From the category archives:

Business of baseball

Henry D. Fetter, author of Taking on the Yankees: Winning and Losing in the Business of Baseball, published this piece on Atlantic.com asking, “Should the Mets’ Owners Worry About Jury Bias in Their Madoff Trial? Key paragraph: No “one percenter” relishes the idea of having their fate determined by the proverbial “jury of their peers” […]

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As a former presidential speechwriter and current senior lecturer of English at the University of Rochester, it’s safe to say that Curt Smith loves the spoken (and written) word. His output as an author combines that enthrallment with baseball; he’s written several books that highlight not the players on the field, but the people who […]

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The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning and Moneyball came away with a “cycle” of sorts. The unlikely cinematic version of Michael Lewis’ best-seller is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin). UPDATE: Moneyball also […]

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Right Off the Bat: Baseball, Cricket, Literature, and Life, by Evander Lomke and Martin Rowe. Paul Dry Books, 2011. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been fascinated by cricket longer than I can remember. During a visit to Montreal when I was 10, I recall buying a small British import at a WH Smith […]

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Happy trails to an old friend

December 16, 2011

George Vecsey has announced his non-retirement (since he refuses to use the “R” word) in his last “official” NY Times column today. Vecsey, most recently the author of Stan Musial: An American Life, has also written Joy In Mudville: Being a Complete Account of the Unparalleled History of the New York Mets From Their Most […]

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In this piece from Slate.com, author (right) and subject (left) discuss what the neo-classic mix of sports and business hath wrought.

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When I was a kid, about 10 years old, I used to get a weekly allowance of 50 cents, which I normally would use to purchase a baseball magazine. One week, while running errands for my mother, I took the audacious step of using some of the change to supplement my stipend to buy both […]

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Take heart, Houston. You may have the worst team in the Majors this season, but you can relive past glorious and otherwise amuse yourselves by reading these Astros-related titles, posted by Ray Kerby and Darrell Pittman on AstrosDaily.com.

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Combining two themes here to bring you some recent podcasts. * Craig Robinson, author of the new Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure (See all Humor Books), was on the July 19 edition of Slate’s Hang Up and Listen. There are several excellent questions about Robinson’s though processes as he comes up with […]

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The award-winning sportswriter for The New York Times, will discuss the sports culture and his career experiences — which actually began with an eventful meeting with Mickey Mantle —- followed by a signing of his memoir, An Accidental Sportswriter, at the Yogi Berra Museum tomorrow (July 16) at 5:30. Books available for purchase at the […]

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Good news/bad news

June 9, 2011

The good news is that Time Magazine has seen fit to choose a baseball blog as one of its “Best of 2011.” The bad news is that it isn’t the Bookshelf. Curse you, MLBTradeRumors.com.

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Bits and Pieces

May 24, 2011

As I try to play some catch-up: From the Atlantic: “Why the Royals are a Better Baseball Team Than the Yankees.” Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci gives us more Wilpon analysis. Marc Tracey published this review of Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game by Dan Barry. Upshot: “More than an Easter play, […]

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Bits and pieces

May 3, 2011

Now brought to you by … the breakfast cereal of AMC’s The Killing. Very cool. Anyway… * Ben Platt posted this review of Kostya Kennedy’s new biography of Joe DiMaggio on MLB.com. * The “Bats” baseball blog of The New York Times ran this profile of Steve Stone, author of the new book Said In […]

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Day 23: New York Mets: 50 Amazin’ Seasons — The Complete Illustrated History Day 24: The Runmakers: A New Way to Rate Baseball Players Day 25: Wizardry: Baseball’s All-Time Greatest Fielders Revealed Day 26: Pitchers of Beer: The Story of the Seattle Rainiers Day 27: Bullpen Diaries: Mariano Rivera, Bronx Dreams, Pinstripe Legends, and the […]

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Bits and pieces

April 20, 2011

Time once again for a major links dump to make up for bad behavior. Warning: some of these links go back to March. Just sayin’. * A member of Red Sox Nation pays tribute to a “mortal enemy” by giving the NY Times photo book on Derek Jeter the thumbs up. * The Wall Street […]

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TWIBB: March 18, 2011

March 18, 2011 · 2 comments

The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, March 18, at 4 p.m. Title Rank General Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, by John Thorn 1 The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First, by Jonah Keri […]

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Some Thorn-y issues

March 17, 2011

How great must it be for John Thorn these days. Not only is his new book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, getting good reviews early on, but he was recently appointed Major League baseball’s official historian. Here are just a few of the items that have hit […]

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Giving it 110%

March 12, 2011

Well, in this case, it’s The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First, by Jonah Keri. Keri, who published the excellent Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong in 2006, took a in-depth look at inner workings of the Tampa […]

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TWIBB: March 4, 2011

March 4, 2011

The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb 25, at 1:30 p.m. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2011 1 Baseball America 2011 Prospect Handbook: The 2011 Expert Guide to Baseball Prospects and MLB Organization Rankings 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis (Kindle version) 3 Moneyball: The […]

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John Thorn, who today was named as Major League Baseball’s official historian, will be one of several authors presenting at the March 5 meeting of SABR’s Casey Stengel Chapter. The day-long event — which is open to the public — will be held at the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the NY Public Library (Fifth Avenue and […]

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