Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The Mattoon, IL Journal Gazette/Times-Courier ran this review of Ira Berkow’s bio of Lou Brissie, who came back from devastating war injuries to pitch effectively in the Major Leagues.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Saturday, January 16. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook) 3 Moneyball: The Art of Winning […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The pioneering African-American writer/broadcaster was a favorite around our household in the days of a kinder, gentler sports-talk radio format. Rust, who also appeared on WNBC-TV news programs, died Jan. 12 at the age of 82. From the New York Times‘ obituary by Richard Goldstein: In his 1976 book “Get That Nigger Off the Field!,” […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Several major outlets, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are running major announcements that Mark McGwire admits having used steroids “on occasion throughout the 1990’s,” including his record-breaking 1998 season. Surprisingly, the Post-Dispatch is using the Associated Press story rather than their own reporters. But it is […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com on Friday, January 8. HAPPY LATE YEAR! Title Rank General 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 1 Baseball Prospectus 2010 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 3 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
“The Hawk” was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame today. Now get gets to add that to his autograph. Dawson released an autobio in 1994 (with Tom Bird) that was published by Zondervan, a religious house, ostensibly for kids. Look for a new title soon. From the Hall of Fame press release (with […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Possibly the last pitcher to win 300 games, Johnson announced his retirement yesterday. He’s been the subject of several books, but most seem to be for kids or where he’s been included in numerous release about baseball’s greatest players or for his no-hitters. Perhaps that will change now. Say what you will about the Bug […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com on Friday, January 1. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Title Rank General The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The poster-boy for Jewish sports of the boomer generation turns — wait for it — 74 today! Hard to believe he’s been away from the game for more than 40 years, but his legacy goes on. Even today, parents invoke the Hall of Fame pitcher: “If Sandy Koufax could miss the World Series for Yom […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Sorry, almost done with this catching up business, so bear with me. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s my take on the November session of Yankees Fantasy Camp in the Dec, 17 issue of the New Jersey Jewish News. In addition, My teammate Ira Jaskoll wrote this piece for the Jewish Magazine […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
One more legend I missed an opportunity to interview. Rodney, who died at the age of 98, was the sports editor of the communist newspaper, The Daily Worker. He was also a champion in the battle to have Major League Baseball admit African Americans to its ranks. So in a sense, he was probably doubly […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Including: ◊ Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America’s Pastime, by Mark Frost. Unabridged (13:56), narrated by Andrew Garman. Hear a sample: ◊ Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk about How the Game Is Played , by Bob Gibson, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, December 11. Title Rank General The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci (448) 1 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, by Joe Posnanski (649) 2 Sixty […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, December 4. Title Rank General Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress (565) 1 The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci (731) 2 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Their official spring-summer 2010 catalog isn’t online yet, but Bloomsbury is printing one new title and a 2009 title with a new afterword. The new title is Charlie Finley: The Life of Baseball’s Super Showman, a joint effort by G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius, slated for a July release. From the catalog: Before […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Congratulations to Larry Tye. His biography on Satchel Paige won a spot on The New York Times list of the year’s “notable books.” It’s the only baseball title on this exclusive roster, though not the only sports book. Tye’s critically-acclaimed offering is joined by Andre Agassi’s Open.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I usually don’t include news about kids’ books, but for Sandy Koufax, I’ll make an exception. I did a piece on author Jonah Winter for the NJ Jewish News.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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
* The Mark McGwire reader
January 13, 2010 · 2 comments
I don’t know what else there is to say about McGwire. Some, like Joe Posnanski (twice) and my literary hero, Tony Kornheiser, are more forgiving. Mr. Tony spoke about the “confessions of Mark McGwire” on both Pardon the Interruption and his eponymous radio program on ESPN 980 in DC. Others, like Ken Rosenthal, are much […]
Tagged as: Magazines, Mark McGwire, PED, Sportswriters, steroids, televsion
{ Comments on this entry are closed }