Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Very sad, the end of Ramirez’s career. To have played as long as he did, only to have people look at you funny now that this information has come out. But in a bizarro way, you have to give him credit for not saying: “It was my teammate’s stuff. I didn’t know what it was.” […]
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For those collectors out there, or anyone interested in the “backstory” of things, this is on the MLB Network tonight at 10 eastern/7 Pacific.
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Apropos to yesterday’s Bits and Pieces entry about rankings of caps and logos, here’s one from the Getting Blanked blog about the best-selling jerseys. Personally I never quite understood wearing someone else’s name on your person, although the whole psychological study of BIRG (basking in reflected glory) is fascinating. (When I played softball at Marine […]
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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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The very fine Pitchers and Poets site, declared March 7-13 as “Scorekeeping Week,” featuring a series of entries about the fine art of the craft. I still have the program from my first game, a 1966 summer day affair between the Mets and Pirates. It’s full of “FO’ and “GB” and “K.” What can I […]
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“Any rebroadcast, reproduction [emphasis added] or other use of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited.” Or not: “Library of Congress Buys Audio Archive“: The library will announce the purchase of [emphasis added] the audio recordings on Wednesday. The archive belonged to John Miley, an 80-year-old retired businessman in […]
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Today we mark the birth of the late Lou Limmer. I don’t eBay often, but when I do it’s usually for some bit of Jewish sports memorabilia. Like this Limmer card from the 1955 Topps set. Colorful, ain’t it? I had the pleasure of interviewing Limmer shortly before he passed.
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Just got back from the YBM. Although attendance was light on this lovely Sunday afternoon, the folks who showed up were hard-core admirers of baseball in general and Berra in particular. There were all manner of items for sale at the event, which started yesterday, most of which had been on display at the Museum […]
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One of the all-time greats of the game, Honus Wagner enjoyed renewed fame because of his rare baseball card. He was born this date in 1878. The books specifically on Wagner (he’s included in many histories of the game) are divided into those about his life and those about the card and the collectibles industry. […]
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First that, now this? (You have to look at the ad closely.) Good to see the person who sewed the letters on the uniform was able to find employment again.
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Following an earlier post about creating a baseball room, I heard from Dave Kaplan, executive director of the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, who wants to help you get started on the project. The Museum, located on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, NJ, is currently under renovation and is offering […]
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As much fun as this time of year can be, it can also be sad for those veteran players who were hoping to hang on for one more season and realize, for one reason or another, that they just can’t do it. Jim Edmonds, the four-time All-Star, six time Gold Glove winner has called it […]
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Hal Richman didn’t waste any time when I asked him if he could have envisioned celebrating the 50th anniversary of his iconic baseball game, Strat-O-Matic. “Absolutely not,” he said, after some initial laughter over the absurdity of the situation. Hundreds of the game’s fans from across the country will participate in tomorrow’s “2011 Strat-O Opening […]
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When I was a kid, I used to collect — in addition to baseball cards — a set of major league logos. If memory serves — and I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong — they were produced by Fleer and you could peel them off the card and apply them to various […]
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::Heavy sigh:: Still hacking from spending several hours a couple of weeks ago in my attic trying to weed out some baseball material. As you can imagine, it’s very difficult. Part of it must be psychological: As long as you have “stuff,” you’ll never die. To put it another away, “I can’t die; look at […]
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While on vacation, we stopped at the Vermont Country Store in Weston. It’s a very cool place, especially of you’re a boomer. They have all manner of nostalgia for sale, including Colorforms, GI Joe, Slinky, and Spalding balls, just to name a few. For $1.50, my wife bought a pack of 1988 Topps cards, which […]
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The condiment company might be discontinuing its popular Mets bobblehead promotion? At least wait until Ike Davis gets one.
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Believe it or not, I wouldn’t want this book, even if someone made me a present of it. According to the NY Times‘ piece by sports media writer Richard Sandomir, “the leather-bound book, “The Official Major League Baseball Opus,” will come out in a limited edition (1,000 copies), packaged in a silk-covered clamshell case. The […]
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The Brooklyn Cyclones evidently still like Ike Davis, who played for the Mets’ Single-A affiliate in 2008, hitting .256 with 15 doubles, 17 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 58 games. So what higher tribute than to honor him with his own bobble head? Oh, but not just any bobble head: The game will be […]
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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
Behind the Times
February 1, 2011
Not sure what’s going on at the “paper of record” lately. Maybe it’s staff cuts. But here are two stories that appeared recently on the pages of the newspaper that appeared elsewhere some time ago. Gil Meche turned down the last year of a $12 million contract because he knew he wouldn’t be able to […]
Tagged as: Gil Meche, Honus Wagner baseball card
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