Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
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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To Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, who was born this date in 1906. Cronin was one of those baseball lifers who excelled as a player and then went on to have a lengthy career as a manager and front office executive. Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball, by Mark Armour From Sandlots to League President: […]
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Happy birthday, Joe. Can’t believe you’re 70 today. The title of his book — Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud, written with Berry Stainback and published in 1975 — was perfect. He was pretty good — a three time All-Star and Golve Glove winner — but had the bad timing to be on the Yankees […]
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From NorthernNJ.com, this story about author Kal Wagenheim and the re-release of his 1970s biography, Clemente!
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 8. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis 2 Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams, […]
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Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, wrote this profile of Texas Rangers president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan in this Oct. 3 Sunday Times Magazine. I like Ryan. He’s old school. None of the pitch-count BS. […]
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Can’t believe the season is almost over. The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1. Title Rank General Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams, by John Updike 1 The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 2 Moneyball: […]
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To Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who turns 65 today. Carew, by Carew with Ira Berkow Rod Carew’s Art and Science of Hitting Also marking the occasion, Mark McGwire, who perhaps could have been a Hall of Famer, turns 47. There were two “waves” of books about Big Mac. The first came in 1998 when […]
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To beloved Brooklyn Dodger Johnny Podres, born this date in 1932. Johnny Podres: Brooklyn’s Yankee Killer And to Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, born in 1926. Roberts, one of the last great complete game practitioners, died just this past May. He penned, My Life in Baseball,with the help of C. Paul Rogers III, in 2003.
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Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka turns 30. Dice-K: The First Season of the Red Sox $100 Million Man Former Yankee favorite Bernie Williams is 42. The Journey Within (since you can put a CD on your bookshelf.)
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To two Hall of Famers. Bill Mazeroski, whose home run in the 1960 World Series remains one of the game’s most dramatic moments, turns 74. Twin Killing: The Bill Mazeroski Story, by John T. Bird Napolean Lajoie, born this date in 1874. He published Napoleon Lajoie’s Official Base Ball Guide in 1906. Surprisingly, there seems […]
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Playing a little catch-up here: Aug. 30 Hideo Nomo, 42: Nomo: The Tornado Who Took America by Storm, by Edmon Rodman Frank Robinson, 75: Robinson has published a couple of his own titles, including My Life Is Baseball (1975), Frank: The First Year (1976), and Extra Innings (1988). Other titles about Robinson include Russ Schneider’s […]
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Several “ballplayers with books” mark a birthday today including: Ron Guidry, 60. He published Guidry, his autobio with Peter Golenbock in 1985 and was the subject of Maury Allen’s kids book, Ron Guidry, Louisiana Lightning in 1979. And the recently-retired Lou Pinella, 67, Gudry’s Yankee teammate, has a couple of books himself, including Sweet Lou: Lou […]
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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
A matter of interpretation: Publishers’ publicity departments praising their authors
October 8, 2010 · 2 comments
So yesterday I wrote about Jane Leavy’s new book on Mickey Mantle, published by Harper Collins, which got the “excerpt treatment” from Sports Illustrated. Since I have yet to get my copy, I started looking around to see if there were other excerpts available. I eventually found my way to Leavy’s page on the Harper […]
Tagged as: Allan Barra, Jane Leavy, Mickey Mantle
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