Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Brings a lump to my throat. Don’t remember who gave me my first glove. Maybe it was my parents, or maybe an uncle. The guys on my softball team make fun of me because the one I use now is so old and floppy (keep the jokes to yourselves). But maybe it’s time to buy […]
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♦ I’m including this piece just because I find it amusing. I hope the Brits don’t get all their baseball info like this. ♦ Who says fiction about the national pastime has to be confined to literature? Here’s a case of fictitious baseball merchandise. ♦ Dan Epstein, author of Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A […]
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The New York Times ran a couple of interesting pieces in the July 8 issue. (Yeah, I know I’m late, so sue me.) * Tyler Kepner wrote, “The 83F project: Sign here, please,” about one man’s attempt to have his entire 1983 Fleer card set signed by the subjects, all 660 of them. he’s 99 […]
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Baseball artist Graig Kreindler alerted his Facebook friends of a new item produced by the US Postal service: From the USPS website: Play Ball! is the perfect keepsake for both baseball fans and stamp enthusiasts. The 8½” x 11”, 40-page book is filled with the vivid paintings of artist Graig Kreindler, whose extraordinarily detailed work […]
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(Actually I guess you don’t lick postage stamps anymore.) Because you can keep stamps on your bookshelf: The USPS has announced four new baseball stamps honoring Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Larry Doby, and Willie Stargell. From the press release: Baseball fans can celebrate their favorite All-Stars as a group or individually. Responding to overwhelming demand […]
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Not that I attended the school, mind you, but I did go there a couple of times while visiting Boston. I wish the guys on my baseball team at Brooklyn College made the long trips this inventive and interesting. But then, that’s why these guys are in Harvard and not BC.
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Forbes reported that there’s going to a whole lot of Splendid Splinter items coming up for auction. The event will take place on Saturday, April 28, at Fenway (where else?) under the auspices of Hunt Auctions., Inc. Among the effects: Lots 1-31 Contemporary pieces including autographed materials. Lots 32-59 Early career and Red Sox related. […]
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The nickname has always been associated with the Wheaties brand, and dozens of baseball players have had their mugs plastered on the box. One that stands prominently on my bookshelf is Cal Ripken Jr. (it houses newspaper stories from his recording-breaking season). So why not have a player-specific breakfast food? This list of “11 Athletes […]
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Among the other dumb things I collect are unusual bottles, either extremely regional in production or specifically baseball-related (Old Slugger, from the Cooperstown Brewing Company, for example). So it was with some amusement that I came across this item from Tauntr.com about what actual beers best represent the Major League ballclubs. For more baseball beer […]
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Rob Neyer thinks something’s amiss in this “tribute” to Pablo Sandoval. I’m thinking a ball, but maybe it’s even more obvious that I just don’t get?
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But savvy baseball cards buffs like Night Owl Cards caught them. To be fair, back int he day when the company released one series at a time, instead of all at one (kids, ask your parents), they often airbrushed logos onto the hats and/or unis of players who had been traded during the season. In […]
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Because observant Jewish baseball fans might very well collect these. Introducing Pro-Kippah, the M LB- licensced yarmulke designed to stay on your head. That is, assuming you have hair.
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Zack Hample, baseball author and collector extraordinaire, discovered this fun find: an expense sheet for the NY Mets in 1962. The per diem for most of the team seemed to have been $17.15. Today that would be, like, a million dollars.
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Brought to you as sort of a public service announcement, because us literary fans have to support each other. For more information, contact Bobby Plapinger at R. Plapinger Baseball Books PO Box 1062 Ashland, OR 97520 541-488-1220 baseballbooks@opendoor.com * * * This is just a brief note to bring you up to date on some […]
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You just need a big bookshelf. The Los Angeles Dodgers are celebrating their 50th anniversary in their eponymous stadium so to mark the occasion they’ll be giving out bobblehead dolls throughout the season. According to Tom Hoffarth on his blog, the schedule falls out thus: Don Drysdale and Maury Wills: Saturday, April 28 vs. […]
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Which would look a lot neater (both figuratively and literally) if I had been using these items by Bethany Heck over at the Eephus League site. (Also available as a two-scorebook bundle.)
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provided it was wide enough and you have about a half mil to spare. Interesting back story to it, as well, regarding actor Kurt Russel and his extended family, including former Major Leaguer Matt Franco.
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Okay, I understand that a 50th anniversary is a big deal. Teams pull out all the stops to pay tribute to the old by “offering retro” (while at the same time making a few bucks). In this case, the Mets recently unveiled their “new” logo. The Hardball Times ran this informative deconstruction of the design […]
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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
