Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Lest we forget: 1991 – Cool Papa Bell, Negro League outfielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1903) Cool Papa Bell (Baseball Hall of Famers of the Negro Leagues), by Shaun McCormack, Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. On this date: 1919 – Christy Mathewson, back from the World War I, rejoins the New York Giants as pitching coach […]
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James Bailey posted this one about Mike Piazza’s Long Shot. Upshot: “I was neutral on him when I began and emerged with a somewhat negative impression. That’s probably not what he was looking for. Your mileage will likely vary depending on how closely you followed his career.” Bill Jordan over at Baseball Reflections did this […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1919 – Monte Irvin, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Nice Guys Finish First: The Autobiography of Monte Irvin, by Irvin and James A. Riley, Carroll & Graf, 1996. 1929 – Syd Thrift, general manager (d. 2006) The Game According to Syd: The Theories and Teachings of Baseball’s Leading Innovator, by Thrift and […]
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Lest we forget: 1950 – Kiki Cuyler, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1898) Hazen “Kiki” Cuyler: A Baseball Biography, by Ronald Waldo, McFarland 2012. 2011 – Chuck Tanner, outfielder, manager (b. 1928) Chuck Tanner’s baseball playbook, by Tanner with Jim Enright, Rutledge/Mayflower Book, 1981 Also on this date: 1985 – Minnesota Twins first baseman […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1942 – Fritz Peterson, pitcher; All-Star Mickey Mantle Is Going To Heaven, by Peterson, Outskirts Press, 2009. The Art of De-Conditioning: Eating Your Way to Heaven, by Peterson, Light Side Books, 2012. Lest we forget: 1956 – Connie Mack, catcher, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1862) My 66 Years in the Big […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1895 – Babe Ruth, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1948) Previous Babe Ruth birthday entry. Lest we forget: 2007 – Lew Burdette, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1926) Lew Burdette of the Braves, by Gene Schoor, Putnam, 1960. Also on this date: 1934: New York sportswriter and broadcaster Ford Frick is named the […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1934 – Hank Aaron, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Previous Aaron birthday entry. 1946 – Norm Miller, outfielder To All My Fans From Norm Who?, by Miller, Double Play Productions, 2009. 1968 – Roberto Alomar, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar (Latinos in Baseball), by Norman Macht, Mitchell Lane Publishers, 1998. […]
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Literary birthday greetings: Poor Feb. 1. It has a tough act act to follow with Jan. 31, which celebrates the arrival of such legends Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan, who, between the three of them, have been the subjects of scores of books. Turns out there are no players who were born on […]
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A new feature whereby I account for things pertaining to a general theme of “Today in Baseball Books.” (Source: www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/January_30) Literary birthday greetings: Davey Johnson, infielder, manager; All-Star (1943) Bats, by Davey Johnson and Peter Golenbock, Putnam, 1986. Also on this date: 1936 – The new owners of the Boston Braves conduct a survey of […]
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Supposedly former sportswriter and baseball commissioner Ford Frick was the one to bestow on Stan Musial the honor, “baseball’s perfect knight.” But as we all know, nobody’s perfect. That’s why I wonder about the purpose of this piece by Luke Epplin in The Atlantic that seeks to drive home the point. In particular, Epplin (who […]
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The news cycle being what it is, this will probably be a moot point by the time you many of you read this, but the opening page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website is full of stories, videos, and photos of Stan Musial, who passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s the New […]
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The Golden Globes doesn’t have a category for books, but if it did I bet Paul Dickson’s Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick would be in contention. As it is, Dickson’s bio was named winner of the 2nd annual SLA (Special Libraries Association) Baseball Caucus Readers’ Choice Award.
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Several months ago I posted this about 42, the forthcoming biopic about Jackie Robinson. As we get closer to the scheduled April 12 release date expect to see more stories, like this one from SB Nation’s Beyond the Box Score and this from Baseball Musings. In the trailer, we see Christopher Meloni doing a pretty […]
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The author of one of the most controversial baseball biographies died yesterday at the age of 62. Cramer published Joe DiMaggio : The Hero’s Life in 2000. Many fans of the Yankee Clipper were outraged as the author painted the legend in an unusually unflattering light. DiMaggio was cheap, ungracious, a womanizer (sometimes bordering on […]
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The Japanese import known — perhaps politically incorrectly — as “Godzilla,” announced his retirement at the age 38. Matsui spent most of his career with the New York Yankees. I’m guessing he’s had at least one book written about him based on his career in Japan. At least two titles were released in the U.S., […]
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Spitball Magazine announced the finalists for the publications annual CASEY award for best baseball book of the year. The titles include: Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan, by Robert K. Fitts Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick, by Paul Dickson Connie Mack: The Turbulent and Triumphant Years, 1915-1931, by […]
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Tonight’s World Series game will honor America’s veterans. The New York Times ran this piece about Lou Brissie, who managed to have a brief Major League career despite being grievously injured in world war II. He was the subject of the 2009 biography The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie, by former […]
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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
