Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Speaking about the topic some more, the Sabermetric Research blog posted these pieces about pitchers and hitters who, for whatever reason, missed out on having a baseball card printed. Now I’m not marketing expert, but I would have to imagine there would be some interest by hard-core collectors to have such players represented. As a […]
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Tom Zappala & Ellen Zappala, who previously released The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories, a wonderful coffee-table edition about the the Holy Grail of baseball card sets, have done it again with their forthcoming book, The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball’s Prized Players. The new book, scheduled for an August 1 release, follows the […]
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I’m sure I corresponded about this with Dave Jamieson after my recent purchase of a pack of 2013 cards and well before this NY Times story came out, but can’t seem to find a record in any of my e-mail accounts. Drives me nuts. Anyway, has anyone else notice that Topps changed its card-numbering system? […]
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It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Spent a very nice evening at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on May 9, chatting about the new book. An intimate group attended. My wife accompanied me there and commented on how knowledgeable they all seemed to be on the general topic and how impressive the conversation was. My […]
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Some people are nostalgic for the old days. Boomers might think the 1950s and 1960s were the best of times (despite social unrest, Jim Crow laws, fewer rights for women, worse health care, etc.). Their parents might think it was the simple more innocent time of the 30s and 40s. I know I long for […]
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Last week I wrote about the little factoids that appear on the back of baseball cards. Rob Neyer at baseball Nation picks up on that theme with this post focusing on the 2013 Bowman set.
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Long gone are the days when Topps would post tiny cartoons talking about a player’s unique skill, accomplishment or hobby. But fear not; as long as there are Jumbotrons, we’ll still be able to enjoy these gems.
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The best way to play catch-up is via a “Bits and Pieces” entry so here goes: James Bailey offers this appreciation for W.P. Kinsella’s The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. Rob Neyer, Grant Brisbee, and Murray Chass on Mike Piazza and his new book, Long Shot. Don’t know where this excellent Simpsons/Moneyball mashup came from, but Brisbee […]
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Value Over Replacement Grit offers a baseball-themed crossword puzzle. At the risk of appearing sexist, I must say this is the first time I’ve encountered a woman who collects baseball cards with such a passion as Cee Angi, who wrote this mournful “Requiem for the 00s: The Decline of Topps Baseball Cards,” in which she […]
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Came across this interesting item by Joe Posnanski on how the iconic baseball card company decides who gets the honors of the prime “real estate” of their annual output. At least that’s how it was in the 1976 set he bought on eBay. I haven’t bought sets in awhile; is that still the case? Also, […]
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With all due respect and this is a fascinating, if sad, story, but how else to explain this story about the murder of ex-Pittsburgh Pirate infielder Sammy Khalifa’s father and the psychic toll it took on the ballplayer over the years that starts on the first sports page then jumps to a full-page continuation? Rob […]
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501 update: Received the index back for a bit of very minor revising. Then it’s really done. Gratified by the very early interest by members of the media in doing reviews. Bruce Markusen over at The Hardball Times offers another in his series of “baseball card mysteries.” This time it’s Dave Nelson’s 1973 Topps. Speaking […]
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Looking at the video from the Dennis Leary, I am reminded that Kevin Youkilis didn’t always have his distinctive appearance. He was actually pretty nondescript for a time. This all poses a potential problem with his new team. Which reminded me of this classic bit from The Simpsons:
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Sorry, was basically out yesterday and unable to blog, but how about that, boys and girls? The Yankees pick up their first Jewish player since Ken Holtzman back in the 1970s. Youkilis signed that 1-year, $12 million deal to play for the Bronx franchise next year. Here’s wishing him good health and good luck. As […]
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* Gone but not forgotten: The Baseball Hall of Fame has some Montreal Expos memorabilia on display. * Not sure if the ship has sailed on this, but The Book: Playing The Percentages in Baseball is on a deep discount (I believe it’s 50 percent) “for a limited time.” * Bruce Markusen posted another entertaining […]
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BaseballCardInvestment.comt posted this piece on “Sandy Koufax Baseball Cards: A Short but Solid List.” I’m guessing it applies to at least a few of you out there.
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Good news! Plans for a new issue of the Jewish Major Leaguer baseball card set is on the planning board. According to Bob Ruxin, author of An Athlete’s Guide to Agents and former director of business operations for the Israel Baseball League, the target date is “Hanukka 2014 or Passover 2015 in keeping with the […]
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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
