Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
“The Kid” is not doing so well these days. The NY Times‘ Richard Sandomir wrote about Carter’s condition a couple of days ago, focusing on Carter’s daughter, Kimmy Bloemers, and her efforts to keep fans up-to-date through a blog, which appears to be invitation only to view. The article refers to this 7-Up commercial, which […]
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Small wonder in that they had to do with Jackie Robinson. Robinson’s teammate, Don Newcombe, recalled ameeting between the two iconic figures for a piece in Time Magazine in 2007: Do you know what Jackie’s impact was? Well, let Martin Luther King tell you. In 1968, Martin had dinner in my house with my family. […]
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I found the headline of this article — “Will Expanded Replay Lead to More Women Umpires?” — most intriguing. Aside from the deeper question about the opportunities (or lack thereof) for “women in blue,” as discussed in this article on the Baseball Reflections blog, I have yet to hear why the adoption of technology should […]
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They were associated with other teams as well, but their primary fame came with St. Louis. Bob Gibson turns turns 76(!), while The White Rat, aka Whitey Herzog, is 80. Both are enshrined in Cooperstown. Well done, gentlemen. Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame […]
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by Jimmy Piersall with Al Hirshberg. Atlantic Monthly Press/Little, Brown and Company, 1955. Jimmy Piersall was a two-time All-Star who sent 17 seasons in the Majors…and one summer in a mental institution. That’s the crux of this underrated autobiography from the mid-50s, well ahead of its time in discussing the issue of mental illness. Piersall’s […]
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Lasorda, the “Dodgerest” of them all, turns 84 today. I Live for This: Baseball’s Last True Believer The Artful Dodger Dierker, All-Star pitcher and later manager for the Houston Astros, turns 65. This Ain’t Brain Surgery: How to Win the Pennant Without Losing Your Mind My Team: Choosing My Dream Team from My Forty Years […]
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Hearn, who played for the Mets and Royals in a career that lasted just three years to do health issues, turns 52 today. He published Conquering Life’s Curves: Baseball, Battles & Beyond, about his battle with kidney disease, in 1997. Also marking the date is Ron Blomberg, 63. I’ve written about him frequently over at […]
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As I continue to do research for my own project, I get a kick when I find some old material that confirms I’m on the right track with some of my selections. Hey, it’s nice to find validation rom time to time, right? So today’s blast from the past is this brief appearance by the […]
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Werber, who died in 2009 at the age of 100, was the last link to the 1927 NY Yankees, having spent a week on their bench while a freshman attending Duke. He played for five teams over 11 seasons, leading the Al in runs once and stolen bases three times. The Society for American Baseball […]
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Clyde King was born this date in 1924. He published A King’s Legacy: The Clyde King Story in 1999, which isn’t bad considering his playing career lasted just seven seasons and five as a manager (but only one full season). Also born this date, Hall of Famer Zack Wheat (1888). I don’t understand how there’s […]
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The Hall of Famers were born this date. Brooks Robinson turns 74, while Reggie Jackson turns 65. Books on Robinson include Third Base is My Home, by Robinson, 1974 Putting it all together,by Robinson, 1971 The Brooks Robinson Story, by Zanger, 1967 Books on Jackson include Reggie Jackson: The Life and Thunderous Career of Baseball’s […]
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Billy Martin, the feisty ballplayer and feistier manager, was born this date in 1928. Martin was hired and fired so often by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, it became something of a pop culture phenomenon. I’m pretty sure the original of this Miller Lite commercial has Steinbrenner saying, “You’re fired.” Sounds (and looks) like a dub […]
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The Yankee legend turns 86 today. You can’t have a baseball book about the Yankees post-war dynasty without Berra, who happens to be a nominal neighbor of mine in that we live in the same New Jersey town. One of his books is titled The Yogi Book: “I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said. “ […]
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I have a special affinity for players who remain with one team for their career: Carl Yazstremski, Cal Ripken, Jr., Mantle, Feller, Musial, etc. Free agency has rendered such a feat exceedingly rare. (Several years ago, The New York Times produced a pretty item featuring a a dozen or so contemporary players; the date isn’t […]
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Pitcher Virgil “Fire” Trucks turns 94 today. Throwing Heat: The Life and Times of Virgil “Fire” Trucks, by Trucks, with Joyner and Bozman, 2004 Also born this date: Sal Maglie in 1917. He earned his nickname because a) he always looked like he was in need of one; and b) hie licked giving batters close […]
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Gil Hodges was born this date in 1924. While compiling my list of books about Hall of Famers, I couldn’t help but ask why some of these guys were in while someone like Hodges was out. Praying for Gil Hodges: A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family’s Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, […]
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Intro: As previously stated, the recent election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven got me to thinking: how many Hall of Famers have had books written about them or penned their own stories. Here are the results. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list; almost all juvenile titles have been omitted. * * * Rube […]
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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
