From the category archives:

Classic title

Unlike the celebrities in this NY Times story, like Bob Uecker, famously does not sit in the front row. And to drive that point home, the Milwaukee Brewers will honor their long-time broadcaster with a statute in the last row at their home Miller Park. Uecker was the “star” of a number of Miller Lite […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Kids, ask your parents/grandparents.) Our good friend Howard Megdal posted these suggestions on”How to survive without baseball.” Among them: Simulated baseball games, such as Baseball Mogul, Diamond Mind Baseball, Out of the Park Baseball, and, of course, Strat-O-Matic. I would add What-If Sports to this list. They allow you to construct a roster of any […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

UPDATE: It seems only fitting that The New Yorker post a piece of  appreciation, and here it is, with”as a holiday bonus…a kind of mini-anthology, a taste of the best of a marvellous writer and man.” * * * The “dean” of baseball writing was named recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The baseball lifer — player, broadcaster, raconteur, game show host, and author — was named recipient of the Hall of Fame’s Buck O’Neil Award in recognition of his “extraordinary efforts to enhance baseball’s positive impact on society. ” From the Hall of Fame press release: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Bits and pieces, Nov. 27

November 27, 2013 · 4 comments

Another in an attempt to look over the over-looked news in baseball books. I’ve only just begun listening to the unabridged audio book of Bill Bryson’s newest, One Summer: America, 1927, but if Richard “Pete” Peterson says it’s “a good read for Cards, Cubs fans,” that’s good enough for me. Kevin Baker, who worked with […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Pitching Pinch

October 29, 2013

The entry on Christy Mathewson’s Pitching in a Pinch was quite popular so I thought I’d add some more info as provided by Mark Aubrey. You can read it online or download a copy in several formats (including for the Kindle) from Archive.org. Those interesting in hearing the book have a couple of options. You […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The New Yorker posted this interesting piece on “Christy Mathewson and the Thinking Man’s Game” (although in the body of the article, it does refer to the more PC “thinking person”). The article by Luke Epplin refers to several books, including Mathewson’s “memoir,” Pitching in a Pinch: Baseball from the Inside — recently re-released by […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Can’t figure out the maze of links for this one. The Campaign for the American Reader posted this item posted by Marshal Zeringue on “Five top works of baseball fiction,” according to Leigh Montville, the author of two wonderful biographies on Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.  The initial offering is The Brothers K by David James […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Where’s the love for 501?

October 24, 2013

One person’s opinion on “A few baseball books to extend the season.” Really? That’s all you could come up with? IMHO, one of the nice things about 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die — which includes entries about the three titles in the aforementioned piece — is that it lets you, the […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

I just love those radio commercials that implore listeners to either call within the next few minutes to take advantage of an extra special promotion (even though the spots run all day), or to be caller number xx. Like they won’t take your money if you’re late. Actually, I always thought of these things as […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Bits and pieces, Sept. 17

September 17, 2013

How different would the literary world be if Tom Wolfe had grown up to be a baseball player? So where’s his baseball novel? John Rosengren, author of Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes, will put in an appearance at his alma mater — Saint John’s University — on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. to […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Actually, it should be the Bookshelf getteth, I guess. My thanks to Ron A. for sending along as part of a recent exchange of books.

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Switched over to a new podcasting plug-in. Not working exactly as I had hoped. The best I can do at the moment is link to it this way: hear the podcast here. Apologies for the extra click. * * * You can’t find any listing of the best baseball (or sports) fiction without finding Eric […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

See what I did there? I combined Dan Epstein, author of Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s, with the publication to which he contributed this article on “The 20 Best Baseball Books Ever,” his choice for the top 20 non-fiction titles in the genre to […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A programming note

August 20, 2013

Working on podcasts of interviews with authors Eric R9lfe Greenberg (The Celebrant: A Novel); Brad Mangin (Instant Baseball: The Baseball Instagrams of Brad Mangin); and Thomas Djya (Play for a Kingdom), not necessarily in that order. I am also trying to wrap up editing on a mini-documentary I created on The Merchants of Cooperstown (coming […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Feast or famine. I can go for weeks without posting any new material but in the past week I’ve had the very good fortunate to speak with three extremely talented artists: Eric Rolfe Greenberg, author of The Celebrant, which is considered one of the best baseball novels by just about every outlet who decides these […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Back from vacation, lots to catch up on. Baseball Reflection’s posted this review of Tom Dunkel’s Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line. And the rich get richer: Sports Illusrated‘s Extra Mustard blog posted this piece about “Five Baseball Books You Owe It to Yourself to Read This Summer” (plus a couple of […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Excellent piece in the NY Times by my neighbor Harvey Araton on the lost art of keeping score. My daughter, Rachel, was manager for her high school baseball team for three seasons, winning the job for her ability to keep score (and take pictures and bake cupcakes). We don’t go to a lot of games, […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Burton Boxerman, co-author with his wife, Bonita, of the two-volume Jews and Baseball series published by McFarland a few years back, published this review of Larry Ruttman’s American Jews and America’s Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball in Baseball in a recent edition of the St. Louis Jewish Light. As an ye shall […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

All I know about Yankton, South Dakota, was that it was an element in one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Deadwood. Al Swearengen: Bloodletting on my premises that I ain’t approved I take as a f***ing affront. It puts me off my feed. Hearst:How do we know when you are off your feed? Al […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5496371-4']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();