Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
January 29, 2016
Sort list this time, as I’m pretty much caught up on most current events. ♦ Dwier Brown, who play Ray Kinsella’s dad in Field of Dreams was a recent guest on the Hall of Very Good podcast. (As a reminder, I also had a chat with Brown.) ♦ I keep meaning to brush up on […]
Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox, Dwier Brown, Field of Dream, Glenn Stout, Howard Megdal, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals
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January 21, 2016
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 Cards, baseball DVD, Bobby Valentine, business of baseball, Mike Piazza, Terry Francona
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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 24, 2015
I know most of you have more pressing things to do today, you procrastinators, you. But here’s something for when you take a break. ♦ Like the Bookshelf, DiamondHoggers has a podcast segment. This episode features Rob Miech, author of the 2012 release, The Last Natural: Bryce Harper’s Big Gamble in Sin City and the […]
Tagged as: Allen Barra, Bryce Harper, Christy Walsh, Johan Santana, Lefty Gomez, Maggie Lawrence, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Ozzie Guillen
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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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November 19, 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: Andy Pettitte, baseball fiction, Baseball Hall of Fame, Ben Carson, Bernie Williams, Frank Nappi, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Posnanski, John Rocker, Jorge Posada, Richard Ben Cramer, Ted Lyons, Tim Wiles
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November 18, 2015
Been a bit busy lately with the two author events, so I know I’ve fallen behind. You never know where inspiration will come from. According to this public radio story, Haruki Murakami came up with the idea for his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, as the result of a 1978 pro game in Japan, […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, Bruce Bochy, David Halberstam, Derek Jeter, Fritz Peterson, Haruki Mirukami, Jackie Robinson, Jim Bouton, Jimmy Breslin, Jorge Posada, New York Yankees, Steohen Kings, Washington Nationals
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November 13, 2015 · 1 comment
NOTE: 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 on […]
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November 5, 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: Adam Greenberg, Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball managers, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Forbes, Grantland, kunckleball, Matt Harvey, Piuttsburgh Pirates, R.A. Dickey, Shawn Green, Stephen Strasburg, Tim Wakefield, Tony LaRussa, Will Ferrell, Zev Chafets
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October 15, 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: Babe Ruth, Bill James, Calico Joe, Chicago Cubs, Federal League, Ichiro Suzuki, John Grisham, John Thorn, Robert Creamer, sabermetrics
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October 13, 2015
Notice how at this time of year “mainstream” (i.e., non-sports) writers and media in general come up with all sorts of “interesting” features about baseball? Here’s one about the “fine art” of scorekeeping now that the LA Dodgers are in the postseason. W.P. Kisnella‘s Shoeless Joe is listed among “5 books that influenced lives in […]
Tagged as: baseball movies, Black Sox scandal, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Jonathan Knight, Shoeless Joe, W.P. Kinsella
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October 1, 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 and politics, Baseball Cards, Baseball Propsectus, Bill Veeck, Brooklyn Dodgers, Carl Mays, Chad Harbach, Detroit Tigers, Ebbets Field, Jim Abbot, Josh Lewin, Molly Lawless, Paul Dickson, Ray Chapman, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, The Art of Fielding, Tim Wendell
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September 3, 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: Arnold Hano, Baseball Cards, baseball fiction, BookPage, Gary Moore, Jerry Reuss
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August 18, 2015
The Sports Illustrated for Kids blog ran this Q&A with Dick Flavin, public address announcer for the Boston Red Sox and author of Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses. The Kansas City Star ran this profile on W.P. Kinsella, author of too many great baseball stories to mention. The Desert News posted this review of […]
Tagged as: baseball fiction, Boston Red Sox, Dick Flavin, Mickey Mantle, Molly Knight, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Vin Scully
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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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July 21, 2015
Rob Neyer occasionally posts “book club” entries as part of his Just a Bit Outside site. This one was put up shortly after the passing of Alison Gordon, a sportswriter who covered the Toronto Blue Jays and chronicled the experience in her book Foul Ball!: Five Years in the American League. This piece from BaseballEssential […]
Tagged as: Alison Gordon, Arnold Hano, baseball dictionary, Bobby Brown, Filip Bondy, J.P. Hoornstra, Jon Leonoudakis, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Molly Knight, New York Yankees, Ron Neyer
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July 16, 2015
Grantland recently aired Spyball, one of those 30 for 30 short documentaries produced by the folks at ESPN. Spyball is the story of Moe Berg, one of the most interesting characters to play in the Majors. A very quick recap of Berg’s career: He was a brilliant scholar, linguist, lawyer, etc., as well as mediocre […]
Tagged as: Arnold Hano, ESPB, Jon Leonoudakis, Moe Berg
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Submitted for your interest, this feature by Jacob Kamaras at JNS.org on John Klima’slatest baseball book, The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII. * * * Baseball fans might most vividly remember Hank Greenberg for his chase of Babe Ruth’s single-season […]
Tagged as: Hank Greenberg, John Klima, Pete Gray
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June 24, 2015
Another in a series of feeble attempts to catch up on older items. You will forgive the possible occasional duplication from previous entries. First off, well, this is kind of insulting to baseball and books. * Ed Lucas received a lot of attention for his recent memoir, and rightly so. I had a great conversation […]
Tagged as: baseball fiction, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Bill Pennington, Billy Martin, Charlie O'Brien, Doug Wedge, Gary Cieradkowski, Jack Zanger, Mike Matheny, minor leagues, National Public Radio, New York Yankees, sabermetrics, Sandy Alderson, Steve Kettmann, W. P. Kinsella, Wins Above Replacement
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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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Throwback Thursday (aka, links dump)
September 10, 2015 · 1 comment
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }