Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
October 9, 2015
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 […]
Tagged as: Bob Gibson, Cincinatti Reds, Derek Jeter, Lonnie Wheeler, Los Angeles Dodgers, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, World Series, Yogi Berra
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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 21, 2015
In the Seinfeld episode, “The Boyfriend,” Jerry and his friend George Costanza encounter guest star and Mets player Keith Hernandez at their gym. GEORGE: look at this guy. Does he have to stretch in here? JERRY: You know who that is? That’s GEORGE: Keith Hernandez? The baseball player? JERRY: Yeah, that’s him. GEORGE: Are you […]
Tagged as: baseball poetry, Boston Red Sox, Dick Flavin
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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 31, 2015
All of Jonathan Knight‘s books have been about Cleveland sports. While those might seem to be of interest only to denizens of that city, his latest — The Making of Major League: A Juuuust a Bit Inside Look at the Classic Baseball Comedy — is much more “universal,” appealing to fans not only of the local […]
Tagged as: "Major League" movie, Charlie Sheen, Cleveland Indians, Jonthan Knight
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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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August 4, 2015
My New Jersey landsman and veteran sportswriter Filip Bondy has crafted a fun volume on one of the most famous games in the history of the national pastime. Whenever there’s a baseball show featuring a compilation of clips, there’s a good chance you’ll find the July 24, 1983 contest between the New York Yankees and […]
Tagged as: Billy Martin, Filip Bondy, George Brett, George Steinbrenner, Goose Gossage, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees
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July 27, 2015 · 3 comments
This is how I remember Fritz Peterson. A smiling, happy-go-lucky ballplayer. And why not? When this Topps card came out, he had just finished a successful rookie year for the New York Yankees, finishing 12-11 with a 3.31 ERA and allowing just 196 hits in 215 innings. Unfortunately, the good times were few and far […]
Tagged as: Fritz Peterson
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June 25, 2015
Further investigation uncovered another handful of unlisted chats… Glenn Stout Dave Jamieson Roy Berger Josh Perelman Joe Schuster
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June 24, 2015
I was going through some old iTunes files and was startled to see how many Bookshelf Conversations — in their various iterations — I’ve conducted over the years. It goes way beyond the oldest interview (George Vecsey) posted on the sidebar. I’m amazed and grateful that these people took the time to chat with me, […]
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June 1, 2015
This is how I start off my review of Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story: A Blind Broadcaster’s Story of Overcoming Life’s Greatest Obstacles, by Ed Lucas and his son, Chris: “These days, the word ‘inspirational’ is tossed around a lot for things that really aren’t. But in the case of Ed Lucas, it somehow […]
Tagged as: Christopher Lucas, Ed Lucas, Joe DiMagio, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, Phil Rizzuto, Sportswriting
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May 26, 2015
This is a wonderful age we live in. A decade ago, I never would have been able to meet someone like Gary Cieradkowski, the artist who created The Infinite Baseball Card set and author of the newly-published The League of Outsider Baseball: An Illustrated History of Baseball’s Forgotten Heroes. I’ve known Cieradkowski for several years […]
Tagged as: baseball art, Gary Cieradkowski, infinite baseball card set
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May 13, 2015
Sometimes I’ll get an email from a writer whom I’ve interviewed for a Bookshelf Conversation, thanking me for the opportunity. Sometimes I get nothing. Meh; what are you gonna do? I just enjoy chatting about the back-story stuff, the creative process. Occasionally you get something like this. Thank you, Fred Harris.
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May 11, 2015
Originally written for Bookreporter.com. Look for a Bookshelf Conversation with Chris Lucas next week. In fact, there are lots of BCs on the horizon. Up next, Fred Harris, co-author with Brendan Boyd of The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading And Bubblegum Book. Additional conversations will feature Josh Leventhal (A History of Baseball in 100 […]
Tagged as: Christopher Lucas, Ed Lucas, New York Yankees
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April 24, 2015
“No one to talk with, all by myself…” Didn’t post a Bookshelf Conversation last week, and won’t have one this week either. That’s a shame because I enjoy a good chat with creative people, getting to know what their process is, how they go to this point in their work, etc. As a sneak preview, […]
Tagged as: Gary Cieradkowski, Jeff Katz, Jennifer Ring
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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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March 23, 2015
In honor of Women’s History Month, I wanted to pay tribute to that demographic of fans and athletes and could think of no one better than Barbara Gregorich to weigh in on the topic. Gregorich is the author of Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball (which is included in 501 Baseball Books […]
Tagged as: Barbara Gregorich, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Effa Manley, Jane Leavy, Judy Lynn Johnson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, women's history month
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March 11, 2015
Note: Wrote a version of this one for the March 12 issue of New Jersey Jewish News. * * * Major League Baseball bigwigs worry that the game is losing young fans at a rapid pace. Among the issues are games that are just too long, lasting more than three hours and potentially lasting past […]
Tagged as: baseball history, Matt Nadel
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March 9, 2015
As Humphrey Bogart famously said, “A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz.” Certainly one of the most important off-field enticements these days is the food, so when teams design their new homes, they make sure there are plenty of places to get a bite that offer more than […]
Tagged as: ballpark food
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March 2, 2015
Dr. Seuss wasn’t considering baseball fans when he published his best-selling book Oh, The Places You’ll Go. He left that for Josh Pahigian to deal with. Pahigian first published 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out in 2010, following his joint venture with Kevin O’Connell, Ultimate Baseball Road Trip: A Fan’s Guide To Major […]
Tagged as: baseball museums, baseball places, Josh Pahigian
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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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