Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Like Bob Uecker, Garagiola was a so-so catcher who made more of a name for himself in retirement. He served as a co-host for The Today Show from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1990 to 1992. He also hosted several game shows, as well as working as an announcer for NBC Game of the […]
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The Wali of Wallop, the Rajah of Rap, the Caliph of Clout, the Wazir of Wham, the Colossus of Clout, Maharajah of Mash, the Behemoth of Bust, the King of Crash, the Colossus Of Clout, the King Of Swing, the Terrible Titan, the Kid of Crash, the Jovial Giant and, of course, the home run […]
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The long-time Yankee pitcher (with a brief diversion through Houston), will announce his retirement today. Pettitte was one of the Mt. Rushmore of Yankees who came up through the minor league system and brought a new dynasty in the mid 1990s, including Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. Pettitte had that one PED bump […]
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Schoendeinst, that is. Another one of those baseball lifers, he turns 88 today. The Man Who Fought Back: Red Schoendienst was published in 1962, three years after he recovered from tuberculosis. Almost 40 years later, he released Red: A Baseball Life. Schoendienst, who managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1965-76 (back-to-back pennants in 1967-68 and […]
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I haven’t done the research, but I would venture to guess Jan. 31 has the record for most Hall of Famers born: Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan. Robinson would have been 92 today. As befits his stature in American as well as baseball history, there are dozens of books written about him, for […]
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The man who led the Mets to the 1986 World Championship in 1986 turns 68 today. Just curious: how come no one raised much of a fuss when he hit 43 home runs in 1973 for the Atlanta Braves? He previous high had been 18 and he never hit more than 15 after that record-setting […]
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I was just looking his numbers. He broke in with the NY Giants in 1956, hitting 23 doubles, seven triples and 22 home runs in 138 games. He drove in 59 runs, batting mostly in the , and stole 15 bases. Impressive. Too bad he was a rookie in the same Year as Frank Robinson, […]
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As I mentioned in a previous entry, look for new bios about Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven to come out before the inductions (I wouldn’t be surprised if manuscripts are in prep already). I was wondering: out of all the personnel — players, executives, managers, etc. — enshrined to the Hall of Fame, how many […]
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It’s not Kevin Youkilis, but Bob Uecker, who turns 76 today. I guess it’s a catcher-thing. Perhaps sitting behind the plate, with the whole field out in front of you, you have the perspective for contemplation. That’s why guys like Uecker, Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra (albeit perhaps unwittingly) have such sense of humor. All […]
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By the way, it’s still winter so why aren’t we hearing snow-themed songs anymore? “Winter Wonderland” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” among others, are not “holiday” songs, per se, so they’d still be valid. Just sayin’. Thought I saw my first “annual” at the bookstore last week, but it was a fantasy publication, so it […]
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to Ozzie Guillen, who turns 47 today. I know. I found it surprising that there are two books by/about him: The Wit And Wisdom of Ozzie Guillen and A Passion for the Game: Ozzie Guillen’s Insights, Outbursts, Kudos, and Comebacks.
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“The Great Emancipator” would have been 72 today. Flood published his story — The Way It Is — in 1971, the year he retired from the game. Since then, several books about Flood’s role in creating the free agent dream (or nightmare, depending on your point of view), have been released with lesser or greater […]
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Sharing the special day is one current and one future Hall of Famer. Dizzy Dean was born on this date in 1910. The star hurler was the smiling face of baseball during the Depression, know for his folksy Arkansas sayings that are the staple of quotations about the game. The current Redbird is Albert Pujols, […]
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Haven’t done one of these in awhile, so here goes. MLB.com posted this story about Andrew Zimablist, who published Circling the Bases: Essays on the Challenges and Prospects of the Sports Industry last October. WithLeather blogs about Jose Canseco’s upcoming (and unpromising?) appearance on he new season of Celebrity Apprentice. Speaking of television, will baseball […]
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to forget to post about Hank Greenberg‘s 100th birthday, which would have been Jan. 1. Andy Wolf posted this tribute on Dec. 30. Mark Kurlansky, author of The Eastern Stars, is about to release anew biography — Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to be One — from Yale University Press in March. Previous […]
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Hall of Famer Early Wynn was born this date in 1920. He hung around for 23 Years, missing the whole 1945 season for military service. I was under the impression that he retired right after he won his coveted 300th game, but I was in error. He actually appeared in another15 games after his July […]
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When I was a kid, I loved to find players with my name (Ron Hunt got extra points because he was a Met). It gave me some sort of coolness by association, I thought. So happy birthday to Ron Kittle, who turns 52 today. He lent his name to Ron Kittle’s Tales from the White […]
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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
