Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
October 28, 2021
It’s no secret that I particularly enjoy books that make me think. Buddha Takes the Mound has a special place on my bookshelf and in my heart for getting me through some tough times. No downplaying of biographies, histories, etc., but these works that almost go to the metaphysical aspects of the game are my […]
Tagged as: Andrew Forbes, baseball essays, Ichiro Suzuki
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October 19, 2021
And now for something completely different. When my wife and I were on vacation in London a few years ago, we stopped in at the world famous Harrod’s department store. While she went off to look for gifts and I ended up in the menswear section where I came across… This was a strange yet […]
Tagged as: baseball jerseys
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October 15, 2021
A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]
Tagged as: New York Mets, Ted Williams
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October 11, 2021
Harkening back to the review I posted about Once Upon a Time In Queens, I was thrilled to be able to get the director of the four-part 30-for-30 sports doc series from ESPN. And since I did put up that entry, this intro will be relatively brief. Nick Davis — and profound apologies for calling […]
Tagged as: New York Mets
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October 8, 2021
A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]
Tagged as: New York Mets, New York Yankees, Ted Williams
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October 4, 2021
Followers of this blog know my feelings about the use of the words “best,” “greatest,” and other superlatives in the title. So I was hooked from the start when I saw the cover of Joe Posnanski’s latest book, The Baseball 100. The the jacket design itself is simple yet elegant. There are so many things […]
Tagged as: Joe Posnanski
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October 1, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: Joe Posnanski, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, Ted Williams
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September 17, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: Joe Nuxhall, Joe Posnanski, New York Mets
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August 31, 2021
Bryan Hoch and I go way back. He gave me one of my first writing breaks when I contributed to his Mets Online website which he set up while still in high school. He’s come a long way since, and I won’t chastise him for switching to the Yankees. We met for in person for […]
Tagged as: Bryan Hoch, New York Yankees
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August 27, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: baseball best-sellers
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August 13, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: Neal Conan, Ted Williams
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August 11, 2021
Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly interesting as […]
Tagged as: Pandemic Baseball Book Club
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July 20, 2021
We last spoke with Dan Epstein for his second book, Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 in 2016, which followed his 2014 release, Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s. As you can see from the picture, sandwiched between me and […]
Tagged as: Dan Epstein, New York Yankees, Ron Blomberg, Thurman Munson
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May 21, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, Moneyball, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Ted Williams, Willie Mays
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May 19, 2021
Headnote: In addition to the 12th being the day I water my mini-succulent plants, it’s also time for the latest update from the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. One of the thing I like about the Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all […]
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May 14, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: Baseball Cards, Bill White. Ball Four, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Jim Bouton, Moneyball, New York Mets, Ron Blomberg, Ted Williams, Thurmon Munson
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April 30, 2021
New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]
Tagged as: baseball best-sellers
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April 21, 2021
Lately I’ve been noticing that baseball books are pretty much divided into a few categories. Many of the latest releases deal with the “new” game by which I mean using metrics such as launch angle or spin rates to determine who the best players are and how to assemble teams. Kind of like Moneyball rebooted. […]
Tagged as: Bookshelf Conversations, Cleveland Indians, Luke Epplin
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April 16, 2021
A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]
Tagged as: Cleveland Indians, ew York Mets, Jackie Robinson, New York Yankees, Ted Williams
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April 13, 2021
I’ve taken a lot of grief over the years for the fact that I’m a lifelong Mets fan. My first game was back in (mumble mumble) when they were still pretty stinko. I still remember going to a game with my day camp and having the bus break down on the way back to Brooklyn. […]
Tagged as: Devin Gordon, New York Mets
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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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