Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Thanks to Greg Spira for this list of links to reviews of Jane Leavy’s latest: The Cleveland Plain Dealer The Oregonian Dallas Morning News Christian Science Monitor (author interview) Ottawa Citizen CBS News (feature with excerpt) Los Angeles Times SecondAct.com (feature) Here’s another from the Watching the Game blog, which is quickly becoming one of […]
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Johnny Vander Meer, owner of one record that is unlikely to be broken, was born this date in 1914. The Dutch Master, The Life And Times Of Johnny Vander Meer, by Paul Lichtman Also born on Nov. 2, Al Campanis, the Dodgers’ baseball lifer who made an infamous name for himself with his remarks about […]
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Fernando Valenzuela hits the big Five-Oh today. As a rookie in the strike-shortened 1981 season he won the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans everywhere — as well as the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award — and years later got a shout-out from Annie savoy in Bull Durham. The impetus behind “Fernandomania” […]
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Mickey Rivers turns 62 today. Rivers was one of the ex-Yankees down in Florida last year when I attended Fantasy Camp. He wasn’t one of my coaches, so I didn’t have too much interaction with him. But one indelible memory: After the games one day, the campers and staff gathered in the plush snack bar […]
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Marking the occasion: Ed Delahanty and Bill Terry. Born in 1867, Delahanty was one of the games first superstars, plying his trade for the primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980s. In his 16 year career, he batted .346 with 101 home runs and 1,466 RBIs. He met his fate under odd circumstances that […]
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The Hall of Fame slugger and host of the popular Mets post-game show bearing his name, turns 88 today. Kiner is one of those former players employed as a broadcaster to compare contemporary players to those of their (back in the) day. Like many of his fellow announcers, Kiner was known to mangle a few […]
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Mike Hargrove turns 61 today. “The Human Rain Delay” spent most of his 12-season career with the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians. After he retired as a player, Hargrove managed the Indians for nine seasons, getting them to two World Series (1995, 1997). he also had the helm of the Orioles (2000-03) and Mariners (2005-07), […]
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Pedro Martinez turns 39 today. Hard to believe he couldn’t find somebody to take a chance on him in 2010. He was the subject for numerous children’s books in both English and Spanish, as well as Pedro, Carlos, and Omar: The Story of a Season in the Big Apple and the Pursuit of Baseball’s Top […]
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A busy today today with one Hall of Famer and perhaps a future inductee? Ichiro Suzuki turns 37 today. The first position player from japan to make a big splash, it’s understandable Suzuki is naturally the subject of several books, both on his baseball prowess and the cultural significance of his achievements. Ichiro on Ichiro: […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael […]
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The other “Chairman of the Board” turns 82 today, a day after the birthday of his Yankee friend and teammate, Mickey Mantle. In his last two seasons with the Yankees, Ford — inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974 — had a record of 4-9. Subtract that from his career totals and he would […]
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Several high-profile ballplayers share Oct. 20 as a birthday. Tops on the list: Mickey Mantle. There are dozens of books about The Mick. Many of the more recent ones examines his flaws as a person well as his strengths as an athlete, including Jane Leavy’s just-published The Last Boy. Since this book — and by […]
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To Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, born this date in 1876. The Hall of Famer pitched mostly for the Chicago Cubs the last time they were good, compiling a record of 239-130, 2.06 in 14 seasons. He won 20 or more games for six consecutive seasons. And he didn’t even ame his big league debut until […]
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Many thanks to Greg Spira for these outlets that ran reviews of Jane Leavy’s new biography, The Last Boy: From Keith Olberman in the Sunday NY Times Book Review section. Upshot: “Leavy comes as close as perhaps anyone ever has to answering “What makes Mantle Mantle?” She transcends the familiarity of the subject, cuts through […]
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The veteran Tigers’ strongman, Horton turns 68 today. Horton played most of his 18-year career in Detroit, leading them to the 1968 World Championship with 36 home runs and 86 RBIs. He finished with 325 homers, 1,163 ribbies, and a .273 batting average and was one of the most feared batters at the time. Grant […]
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Art Shamsky, a favorite of Jewish baseball fans everywhere, turns 69 today. I ran into Shamsky last Sunday at the memorial service for Maury Allen. Still looking good and hoping for a resurrection of professional baseball in Israel; he was manager of the Modi’in Miracle in 2007, the only season for the Israel Baseball League. […]
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This day marks the birth of Rube Waddell (1876), a Hall-of-Fame hurler from the early part of the 20th century. Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist, by Alan Howard Levy Just a Big Kid: The Life and Times of Rube Waddell, by Paul Proia Another member of the Hall, slugger Eddie […]
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The NY Daily News begins a series of excerpts from Jane Leavy’s new book: “Mickey Mantle finally opens up about childhood sexual abuse” Richard Sandomir of The New York Times offers this piece. Expect a full-blown review in Sunday’s Book Review Section. James Bailey wrote this review for Baseball America. Upshot: “Mission accomplished, and powerfully […]
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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
