Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Willie Mays turns 80 today. Wow. Somewhere in my stacks I have some yellowing magazines from the mid-60s that still compared Mays to Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider having been out of the picture for a couple of seasons. Mays appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated nine times (six as an active player). So much […]
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The Hall of Fame pitcher was born this date in 1884. He holds the record for most wins for players born on this date with 212 although he won more than 20 in a season just twice. He is also, surprisingly, second in saves (34). Bender was not too shabby at the plate either, with […]
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The veteran pitcher turns 34 today. Last year he gathered some of his teammates to collaborate on the yummy Chicago Cubs Cookbook: All-Star Recipes from Your Favorite Players.
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Hall of Famer Eddie Collins was born this date in 1887. Eddie Collins: A Baseball Biography The feature film Eight Men Out featured Bill Irwin in the Collins role. I remember thinking how wonderful a job he did, both as an actor and an athlete, for someone I had heretofore recognized only as a mime/clown. […]
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A middling relief pitcher for the Braves and a couple of other teams in the 1970s, Tom House‘s biggest claim to fame was catching Hank Aaron’s 715th home run in the bullpen. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Since then he’s earned a reputation (not to mention a PhD) as […]
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Pitcher Virgil “Fire” Trucks turns 94 today. Throwing Heat: The Life and Times of Virgil “Fire” Trucks, by Trucks, with Joyner and Bozman, 2004 Also born this date: Sal Maglie in 1917. He earned his nickname because a) he always looked like he was in need of one; and b) hie licked giving batters close […]
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Omar Vizquel, the ageless wonder, actually does age. He turns 44 today. Omar!: My Life on and Off the Field, by Vizquel with Dyer, 2002
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The Hall of Fame pitcher was born this date in 1921. Spahn, Sain, and Teddy Ballgame: Boston’s (almost) Perfect Baseball Summer of 1948, by Nowlin, 2008 The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching Duel of the Century, by Jim Kaplan, 2011 The Warren Spahn Story, by Shapiro, 1958 Warren Spahn, […]
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Don Mattingly turns the big 5-Oh today. Donnie Baseball: The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingly Don Mattingly’s Hitting Is Simple: The ABC’s of Batting .300 Also born this date in 1929, Harry Agganis, the Golden Greek, who tied way too young, at the age of 26 due to massive pulmonary embolism. Harry Agganis, ” the […]
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Eisenreich, who turns 52 today, managed to carve out a 15-year career despite suffering from Tourrette’s Syndrome. Dan Gutman wrote Jim Eisenreich (Overcoming the Odds), part of a series of books for kids about athletes overcoming adversity of one kind or another.He also merits a chapter in Jack Walsh’s 2004 book, Baseball’s Good Guys: The […]
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Among baseball players, those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach hitting. Charley Lau was consider a master instructor, even though his lifetime batting average over 11 seasons as a part-timer was just .255. Lau’s theories on batting were published in several volumes, both by him and others, including: The Winning Hitter How to Win […]
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Gary Carter turns 57 today. Among the books written by or about The Kid: Still a Kid at Heart: My Life in Baseball and Beyond, by Carter A Dream Season, by Carter Gary Carter, le “Kid” (French Edition) Catfish Hunter was born in 1946. Catfish, by Hunter Cooking with “Catfish” Hunter: Tasty recipes for people […]
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The Red Sox Hall of Fame second baseman turns 93 today. As my people say, ken ahora. Doeer was a nine-time All Star and one of the subjects of the late Dave Halberstam’s 2003 bittersweet book, The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship. Also born this date, John McGraw — the Billy Martin of his […]
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Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane was born this date in 1903. According to Baseball-Reference.com’s “Bullpen” section, Cochrane earned his nickname because of his competitive nature and fiery temper. Mickey Cochrane: The Life of a Baseball Hall of Fame Catcher, by Bevis, 1998.
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Gil Hodges was born this date in 1924. While compiling my list of books about Hall of Famers, I couldn’t help but ask why some of these guys were in while someone like Hodges was out. Praying for Gil Hodges: A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family’s Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, […]
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Daniel “Rusty” Staub turns 67 today. Rusty Staub of the Expos, by Robertson, 1971. Hello, Mr. Met!, by Staub, 2006 (juvenile). Few and Chosen: Defining Mets Greatness Across the Eras, by Staub with Pepe, 2009. Also born this date, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who turns 72. Knuckle Balls, by Niekro with Bird, 1986. The […]
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Busy day yesterday, so I didn’t have a chance to post these. Billy Beane, the inspiration behind Michael Lewis’ Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, turned 49 yesterday. Denny McLain, the last 30-game winner and one of baseball’s “bad boys,” turned 67. He released I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect in 2007 (as […]
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Baldwin, a “journeyman” pitcher in the 1960s-70s, turns 73 today. He published his memoirs, Snake Jazz, in 2008.Nothing sensationalistic here — no drugs or sex — just an honest, sentimental look at a young man’s journey through a brief section of his life. Dr. Baldwin has gone on to some major accomplishments, post-baseball. He earned […]
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The latest in the line of ballplayers/authors turns 30 today. Hayhurst signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays after the Toronto Blue Jays released him in November. he had spent the entire 2010 season on the D.L. The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran Also marking the date: […]
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Since there haven’t been any books written about him. Yet. The NY Mets’ likable Ike Davis turns 24 today. I received a shipment of cards yesterday including this one. This wasn’t Davis’ first card. Nowadays they have prospect cards, minor league star cards, etc., in multiple incarnations from multiple manufacturers. When I was a kid […]
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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
