Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
November 12, 2020
I don’t know when it happened. I used to be so good in math. I was even a tutor for a while. But somewhere along the way, I lost all my ability. I learned to type as a young boy, copy the backs of baseball cards onto scrap paper on a manual typewriter. Those statistics […]
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November 6, 2020
Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as: Baseball Cards, David Wright, Los Angeles Dodgers, Moneyball, New York Mets, Ted Williams
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October 28, 2020
As I say in the interview, Dan Schlossberg is a busy guy. He’s written or co-written 40 books, including two updates that were released this year, The New Baseball Bible: Notes, Nuggets, Lists, and Legends from Our National Pastime and Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story. The former is one of those things that needs constant […]
Tagged as: Dan Schlossberg, Ron Blomberg
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October 22, 2020
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 newsletter. This one was received on September 16. Enjoy. I am posting this after one of their […]
Tagged as: Pandemic Baseball Book Club
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October 9, 2020
Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. aIn addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as: Bernard Malamud, David Wright, New York Mets, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra
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October 6, 2020
Jon Leonoudakis and I go way back, relatively speaking. I’ve been a fan of his entertaining and varied film projects, beginning with Not Exactly Cooperstown, about the Baseball Reliquary, described on its home page as “a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history […]
Tagged as: Jon Leonoudakis
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September 1, 2020
Another in a series of occasional postings. Regular visitors know that I usually put up a Baseball Best-Sellers list on Fridays. These feature the top 10 titles according to Amazon in print, e-books (Kindle), and audio formats. Amazon offers lists for paid and free books in the e-book category. (Here’s an explanation of why some […]
Tagged as: baseball uniforms, Todd Radom
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July 31, 2020
Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
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July 1, 2020
According to Bert Sugar’s Rain Delays, one of Willie Mays‘ literary collaborators had an ignominious interaction with his subject. “[A]t the end of the 1965 season, when [Charles] Einstein gave his subject a follow up call, after having taken notes with Mays throughout the season and after having identified himself over the phone, Mays said ‘Charlie […]
Tagged as: John Shea, Willie Mays
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April 27, 2020
As you know, I sometimes put together a “Review Roundup” or “Bits and Pieces” entry, collecting a number of items about baseball books, etc. This time I’m devoting the post to a single author/book: Brad Balukjian and The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife, which is getting quite the raves. […]
Tagged as: Baseball Cards, Brad Balukjian
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April 27, 2020
I think these things are coming along nicely, don’t you? Every time, I learn how do so something new. Fun. Most recently, I got to continue this experiment with Keith Law, author of The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves. One of the things I appreciate about […]
Tagged as: baseball analysis, baseball philosophy, Keith Law
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April 22, 2020
Welcome to the second installment of the video version of the Conversations. As Yogi Berra might have said, “Thank you, Pandemic, for making this project necessary.” Today I had the privilege of chatting with Anika Orrock, artist and author of The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It’s a fascinating, all-encompassing look at […]
Tagged as: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Anika Orrock
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February 26, 2020
As I often say, I don’t like to blend the current political situation with baseball. This blog is meant as an escape from the day-to-day problems of the world. But with this particular book, there’s no getting away from the connection between the Oval Office and the National Pastime. Of course, the subject has been […]
Tagged as: Nicholas Sarantakes, presidents and baseball, Richard M. Nixon
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January 13, 2020
Everything is trivial. Blanket statement, but ultimately true, if you want to get “in the whole universe…” philosophical about it. In the words of Trooper… We’re here for a good time Not a long time (not a long time) So have a good time… And for baseball fans, part of that good time is the […]
Tagged as: Jason Katzman, trivia
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December 17, 2019
Without further ado… http://www.ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Bookshelf-Conversation-Rob-Neyer-Part-Two.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Tagged as: Rob Neyer
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December 17, 2019
When I saw that Rob Neyer was coming out Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game back in 2018, a new book after many years of inactivity in that regard, I looked forward to absorbing it and finally getting a chance to sit down — virtually, at least — and talk with the man […]
Tagged as: Houston Astros, Oakland As, Rob Neyer
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December 3, 2019
Two subjects that have long fascinated me: baseball and advertising. I first encountered Roberta Newman several years back at one of those meetings that attracts baseball academics; I forget whether it was a Cooperstown Baseball Symposium or a SABR convention) where she delivered a paper on the connection between those topics. I still have a […]
Tagged as: Roberta Newman
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October 1, 2019
When last we spoke with Paul Dickson, it was about his excellent biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son. This time it’s not about a new book, per se, but an old one that got a second life. Dickson, who recently turned 80, has re-released The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced […]
Tagged as: baseball reference, Paul Dickson, scorekeeping
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September 9, 2019
Welcome back to a new “season” of Bookshelf Conversations. Now that the summer is over, I hope to be doing these on a regular basis. Leading off, we begin with Seth Kramer, “hyphenate” for the documentary, Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel, about the almost-Cinderella story that was the Israeli National Team in the 2017 […]
Tagged as: Heading Home, Israel National Team, Seth Kramer, World Basbeall Classic
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July 30, 2019
As many of you know, I was on a little hiatus during which time Jim Bouton passed away. There have been dozens of obituaries and accolades and I will not refer to them, save the few below; they’re easy enough to Google. But here’s my two cents. It was almost ten years ago when Bouton […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, Jim Bouton
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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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