From the category archives:

Biography

Books about the business and businesspeople of baseball are becoming more available these days; I devote a whole chapter on the topic in 501 Baseball Books. I think fans tend to forget that the people who run baseball aren’t born to the position. Just like everybody, they grow into the job, based on years of […]

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NEW STUFF: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So… […]

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Busy, busy, busy

April 7, 2015

I miss you guys. It’s just been so darned busy around here lately that I haven’t had time to write. The final edits of my new book are due on Friday. I also have to work on a two-minute pitch for the Jewish Book Council which will hopefully generate interest for author appearances at JCCs, […]

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Happy (?) Anniversary

April 1, 2015

Author John Rosengren sent this out to the members of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. I’m guessing he’d have no problem of me presenting it to you loyal readers as well. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the infamous brawl between Juan Marichal and John Roseboro.  You no doubt have seen the […]

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Veteran sports journalist Phil Pepe wants you to know his newest book is not a memoir. His philosophy is that most people don’t care about the writer, how he got his job, the day-to-day doings of the craft. I disagree, but that’s just me. Pepe, who recently turned 80, has been covering baseball since the […]

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Author appearances: Just in time for the May 21 opening of the St. Paul Saints’ CHS Field, Stew Thornley is launching his new book, The St. Paul Saints: Baseball in the Capital City, at 7 p.m. April 1 at SubText bookstore, at Selby and Western avenues in St. Paul. He will also talk about his […]

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Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as […]

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Submitted for your interest from another semi-regular scan of new titles. 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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There are a handful of publishing houses that are known for their baseball titles. A few that come to mind immediately are Triumph, University of Nebraska Press, and McFarland. But none of these are exclusively engaged in baseball. Summer Game Books, a New Jersey enterprise founded by Walter Friedman, is such an outfit. In addition […]

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Bits and pieces, March 16

March 16, 2015

Curt Smith, author of several fine volumes about baseball broadcasters and broadcasting, offers this nostalgic essay on “Spring training: Baseball’s Brigadoon” in the Irondequoit Post. Publishers Weekly published their annual list of new baseball topics. Unfortunately, it’s only available to subscribers. I’ll see if I can find an end-around at some point. “Spring inevitably means […]

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Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as […]

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Were’ getting to the point where the new baseball titles — at least the ones not dedicated to the fantasy side — will be coming out hot and heavy. Given the state of print journalism, I wonder how much space will be devoted to individual reviews. I think we’ll see items like this from the […]

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Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as […]

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Really looking forward to this. I just hope Harvey doesn’t turn into one of those prospects who shows great promise, only to be done in by the fickle finger of fate.

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Among the speakers at the Bergino: Thursday, March 5: Mort Zachter, Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life Thursday, March 12: Martha Jo Black, Joe Black: More than a Dodger Thursday, March 26: Matt Nadel, Amazing Aaron to Zero Zippers

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Mickey Mantle. Sandy Koufax. Two heroic symbols of the Boomer generation. Two flawed figures, one of his own accord, one of poor luck. Jane Leavy has turned both of their stories into best-selling biograophies. So what does she do for an encore? Why not another icon, who wrestled with his own demons, although it didn’t […]

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Lest we forget: Alison Gordon

February 13, 2015

One of the first women reports to make it into a mens’ locker room, Alison Gordon passed away yesterday at the age of 72. Gordon, who covered the Blue Jays for the Toronto Star, wrote about her experiences in her 19085 memoir, Foul ball!: Five Years in the American League, which is include in 501 Baseball […]

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Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books as […]

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Derek Jeter: Excellence and Elegance, compiled and edited by Tyler Kepner. Triumph, 2014. Jeter Unfiltered, by Derek Jeter with photographs by Christopher Anderson. Gallery Books, 2015. How do you tell the story of one of the most iconic players of his generation in a few hundred pages? As the Yankees’ future Hall of Fame shortstop […]

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by Martha Jo Black and Chuck Schoffner. Academy Chicago, 2015. Rather than the blustery “best” or “greatest” that book titles seem to relish, this new biography of what basically amounted to a one-year wonder, is most appropriate. Joe Black, who burst on the scene in 1952 by winning 15 games and saving 15 more to […]

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