Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Literary birthday greetings: 1953 – Dan Quisenberry, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998) On Days Like This: Poems, by Quisenberry, Helicon Nine Editions, 1998. Also on this date: 1905 – In Lynn, Massachusetts, Rube Waddell prevents a fire by carrying a burning stove out of a store and throwing it into a snow bank. Three days later […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1895 – Babe Ruth, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1948) Previous Babe Ruth birthday entry. Lest we forget: 2007 – Lew Burdette, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1926) Lew Burdette of the Braves, by Gene Schoor, Putnam, 1960. Also on this date: 1934: New York sportswriter and broadcaster Ford Frick is named the […]
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Literary birthday greetings: 1934 – Hank Aaron, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Previous Aaron birthday entry. 1946 – Norm Miller, outfielder To All My Fans From Norm Who?, by Miller, Double Play Productions, 2009. 1968 – Roberto Alomar, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar (Latinos in Baseball), by Norman Macht, Mitchell Lane Publishers, 1998. […]
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Literary birthday greetings: Poor Feb. 1. It has a tough act act to follow with Jan. 31, which celebrates the arrival of such legends Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan, who, between the three of them, have been the subjects of scores of books. Turns out there are no players who were born on […]
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A new feature whereby I account for things pertaining to a general theme of “Today in Baseball Books.” (Source: www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/January_30) Literary birthday greetings: Davey Johnson, infielder, manager; All-Star (1943) Bats, by Davey Johnson and Peter Golenbock, Putnam, 1986. Also on this date: 1936 – The new owners of the Boston Braves conduct a survey of […]
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The author of the classic Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, as well as other highly praised baseball titles (Baseball in ’41: A Celebration of the “Best Baseball Season Ever” and Stengel: His Life and Times) turned 90 on Saturday. Baseball: Past and Present posted this interview with Creamer earlier this year.
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One of the best players of his generation not to be elected to thew Hall of Fame, Allen turns 70 today. Allen published his autobio/mem — Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, written with Tim Whitaker. He was also the focal point for books about Philadelphia’s racial attitudes, as profiled by William Kashatus […]
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born this date in 1895. Robert K. Fitts, author of Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball and Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game (Writing Baseball), releases a new book that features Ruth as a central character in Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japandue […]
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Robinson was born this date in 1919, which means he would have been 93 today. Sadly, he passed away almost 40 years ago, way too young. It isn’t necessary to repeat all the sacrifices he made, all the doors he opened. One would hope everyone in this country — baseball fan or not — would […]
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The Negro League star known as the Black Babe Ruth was born this date 100 years ago. Books on Gibson include: Josh Gibson: Ther Power and the Darkness, by Mark Ribowsky (author of a new bio on Howard Cosell) Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues, by William Brashler, who also wrote the novel […]
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A day late, but with all due respect to Scully, who turned 84 yesterday. Curt Smith, the go-to writer on the history of baseball broadcasting, published Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story in 2009.
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They were associated with other teams as well, but their primary fame came with St. Louis. Bob Gibson turns turns 76(!), while The White Rat, aka Whitey Herzog, is 80. Both are enshrined in Cooperstown. Well done, gentlemen. Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame […]
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Lasorda, the “Dodgerest” of them all, turns 84 today. I Live for This: Baseball’s Last True Believer The Artful Dodger Dierker, All-Star pitcher and later manager for the Houston Astros, turns 65. This Ain’t Brain Surgery: How to Win the Pennant Without Losing Your Mind My Team: Choosing My Dream Team from My Forty Years […]
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Yonamine, the first Asian-American to play baseball in Japan, was born this date in 1925 in Honolulu. He passed away earlier this year at the age of 86. Robert Fitts published his biography — Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball — in 2008.
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The Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Giants was born this date in 1903. Books about Hubbell include: Carl Hubbell: A Biography of the Screwball King A Pitcher’s Moment: Carl Hubbell and the Quest for Baseball Immortality And, of course, any book about the history of the […]
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Seems every Edward/Ed gets that nickname. Lopat, born in 1918, pitched 12 seasons, mostly for the juggernaut Yankees of the late 1940s-mid 1950s. He won 21 games in 1951 and led the American League in winning percentage and ERA in 1953. He was one of the subjects of Sol Gittleman’s 2007 book, Reynolds, Raschi and […]
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Werber, who died in 2009 at the age of 100, was the last link to the 1927 NY Yankees, having spent a week on their bench while a freshman attending Duke. He played for five teams over 11 seasons, leading the Al in runs once and stolen bases three times. The Society for American Baseball […]
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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
