To celebrate […]
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Baseball preview issues. I really don’t know who the audience for these paper dinosaurs is anymore. As a pre-Internet kid, I looked forward to that period in early spring when they hit the news stands en masse. Some were Some were just “one-year wonders.” Others, like Sport, The Sporting News, Street & Smith, Inside Sports, […]
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When I was looking at the 2026 New York Mets Media Guide for a recent review, I noted how the players’ pages highlighted specific OG statistics like home runs, RBI, batting average, wins, strikeouts, and ERA. Of course, nowadays we have pitch rotation, bat speed, exit velocity, launch angles, WAR, BABIP, and more than I can keep […]
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In the “here’s something you don’t see every day” category: With so many books, it’s a rare thing when Publisher’s Weekly does something with a baseball title, but here’s what they had to say about Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero, by Thomas Gilbert. From America Magazine: The Jesuit Review […]
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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
Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be pro athletes
April 16, 2026 · 0 comments
A bit late in posting this but it’s still relevant, so… Excellent essay in the March 29 Op-Ed section of The New York Times by Devin Gordon, author of So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin’ True Story of the New York Mets — the Best Worst Team in Sports and Bookshelf Conversation guest. “Help! […]
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