Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
March 27, 2015
Author appearances: Just in time for the May 21 opening of the St. Paul Saints’ CHS Field, Stew Thornley is launching his new book, The St. Paul Saints: Baseball in the Capital City, at 7 p.m. April 1 at SubText bookstore, at Selby and Western avenues in St. Paul. He will also talk about his […]
Tagged as: baseball autographs, Marty Appel, New York Mets, Sandy Alderson, Steve Kettmann
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March 26, 2015
That’s what Jonah Keri, author of Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos, will be doing in a book tour that will see him in Montreal, Toronto, and Pembrooke, the last of which will take […]
Tagged as: Jonah Keri, Montreal Expos
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March 16, 2015
Curt Smith, author of several fine volumes about baseball broadcasters and broadcasting, offers this nostalgic essay on “Spring training: Baseball’s Brigadoon” in the Irondequoit Post. Publishers Weekly published their annual list of new baseball topics. Unfortunately, it’s only available to subscribers. I’ll see if I can find an end-around at some point. “Spring inevitably means […]
Tagged as: Boston Red Sox, Curt Smith, Joe Black, John Klima, Mark Simon, Nolan Ryan, NY Mets, Rob Goldman, Sandy Alderson, Steve Kettmann, Who's Who in baseball
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February 27, 2015
Don’t know how this slipped by me: The Baseball Book Festival takes place tomorrow (Feb. 28), in Indianapolis. Authors participating in the event include: Doug Wilson (Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych, and the forthcoming Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk. Pete Cava (Amazing Tales from […]
Tagged as: baseball authors, Chris Lamb, Doug Wilson, Jeff Stanger, Malcolm Moran, Pete Cava
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February 19, 2015
Among the speakers at the Bergino: Thursday, March 5: Mort Zachter, Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life Thursday, March 12: Martha Jo Black, Joe Black: More than a Dodger Thursday, March 26: Matt Nadel, Amazing Aaron to Zero Zippers
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Brooklyn Dodgers, Gil Hodges, Joe Black
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October 15, 2014
Although for me, it seems to be “Baseball and Food.” Next to baseball, I like to spend my copious spare time noodling around the kitchen. The Food Network comes in a close second to the MLB Network, et al, when it comes to appointment TV. And after the national pastime, my favorite reading material — […]
Tagged as: ballpark food, Dan Pashman
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October 14, 2014
I don’t get to New York City much these days and when I do, it’s usually to attend an event at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse. Wish I could get to this one, though. I did a story about Gerberg several years ago when one of his collections came out. Unfortunately, it’s not on the newspaper’s […]
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Mort Gerberg
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October 8, 2014
I know,I know. I have been remiss. Haven’t posted in a while. Just been so busy with the new (non-baseball) book. But I hope to find a few minutes here and there to keep you coming back. So here’s an announcement: the Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center, located at One East 65th Street in Manhattan, will […]
Tagged as: Alan Dershowitz, Donald Fehr, Ira Berkow, Larry Ruttman
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September 5, 2014
Vince McKee will discuss his book, Jacobs Field: History and Tradition at The Jake, at the Lakewood Public Library, Lakewood, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. Another author(s) appearance: Springfield (Mass.)’s Bring It Home baseball committee will feature local writers Richard Andersen and Marty Dobrow in an Authors Night presentation on Sunday, Sept. […]
Tagged as: Burleigh Grimes, Cleveland Indians, Hank Greenberg, John Rosengren, Sandy Koufax
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August 26, 2014
Where does the time go? The Bergino Baseball Clubhouse will celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg — the definitive biography of one of game’s true characters — with a program featuring author Nicholas Dawidoff on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. Dawidoff’s other books include, […]
Tagged as: Moe Berg, Nicholas Dawidoff
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August 7, 2014
Kerry Yo Nakagawa, author of Japanese American Baseball in California, will discuss and sign copies of his book on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 1:30 p.m. at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Little Tokyo’s Weller Court, Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street near First Street in Los Angeles, Calif. Nakagawa published Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American […]
Tagged as: Japanese baseball, Kerry Yo Nakagawa
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July 3, 2014
Trying to clear out the old mail box before the holiday: MLB historian John Thorn posted this photo on Facebook of a joint 1969 publication, ostensibly by Pete Rose and Denny McLain: At the time, Rose and McLain were the best in the game. Dayn Perry, author of a couple of baseball books of his […]
Tagged as: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Dan Epstein, Denny McLain, Jonathan Eig, Keith Olbermann, Kickstarter, Lou Gehrig, New York Mets, Pete Rose, scorekeeping, Sportswriting, Ty Cobb, youth baseball
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June 27, 2014
Like any tool, social media can be a force for good if used properly. Case in point, it’s allowed me to “meet” some really cool people, including Dan Epstein, whose book tour for Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ’76 brought him to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse last night. I […]
Tagged as: Bardball, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Dan Epstein, Erik Sherman, James Finn Garner, Jay Goldberg, Judy Lynn Johnson, Stars and Strikes, Stuart Shea
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June 25, 2014
But I have a softball playoff game scheduled for tonight. And sorry for the late posting, but if you’re in NYC tonight, The Museum of the City of New York is hosting… New Yorkers and Baseball: A Book Talk Wednesday, June 25 at 6:30 pm Join noted authors and baseball fans George Vecsey, Kevin Baker, […]
Tagged as: George Vecsey, Kevin Baker, Lee Gutkind, Stefan Fatsis
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From the Baseball Hall of Fame: The story of baseball is told every day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. But this summer, some of the latest unique and inspirational stories of the National Pastime will be celebrated through the Museum’s Authors Series program. The Hall of Fame will host 11 Authors […]
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May 21, 2014
Looking over the overlooked news in baseball books, etc. ♦ Dwier Brown is making the rounds for his new memoir If You Build It…: A book about Fathers, Fate and Field of Dreams, which is doing very well on Amazon. (Here’s my Bookshelf conversation with Brown). My apologies in that the video opens on its […]
Tagged as: Continental League, Disney, Dwier Brown, ESPN, Field of Dreams, Jon Hamm, Million Dollar Arm, New Yorker, Outside the Lines
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May 21, 2014
Should have posted this earlier. Sorry. But if you’re in the area, Willie Randolph will be at the Yogi Berra Museum tonight for a program based on his new book, The Yankee Way: Playing, Coaching, and My Life in Baseball. Randolph was on a recent episode of The Leonard Lopate Show. As you can imagine, […]
Tagged as: Leonard Lopate, National Public Radio, NPR, NY Yankees, Willie Randolph, Yogi Berra Museum
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May 19, 2014
Not if you’re former Major League arbiter-turned-author Al Clark. It was nice meeting Clark and his co-author Dan Schlossberg yesterday at the Yogi Berra Museum. There weren’t a lot of people there. That’s was too bad for the book-signing aspects, but good for me because it gave us more opportunity for casual chatting. Clark shared […]
Tagged as: Al Clark, Dan Schlossberg, Yogi Berra Museum
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May 16, 2014
The latest list of goings-on at the Bergino. I don’t get there often, but I’m hoping to finally meet Dan Epstein in June. Wednesday, May 28 @ 7:00 PM The Fight of Their Lives with John Rosengren _________________________________________________________________________________________ Wednesday, June 4 @ 7:00 PM Wrigley Field, with Ira Berkow _________________________________________________________________________________________ Thursday, June 19 @ 7:00 […]
Tagged as: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, baseball art, Chicago Cubs, Dan Epstein, Ira Berkow
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Just saw this and one event is already sold out, but FWIW… WHO: Willie Randolph. WHAT: Signing his new book, “The Yankee Way.” WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday. WHERE: Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood; 201-445-0726 or book-ends.com. HOW MUCH: Free with purchase of book ($26.99). ALSO APPEARING: 6 p.m. May 21, Yogi Berra Museum, Montclair […]
Tagged as: Mariano Rivera, Willie Randolph
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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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