Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Sports Collectors Digest ran a nice profile on the “father of the modern baseball card,” who recently turned 91. A few years ago, Topps, seeking to nudge their way into relevance again, produced a number of videos about their work. Here’s one on Berger: Speaking of collectibles, the Miami Marlins have a Bobblehead Museum at […]
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I am signed up for a bunch of daily Google alerts which inform me about various sports topics, including baseball stuff and Jewish-related items for my other blog. Sometimes I even read them. After the death last week of baseball lifer Don Zimmer, I received a GA for a story appearing on the very serious-yet-entertaining […]
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From the Associated Press: Advanced Stats Find Way Onto Baseball Cards The advanced-stats movement is making headway in another area: baseball cards. Topps added WAR (wins above replacement) to its cards last year in a sign that the oft-debated metric is becoming more accepted by the mainstream. As a company that’s been making baseball cards […]
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(As opposed to this; you can stop watching at about the one minute mark.) What else can you say about the new set of Jewish Major Leaguers cards? The updated edition, the first since the 2010 “Deck of the Decade,” features all-new photography for the players who appeared during the 2010-13 seasons (including a clean-shaven […]
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Sure, we all know how rare the Honus Wagner and Mickey Mantle rookie cards are. And how valuable if they’re in pristine condition. How many times have we denied ourselves the pleasure of just handling the cardboard, worried about bending the corners or leaving finger prints? Back in the seventh grade, I did a project […]
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When I was a kid, I looked forward with great anticipation to the release of the new set of Topps baseball cards. Now… From JewishMajorLeaguers.org: Order Now to assure delivery in time for Passover and Opening Day. We thought we were done in 2010, but you’ve asked us to keep this tradition going! This 50-card […]
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Brought to you by the folks at Mental Floss, the magazine that gave me my first national exposure and cover story (right). Have these World Series matchups ever happened? (Not to brag but I aced it.) The Baseball Card Brand Quiz (a lot tougher; ugh, I only scored 64%, which was slightly higher than the […]
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The Cardboard Connection ran this story about Teddy Kremer, a 30-year-old with Down syndrome, whose love for the Cincinnati Reds is apparently as big as his heart. Kremer had the opportunity to serve as honorary bat boy for the Reds, was asked to return, and had a hand in this special moment for Todd Frazier […]
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Actually, I found this on the top shelf of the linen closest but the principle is the same. This comes from the era when Trivial Pursuit was a big hit: Typical card: (Note the typo in the last question. See? It’s not just me.) Reminds me of a fold-out I recently tossed out (believe it […]
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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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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 blog 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
That reminds me of a story…
August 29, 2013
Josh Levin of Slate’s Hang Up and Listen podcast posted this educational piece on “The Worst Baseball Card of All Time.” Spoiler alert: It’s Bob Hamlin in the 1996 Pinnacle Foil set (card no. 289). Levin’s essay makes some very good arguments and offers a mini-history lesson on the industry, full of links to examples […]
Tagged as: Baseball Cards, Josh Levin
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