Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Conducted my semi-regular scan of new titles. Submitted for your interest. It may seem unfair, but I do tend to judge e-books by their cover, especially when they are offered only in that format. It’s an indication of the time and effort the author/publisher puts into the project. Similarly, I’m basing my opinions strictly on […]
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One of the good things about having a Kindle or Nook is the ability to read sample of a book before buying. Makes sense; if you were at a bookstore, you’d probably leaf through at least a few pages (although I once read an entire book over the course of a few lunch hours. That’s […]
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Maybe it’s just the sports new cycles, but it seems there was a lot of emphasis on how young many of this year’s All-Stars were, juxtaposed with Chipper Jones, who is probably making his last appearance in the summer classic. (Did anyone else think his locker room “pep talk” was uncomfortable and stagey?) It occurred […]
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This spring, Triumph released memoirs/bios about Oil Can Boyd and Willie Mays Aikens. All props to these guys for being members of the select fraternity of those who made it to the Majors. But they really “deserve” books about them? Boyd was 78-77 over a 10-year career while Aikens played eight seasons (done by 31) […]
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♦ Baseball Prospectus chose an odd assortment for this list of “10 Favorite Baseball Books”‘ which I suppose could be considered min-reviews. ♦ The Boston Globe published this review of They Call Me Oil Can: Baseball, Drugs, and Life on the Edge, by Oil Can Boyd with Mike Shalin. As regular readers of the Bookshelf […]
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My annual spring baseball book roundup appears on Bookreporter.com. Titles include: Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R.A. Dickey and Wayne Coffey Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back with the New York Mets, by Bud Harrelson and Phil Pepe Driving Mr. […]
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Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back with the New York Mets, by Bud Harrelson with Phil Pepe. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012. Harrelson’s new book is a bit a throwback. One could easily imagine reading this in the pre-Ball Four era. Other than a scant mention of disappointment for the […]
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♦ Bill Jordan at Baseball Reflections on Tim Wendel’s Summer of 68. ♦ Tom Hoffarth kicked off his annual “30 book in 30 days” feature yesterday with Baseball Prospectus 2012. Today’s book is Trading Manny: How a Father & Son Learned to Love Baseball Again, by Jim Gullo. (Here’s another review from The Oregonian.) ♦ Sticking […]
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One of the best players of his generation not to be elected to thew Hall of Fame, Allen turns 70 today. Allen published his autobio/mem — Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, written with Tim Whitaker. He was also the focal point for books about Philadelphia’s racial attitudes, as profiled by William Kashatus […]
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Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to three years “in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.” Dykstra published his memoir Nails: The Inside Story of an Amazin’ Season shortly after the Mets’ 1986 World Championship.
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As Dan Epstein over at Big Hair & Plastic Grass reminds us, “On this date in 1973, Yankee pitchers Fritz Peterson (front) and Mike Kekich (second from left) shock their team, baseball, and the country with the announcement that they’ve swapped families — their wives, children and pets are all included in the deal.” Seems […]
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Robinson was born this date in 1919, which means he would have been 93 today. Sadly, he passed away almost 40 years ago, way too young. It isn’t necessary to repeat all the sacrifices he made, all the doors he opened. One would hope everyone in this country — baseball fan or not — would […]
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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
Bits and pieces
August 30, 2012
Time for the occasional declutter of the accumulated links and stories, so here goes. “Dan Barry’s Bottom of the 33rd has won the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, which honors a nonfiction book on the subject of sports.” More here. From the Yogi Berra Museum: Former Yankee star second baseman Bobby Richardson, a cornerstone […]
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