Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
March 22, 2010
The baseball historian discusses and signs Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball Before Jackie Robinson at 7 p.m. at St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Frontenac. Free. 314-994-3300, slcl.org.
Tagged as: Satchel Paige, Timothy Gay
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February 28, 2010
Attended the Baseball Prospectus roundtable event at the Yogi Berra Museum this afternoon. Five members of that august publication/website were on hand to share their wisdom and insight with a very savvy audience (once you take me out of the equation. There was a kid there, couldn’t have been more than 10, who was asking […]
Tagged as: Baseball Prospectus
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January 21, 2010
From NJtoday.net: Dr. Lawrence Hogan, Senior History Professor at Union County College, and Robert Scott, former pitcher and first baseman for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League, will be the guest speakers for a Black History Month Program, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Negro League Baseball at Yankee Stadium, 1930-1948.” […]
Tagged as: Negro Leagues
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September 25, 2009
The Library of Congress will host a two-day event to mark the release of Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress, “a beautifully illustrated book featuring more than 350 images (many never before published) from the late 18th century to the late 20th century,” beginning Friday, Oct. 2. The program, which features an appearance […]
Tagged as: Baseball Americana, Memorabilia, Nostalgia
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September 18, 2009
Former Yankees pitcher Fritz Peterson appeared at the Yogi Berra Museum and Education Center in Little Falls, NJ last night to discuss his auto-biography, Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven. The ex-big-leaguer, who made headlines back in 1973 when he and teammate Mike Kekich traded families, is facing serious health issues, which he said prompted […]
Tagged as: Fritz Peterson, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees
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July 22, 2009
The Hall of Fame pitcher will be signing his book, Fergie: My Life from the Cubs to Cooperstown, at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL. Anderson’s is at 123 W. Jefferson Ave. For more information, call 630-355-2665 or visit www.andersonsbookshop.com. (Some younger fans will be interested to know that Jenkins was […]
Tagged as: Fergie Jenkins
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June 25, 2009
Oceanside– The Friedberg JCC is hosting “The Baseball Talmud” on Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. Join author and radio personality Howard Megdal as he discusses his new book, “The Baseball Talmud,” a historical narration of Major League Jewish Baseball in America. Cost is $6. For more information, please call (516) 634-4154 or e-mail mlevi […]
Tagged as: Baseball Talmud, Howard Megdal, Jewish Major Leaguers
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June 21, 2009
The Caldwell Public Library will hold a Book Fair at the Barnes & Noble located on Route 3 E., in the Clifton Commons (Clifton, NJ) on Monday, June 29. The book fair will feature Robert Skead, author of Safe at Home,” at 6 p.m. and John Zinn, author of The Major League Pennant Races of […]
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June 19, 2009
White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen and sportswriter Mark Gonzales will sign copies of Gonzales’ book, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: Heart-pounding, Jaw-dropping and Gut-wrenching Moments from Chicago White Sox History, on Thursday, June 25, at 6:30 p.m. at the Downers Grove Recreation and Fitness Center, 4500 Belmont Road, Downers Grove, IL The Amazon […]
Tagged as: Chicago White Sox, Ozzie Guillen
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June 10, 2009
Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience All events are free and open to the public. Events will be held in the Veterans Room of the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park IL unless noted elsewhere. May 10 – June 30 in Library Gallery: Stephen Green, an Oak Park resident and […]
Tagged as: Bingo Long, Jackie Robinson, Negro Leagues
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May 14, 2009
The award-winner author will be at Ye Olde Courthouse in Omer, Mich. on June 2. Stanton has published such titles as The Final Season (about the last year of Tiger Stadium), The Road to Cooperstown, which touches on his relationship with his father, and their journey and visit to the hall of fame, and the […]
Tagged as: Tom Stanton
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May 8, 2009
The former Met, former Royal had a tough time of it after his retirement from the game, according to this piece in the Fort Worth (IN) Daily News. He wrote about his travels and travails in Conquering Life’s Curves — Baseball Battles & Beyond. Hearn will be the keynote speaker at the Greater Fort Wayne […]
Tagged as: Ed Hearn
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April 27, 2009
The author of The Baseball Talmud will be the guest speaker/signer at Boston University’s Hillel House tomorrow from 7-8:30 p.m.
Tagged as: Baseball Talmud, Howard Megdal, Jews and baseball
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Sponsored by Gelf Magazine (motto: “Looking over the overlooked”). Gelf’s Varsity Letters sports reading series returns to New York on Thursday, April 2, at 8 p.m, with an all-baseball night in time for Opening Day. At this free monthly event at a Lower East Side bar, hosted by Gelf, Alex Belth, Greg Prince, and Matt […]
Tagged as: author event, Gelf magazine, New York Mets, New York Yankees
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March 21, 2009
Coover, now 77, is considered one of the best writers of adult baseball fiction thanks to his 1968 classic, The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., Henry J Waugh, Prop. He’ll be making a couple of appearances in the Buffalo, NY area. Asa reminder, here’s a review from The New York Times in 1968 by Wilfred Sheed.
Tagged as: Robert Coover
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March 21, 2009
The Albion District Library is proud to welcome author Tom Stanton on Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. in support of the “Pride & Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience” traveling exhibition, which has stopped in Albion for six weeks as part of its three-year national tour. Mr. Stanton, the 2008 winner of the Michigan Author […]
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March 18, 2009
(Note: Even though I’m a Mets fan, the greater baseball fan in me overrules, hence this event announcement that take place in Philadelphia.) A Celebration of Baseball’s Greatest Song, Greatest Team, and Greatest Organ. St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church, located at 1429 N 11th St. in Philadelphia, hosts a vaudeville-style celebration in honor of favorite […]
Tagged as: Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Who's on First
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February 24, 2009
Megdal, author of The Baseball Talmud, is taking his book and going on the road. Here’s a list of his whistle stops as of today: Sunday April 5, 2 p.m. Borders, Ramsey, NJ Tuesday April 7, 7 p.m. Suffern Free Library, Suffern, NY Thursday April 16, 7 p.m., Book Revue, Huntington, NY Sunday April 26, […]
Tagged as: Baseball Talmud, Howard Megdal
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February 3, 2009
Tom Stanton, author of The Final Season: Fathers, Sons and One Last Season in a Classic American. Ballpark, will be the guest speaker at the Pinckney Community Public Library, 350 Mower Road, in Northville, MI (Phone: 734-878-3888.) on Thursday, March 26. Stanton, is the author of four baseball books, winner of 2008 Michigan Author Award, […]
Tagged as: Tom Stanton
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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.
In Forbes Magazine re: Baseball Business Books
On Will Carroll’s “Under the Knife” substack
Most recent books read updated 12/21/24:
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien
Grade: A. The most in-depth bio to date, focusing on Rose's gambling addiction.
Sometimes You See It Coming, by Kevin Baker
Grade: B. I first read this one when it originally came out some 30 years ago. I must say I don't remember it being so raunchy in spots. Draws on lots of real-life events and characters that real fans will recognize.
The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough
Grade: A. I usually don't like titles with superlatives, but in this case the author might be right, although there are probably a couple of Kershaw's contemporaries (Verlander and Scherzer) who fit that description.
The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era, by Andy Martino
Grade: B+. Even this non-Yankee fan found the deep background with its Moneyball-like machinations interesting
The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker
Grade: A. Well-researched, well-written. What else could you ask for? Baker has a lot of street cred writing about New York as well, both in fiction and non-fiction.
The Body Scout, by Lincoln Michel
Grade: C. Perhaps the ultimate performance enhancers -- interchangeable body parts -- help major leaguers of the future. But, as with all of these things, there's a price to pay.
Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards, by Josh Wilker
Grade: A. Re-read in preparation for a Bookshelf Conversation with the author. Had a deeper meaning than when I first read it more than a decade ago.
The Bookshelf Conversation
Discussions about all things baseball with authors, journalists, filmmakers, musicians, artists, et al
Subscribe to the "Bookshelf Conversations" podcast on iTunes and please leave a rating and/or review. Gracias!
Mike Shannon on "Diamond Classics II" ( video)
Todd Radom, Ellen Linder, and Brian Kong ( video)
Rick Cerrone (Baseball Digest, video)
Kevin Baker (Sometimes You See It Coming, video)
Curtis Pride and Doug Ward (video)
Dan Epstein on James Earl Jones (video)
Jim Gilmore and Tracy Holcomb (video)
"The Lost Tapes": Conversations prior to 2011 (audio)
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
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* But seriously, folks…
August 4, 2009 · 4 comments
Had a good time at the SABR convention in DC. It was nice too meet so many folks who are just as nuts (if not more so) than me. Being the bookworm that I am, it was especially nice hanging out with the writers, many of whom were peddling their products in the vendors’ room. […]
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