Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The North County Times of California published this review/profile on the new autobiography of Jerry Coleman. Ted Williams got the major press for serving in both WWII and the Korean War, but Coleman, the second baseman for the New York Yankees during their post-war juggernaut run, was right there, too. After his playing career, he […]
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“Knucksie” turns 69 today. The Hall of Famer defied time by pitching until he was 48, amassing a record of 311-274 while playing for some pretty bad teams. One stat I found particularly “enjoyable”: In 1979 Niekro won 21, lost 21, started 44 games, completed 23 (more than entire leagues these days), threw 311 innings, […]
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The submariner journeyman pitcher turns 58 today. Leach was another of those players who came to the Majors relatively late (27). He had one great year, going 11-1 for the Mets in 1987, including a 10-innning, 1-0 shutout, but received relatively littl fanfare. Leach wrote about his experiences, including his sense of betrayal by “the […]
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One of the true gentlemen of the game turns 89 today. When it comes to recognition, Irvin always seemed to play second second fiddle behind Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, and Willie Mays, among others. He played only eight season, arriving with the New York Giants in 1949 at the age of 30. But he never […]
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Davey Johnson, who led the Mets to their last World Championship, turned 65 yesterday, Jan. 30. In the aftermath of the ’86 series, Johnson, who set a record for most home runs by a second baseman with 43 in 1973 (and since he had never hit more than 18 before or 15 afterwards, where were […]
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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
