Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Now that the season is over, it’s time to look ahead to see what reading material will carry us over to “pitchers and catchers.” As with previous lists like this, I have omitted anything that falls into the general category of “romance novels.” Also, no books about trivia or designed for younger readers. In last […]
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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 (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]
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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 (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]
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Davey Johnson, who led the 1986 Mets to a World Championship, died Sept. 5 at the age of 82. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Bruce Weber. Johnson, who also managed the , was a pretty good player, making a name for himself with the successful Baltimore Orioles of the mid-1960s to early […]
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Saddened to hear about the passing on Monday of Ryne Sandberg at the age of just 65. After making his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981, Sandberg spent the next 15 years with the Chicago Cubs, where he became a 10-time All-Star with nine Gold Gloves seven Silver Slugger Awards and the NL MVP […]
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Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner will become the newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame this Sunday. What else to they have in common? They all have books written by or about them. Dick Allen Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, by Dick Allen and Tim […]
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The Hall of Fame outfielder who spent most of his illustrious career with the Pittsburgh Pirates died on June 28 at the age of 74. Parker, who had been suffering from Parkinson’s for more than a decade, also spent time with the Reds, Athletics, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays during his 19 big league seasons. […]
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1964: Sandy Koufax tosses his third no-hitter. Koufax, by Koufax with Ed Linn (1966) 1968: Don Drysdale, Koufax’s long-time teammate, throws his sixth consecutive shutout, en route to 58 2/3 straight innings without allowing a run. Don Drysdale: Up and In: The Life of a Dodgers Legend, by Mark Whicker (2025) […]
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In 1982, Cal Ripken Jr. begins his streak of 2,632 consecutive games, a record that will never be broken. He went 0-2 with a walk in a 6-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Only Way I Know, by Ripken and Mike Bryan (1997) Play Baseball the Ripken Way: The Complete Illustrated Guide to […]
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On this date, in 1981, Ron Darling of Yale faced off against Frank Viola of St. John’s. Darling pitched 11 innings of no-hit ball, striking out 16, only to lose, 1-0, in the 12th. The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound, by Darling (2009) Game 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph […]
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Rickey Henderson becomes the third player — joining Ted Williams and Willie McCovey — to hit home runs in four decades. Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original, by Howard Bryant (2022) Off Base: Confessions of a Thief, by Henderson with John Shea (1992) Born this date: David Wells Perfect I’m […]
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Recently received a copy of On This Day in Baseball History: a Day-By-Day Account of Baseball’s Most Indelible Moments, by something called the “Baseball Time Machine.” This gave me an idea for some more content for the blog. (Years ago I used to do “Happy Birthday” entries for players with books by or about them. […]
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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.
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
