Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The non-Hall of Famer turns 67 (!). Man, that’s hard to reconcile. Anyway, as one might imagine, Rose is the subject of several books. He was that “generation’s” Jose Canseco — constantly in the news, constantly seeking attention. The Amazon Report on Pete Rose: Hustle: The Myth, Life, and Lies of Pete Rose My Prison […]
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MLB’s “police officer” turns 62 today. Watson‘s claim to fame was scoring the one millionth run in Major League (i.e., NL and AL) history. He enjoyed an 18-year career, spent mostly with the Houston Astros, with a few seasons with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Braves. The Amazon Report on Bob Watson: Survive To Win
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The Hall of Fame catcher turns 54 today. Carter was a “like him, hate him” kind of guy. There are those who said he was too eager to smile for the camera. For me, as a fan of the Mets, he was a savior, one of the tools helping propel them to some quality years […]
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Born this date in 1873. Talk about “old school.” The Amazon Report on John McGraw: My Thirty Years in Baseball, by John McGraw and Charles Alexander Casey and Mr. McGraw, by Joe Durso How to play baseball, by John McGraw Science of baseball, by John McGraw The Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, […]
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And a bonus:
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“Knucksie” turns 69 today. The Hall of Famer defied time by pitching until he was 48, amassing a record of 311-274 while playing for some pretty bad teams. One stat I found particularly “enjoyable”: In 1979 Niekro won 21, lost 21, started 44 games, completed 23 (more than entire leagues these days), threw 311 innings, […]
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Born in 1919, Raschi won 120 games for the Yankees during their juggernaut years, averaging 20 wins from 1948-51, including three straight 21-victory seasons. He also pitched briefly for the Cardinals and K.C. Athletics. Not bad considering he didn’t become a major leaguer until 27, and didn’t join the rotation full-time until he was 29. […]
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The Hall of Famer was born this day in 1893. “Gorgeous George” languished with the browns for most of his career, compiling a lietime .340 average. He twice batted over .400 and was the 1922 American League MVP. Perhaps he was more proud of the fact that two of his sons, Dick and Dave, went […]
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You couldn’t be blamed for not recognizing the name. But if you think back to the movie version of Eight Men Out and take a look at this picture of actor Richard Edson, you might recall Billy Maharg. In the film, Abe Attell, Arnold Rothstein’s bag man and ex-championship boxer, says to the ballplayer, very […]
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The Hall of Fame outfielder for the Phillies was born this day in 1927. Ashburn, who finished his career with the New York Mets, was a popular broadcaster for the Phillies. The Amazon Report on Richie Ashburn: Richie Ashburn Remembered (excerpt here) The Richie Ashburn story
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The muse behind Eliot Asinof’s novel, Man on Spikes, would have been 88 this year. Rutner, who had the distinction of being the oldest Jewish ex-major leaguer, enjoyed the proverbial “cup of coffee” with the Philadelphia As in 1927. He passed away last October.
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“Little Poison” was born this day in 1906. The 5’9″ Hall of Fame outfielder for (primarily) this Pittsburgh Prates batted .318 over his 18-year career (1927-45). Legend states that he has his brother, “Big Poison” Paul, were thusly dubbed by Dodger fans who said “There goes the big poison (person in Brooklynese) and the little […]
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Born this date in 1906. Died too young at the age of 53. Some people find the antics of this man-child along with his bullying partner, Bud Abbot, too gauche. That may be, but there will always be thanks in the hearts of baseball fans and copycats for their signature sketch. From The Naughty Nineties:
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The Minnesota Twins Hall-of-Famer was born this date in 1960. He died way too young, just shy of his 46th birthday in 2006. The Amazon Report for Kirby Puckett: I Love This Game!: My Life and Baseball Puck! Kirby Puckett: Baseball’s Last Warrior Be the Best You Can Be
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Almost didn’t get this one in today. John Franklin Baker was born on this date in Trappe, Maryland in 1886. I only mention his birthplace because it was also where he died 77 years later. I wonder how many people live and die in the town in which they were born? Baker spent his 13-year […]
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The submariner journeyman pitcher turns 58 today. Leach was another of those players who came to the Majors relatively late (27). He had one great year, going 11-1 for the Mets in 1987, including a 10-innning, 1-0 shutout, but received relatively littl fanfare. Leach wrote about his experiences, including his sense of betrayal by “the […]
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Potential is such as sad word when it comes to sports. It seems it more often used when an athlete fails to live up to the predictions. Strawberry, who turns 46 today, was one such player. When he burst on to the scene with the Mets in 1983, people started comparing him with Ted Williams […]
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The man who claims to have pitched a no-hitter under the influence of LSD turns 63 today. Ellis played for 12 seasons (1968-79) with the Pirates, Yankees, A’s, Rangers and Mets, compiling a 138-199 record. He collaborated with author Donald Hall on his autobiography in 1976. The Amazon Report: Dock Ellis in the Country of […]
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Born this day in 1958, the star-crossed pitcher died in 2006 as the result a car accident, and not, surprisingly, drug use. Howe was a sometimes brilliant reliever who played mostly for the Dodgers and Yankees. Suspended several times from substance, abuse, Howe got more second chances than just about any athlete in history. 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
