From the category archives:

Biography

1964: Sandy Koufax tosses his third no-hitter. Koufax, by Koufax with Ed Linn (1966) 1968: Don Drysdale, Koufax’s long-time teammate, throws his sixth consecutive shutout, en route to 58 2/3 straight innings without allowing a run. Don Drysdale: Up and In: The Life of a Dodgers Legend, by Mark Whicker (2025)         […]

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A couple of days ago was the anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. beginning his iron man streak. Today it’s Lou Gehrig, who played the first of 2,130 straight in 1925 when he flied out as a pinch-hitter against Walter Johnson in a 5-3 loss to the Washington Senators. Lou Gehrig, Pride of the Yankees, by […]

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A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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Remembering Moe Berg

May 29, 2025

See below for an update. A post on Facebook reminded me that Moe Berg, one of the most interesting characters to ever don spikes, died on this date in 1972.   The number of languages Berg could speak varied. Casey Stengel once supposedly, “He can speak seven languages but can’t hit in any of ’em.” […]

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In 2017, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Hall of Fame’s summer Author Series following the publication of Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War. I always love visiting Cooperstown. Many years ago, my wife — a veterinarian — had an interview with a practice up there. How […]

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A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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Rickey Henderson becomes the third player — joining Ted Williams and Willie McCovey — to hit home runs in four decades. Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original, by Howard Bryant (2022) Off Base: Confessions of a Thief, by Henderson with John Shea (1992)     Born this date: David Wells Perfect I’m […]

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Recently received a copy of On This Day in Baseball History: a Day-By-Day Account of Baseball’s Most Indelible Moments, by something called the “Baseball Time Machine.” This gave me an idea for some more content for the blog. (Years ago I used to do “Happy Birthday” entries for players with books by or about them. […]

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Posting a bit earlier than usual today because we’re heading “down the shore” for a 5K run for organ donor awareness, sponsored by the New Jersey Sharing Network. My wife received a kidney from a friend in her book group, so we do this every year. If you feel like donating to this very worthy […]

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Recently received a copy of On This Day in Baseball History: a Day-By-Day Account of Baseball’s Most Indelible Moments, by something called the “Baseball Time Machine.” This gave me an idea for some more content for the blog. (Years ago I used to do “Happy Birthday” entries for players with books by or about them. […]

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Recently received a copy of On This Day in Baseball History: a Day-By-Day Account of Baseball’s Most Indelible Moments, by something called the “Baseball Time Machine.” This gave me an idea for some more content for the blog. (Years ago I used to do “Happy Birthday” entries for players with books by or about them. […]

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A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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♦   Congratulations to Larry Gerlach, winner of this year’s Seymour Medal for Lion of the League: Bob Emslie and the Evolution of the Baseball Umpire. The Seymour medal is awarded by the Society for American Baseball Research for the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. Gerlach is also […]

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A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes (see my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks“). In addition, occasionally […]

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