Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
January 6, 2016
Brought to you as a public service announcement… The legendary baseball writer/broadcaster Peter Gammons was on the segment preceding my appearance on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove last week. One of the things he discussed was this upcoming music event for charity. Gammons, an avid guitar player, is getting ready for the 16th Theo Epstein […]
Tagged as: Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein
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December 31, 2015
In a vain attempt to clear out my inbox, here is the final B&P for the year. Hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these things as much as I have. Don’t read anything political into the posting of this piece about “How Bernie Sanders brought professional baseball to Vermont,” via The Sporting News. From outsports.com, this […]
Tagged as: Baseball-Reference.com, Bernie Sanders, Bob Gibson, Boston Red Sox, Carlton Fisk, Dusty Baker, Lonnie Wheeler, minor leagues, Negro Leagues, Roger Angell, World Series
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December 17, 2015
(Note: I posted this originally on my blog about Jews and sports, but since it’s based on a fantastic baseball book, I thought it would be appropriate here as well.) And when I say “The Catch,” of course I’m talking about Willie Mays’ iconic grab in Game One of the 1954 World Series against the […]
Tagged as: Al Rosen, Arnold Hano, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Jon Leonoudakis, Willie Mays
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December 4, 2015
Bjarkman, who specializes in the history of Cuban and Latino Cuban baseball, will speak about his forthcoming, Cuba’s Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story, on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center in Sarasota, Fla., For more information about the program, call 941-545-5635.
Tagged as: Cuban baseball, Peter Bjarkman
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December 3, 2015
BBC owner Jay Goldberg does a great service in providing podcasts of his numerous author events. (I was honored to have one there when 501 came out in 2013.) The charming Manhattan store can only accommodate so many people and these audios allow far-flung baseball fans and readers to share in the fun. Among his […]
Tagged as: Arnold Hano, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Black Sox scandal, Charles Fountain, Jackie Robinson, Jon Leonoudakis
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November 10, 2015
Spent a lovely weekend in La Jolla where I spoke to a group as part of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair. Yes, New Jersey was having an unseasonably mild November, but the same temperatures over there seemed so much nicer. (Shows how spoiled they are out there: they thought it was cold.) For logistical […]
Tagged as: Dodgers, San Diego Padres
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October 20, 2015
Fountain — author of yet another book about the Black Sox Scandal — will be the featured guest at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in Manhattan on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. to discuss The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball. The 29th is an off day for the World […]
Tagged as: 19119 Black Sox Scandal, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Charles Fountain, Chicago White Sox, World Series
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October 7, 2015
Michael Garry, author of the new book Game of My Life New York Mets: Memorable Stories of Mets Baseball, will be the featured speaker at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in Manhattan on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Special guest for the event will be Ed Charles, third baseman for the 1969 World Champion team. […]
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Ed Charles, Michael Garry, New York Mets
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The Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in NYC will host a fundraising event with former NY Met favorite Mookie Wilson on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. Wilson published his memoirs, Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the ’86 Mets, with Erik Sherman last year. Jay Goldberg, the owner of Bergino, said in an e-mail: In brief, the event […]
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Erik Sherman, Jay Goldberg, Mookie Wilson, New York Mets
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August 11, 2015
Been following the adventures of Brad Balukjian, who’s traveling the country in search of his baseball heroes for a book project. He was a guest on a recent edition of Slate’s excellent sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen. We had a Bookshelf Conversation prior to his departure and I hope to have another one upon his […]
Tagged as: Andi Dorfman, baseball history, Brad Balukjian, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, Joe Girardi, John Klima, Josh Murray, Lonnie Wheeler, Matt Nadel, minor leagues, NY Yankees, The Bachelorette
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June 18, 2015
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 […]
Tagged as: baseball broadcasters, baseball uniforms, Bobby Valentine, Boston Red Sox, Casey at the bat, Hofstra University, Huffington Post, New York Mets, PED. Mental Floss, Ryan Braun, Tony Conigliaro
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June 15, 2015
The Baseball Hall of Fame will host 11 Authors Series events throughout the season, bringing noted baseball authors to Cooperstown for special lectures and book signings. Among the highlights of the 2015 Authors Series is an appearance by former major league pitcher Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese-born player in the history of major league baseball. […]
Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Billy Martin, Boston Red Sox, Ed Lucas, Masanori Murakami, Tony Oliva, Who's Who in baseball
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June 11, 2015
If you’re in the area of Paramus, NJ, this Sunday (June 14), drop by the BooksNJ event and say hi. I’ll be on a panel discussing the general topic “Who’s on first? Why baseball hits it out of the park” from 3:20 to 4 p.m., based on my 2013 release 501 Baseball Books Fans Must […]
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June 1, 2015
With apologies to Chicago (the band, not the city). Feast or famine. Either I never get to Manhattan, or I’m there too much. After commuting from the New jersey suburbs to NYC for more than 15 years, I have to say it’s a culture shock whenever I go back and I’m not thrilled with it. […]
Tagged as: A Day in the Bleachers, Arnold Hano, baseball business, Charles Leehrsen, Jon Leonoudakis, Jon Pessah, New York Giants, Steve Steinberg, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, World Series
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May 29, 2015
Finally! I get to go to one of these things. Although I live in Jersey, I dislike NYC to the point that I avoid it as much as possible (much to my wife’s annoyance). I was there yesterday to participate in a Jewish Book Council “author pitch” event for my forthcoming non-baseball sports title followed […]
Tagged as: Arnold Hano, Charles Leerhsen, Gelf magazine, Jon Leonoudakis, Jon Pessah, Le Poisson Rouge, Ty Cobb
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Normally, I post things like this beforehand… We attended our daughter’s graduation from NYU, held at Yankee Stadium (that’s her on the first base side. Not, not that one; that one, the cute one). Now normally, when a ballgame is over, the fans all skedaddle as quickly as possible. Yesterday, however, was wall-to-wall people, milling […]
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Bob Tufts, Jeff Katz, Lee Lowenfish, Miller Huggins, Perry Barber, Steve Steinberg
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May 1, 2015
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… […]
Tagged as: baseball history, Baseball instruction, Bill Pennington, Billy Martin, Boston Red Sox, Derek Jeter, H.A. Dorfman, Jim Kaat, John Feinstein, Michael Lewis, minor leagues, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pedro Martinez, San Francisco Giants, Ted Williams, Triumph Publishing
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April 21, 2015
Wish I’d had more advance notice on this, but… Varsity Letters returns to the Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday, April 23, for a look at all things baseball. Legendary broadcaster Ed Lucas and his son Chris will discuss their new memoir, Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story: A Blind Broadcaster’s Story of Overcoming […]
Tagged as: Chris Lucas, Ed Lucas, Gelf magazine, Matthew Silverman
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April 20, 2015
Submitted for your interest, education, and entertainment, here’s a link to my annual baseball feature on Bookreporter.com. Titles include: Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius Tommy Lasorda: My Way Joe Black: More Than a Dodger Yankee Doodles: Inside the Locker Room with Mickey, Yogi, Reggie, and Derek, Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived […]
Tagged as: Bill Pennington, Billy Martin, Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Phil Pepe, Sandy Alderson, Steve Kettmann, Tommy Lasroda
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April 17, 2015
The Yogi Berra Museum in Little Falls, NJ, will host an appearance by Steve Kettmann, author of Baseball Maverick, tomorrow (April 18) at 2 p.m. Joining Kettmann will be Sandy Alderson, the subject of the book. The program begins at 2 p.m. Cost is $30 and includes admission to the museum for you and one […]
Tagged as: Bill Pennington, Jeff Katz, Jennifer Ring, Jim Kaat, Steve Kettmann, Steve Steinberg
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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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