Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
“Godzilla” turns 34 today. The Amazon Report on Hideki Matsui: Godzilla Takes the Bronx: The Inside Story of Hideki Matsui Hideki Matsui: Sportsmanship, Modesty, and the Art of the Home Run It’s kind of interesting just reading the titles and how the book by the Asian author carries over the Japanese philosophy surrounding the game, […]
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Because I actually have a few harmonicas on my bookshelf… Linz, a mediocre infielder in the 1960s, was a member of the 1964 Yankees and got into an altercation with his manager, Yogi Berra (thanks to some instigation by Mickey Mantle), for playing a harmonica on the team bus after a tough loss. The to-do […]
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The superstar for the Reds and several other teams turns 46 today. Davis, who played for published his autobiography after battling back from colon cancer (like his friend Darryl Strawberry), seemed destined for greatness, having some terrific years with Cincinnati. His injury during the World Series against the Oakland A’s in 1990 made headlines not […]
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If they ever made a movie about my life, I’d want to be played by a post-WW II era Jimmy Stewart. He exudes a sense of humor but at the same times plays dark very well. Stewart played Chicago White Sox pitcher Monty Stratton — born this day in 1912 — in The Stratton Story, […]
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The surprising member of the Hall of Fame was born this date in 1921. I say surprising because his numbers seem less than impressive, compared with his contemporaries. He had “only” four seasons in which he won more than 20 games and his career total of 207 victories in 17 seasons (some were parts of […]
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The hefty lefty turns 45 today. He’s still looking for a job, so if some struggling is looking for a crafty veteran….Hey, he can’t be that much worse than some of the other slugs out there. Legend has it that the title for his book was supposed to be Perfect I Ain’t, but the publisher […]
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The colorful reliever for the Cubs, Mets, Phillies, and Rockies turns 41 today. Wendell received the Pat Jordan treatment in cover story for the New York Times Sunday Magazine on April 8, 1993 (PDF file).
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The Royals’ Hall of Famer turns 55 today. I have always been impressed with players like Brett, Carl Yazstremski, Tony Gwynn, et al, who managed to spend their entire careers with one team. It was more common earlier in the game’s history, but almost unheard of these days. You have to be a combination of […]
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Born this date in 1881. The Hall of Famer spent most of his career pitching with pre-Black Sox White Sox for whom he won 195 games. Talk about records that will never be broken, what about this one: Walsh’s career ERA was 1.82! The Amazon Report on Ed Walsh: Big Ed Walsh: The Life and […]
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The two-time NL batting champion and Hall of Fame inductee (1962), was born this date in 1893. Roush was a member of the Cincinnati Reds that faced the White Sox in the 1919 World Series. The Amazon Report on Edd Roush: Red Legs and Black Sox: Edd Roush and the Untold Story of the 1919 […]
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The Negro League star, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, was born this date in 1901. The Amazon Report on Turkey Stearnes: Turkey Stearnes and the Detroit Stars: The Negro Leagues in Detroit, 1919-1933
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No Hall of Famer, he. In fact, Cohen won three of his ten decisions for the Washington Senators in the 1930s. Although he had only 33 at bats, he struck out just three times, not bad for a pitcher. Syd was the brother of Andy Cohen, an infielder for the NY Giants in the ’20s.
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The Hall of Famer from Mobile turns 77 (!) today. No need to go into his exploits here. Suffice it to say that he is one of the most legendary players ever to don flannels, a fact that is born out by the number of books written about him, especially for kids; you know a […]
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The all-star, gold-glove Mets outfielder turns 31 today. The Amazon Report on Carlos Beltran: Pedro, Carlos, and Omar: The Story of a Season in the Big Apple and the Pursuit of Baseball’s Top Latino Stars, by Adam Rubin. You can read a review from “Yankees 2000” here.
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The Hall of Fame pitcher was born this date in 1921. Spahn was one of those stars who enjoyed success at an advanced age. After making his debut in 1941, he spent four years in the military during WW II. Apparently, there was no rust upon his return. He won 21 in 1947, his first […]
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Born this day in 1887, McCarthy, one of the few managers in the Hall of Fame, led the Yankees to eight pennants and seven world championships. he also led the Chicago Cubs (one pennant) and the Boston Red Sox. The Amazon Report on Joe McCarthy: Joe Mccarthy: Achitect of the Yankee Dynasty
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The 49-year-old Eisenreich, a .290 hitter who played for several teams over a 15-year career, was perhaps more famous for dealing with Tourette’s Syndrome than his accomplishments on the field. His inspirational story is included in several books about the Phillies, for whom he played from 1993 (their pennant-winning season)-1996, as well medical books on […]
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First Salon, now Slate. Is anyone besides me old enough to remember the Quaker cereals Quisp and Quake? Same as Cap’n Crunch, only different shapes and cartoon characters. Anyway… Greg Spira contributes this thoughtful column on why so many American players are born in August, citing John Holway’s 2000 book, The Baseball Astrologer. Upshot: Since […]
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The Hall of Famer, Class of ’39, was born this day in 1852. The Amazon Report for Cap Anson: Howard Rosenberg has done an exhaustive study of Anson, compiling a four-volume biography. Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something Leadership in Baseball’s Early Years Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly: […]
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The Boston ace who won the Cy Young in 1967 for leading his team to their first pennant in 30-plus years turns 66 today. I can still see his picture, shirt undone as he joins teammates in celebrating the pennant clincher. Unfortunately he suffered a broken leg in a skiing accident and was never the […]
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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
