Hall published two baseball titles which what I would classify as “quiet classics,” in that they never created as much buzz as something like, say, Moneyball or The Glory of Their Times. He passed away on Saturday at the age of 89. Here’s his obit from The New York Times. Perhaps his best known was […]
Tagged as:
baseball essays,
Dock Ellis,
Donald Hall
Headnote: I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m […]
Tagged as:
baseball rules,
Davey Johnson,
Detroit Tigers,
Keith Hernandez,
Ken Harelson,
Little League,
Michael Lewis,
Mickey Lolich,
New York Mets,
Oakland As,
Ted Williams
I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m a […]
Tagged as:
minor leagues
A new year, a new look for the BBS list. I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about […]
Tagged as:
Baseball America,
baseball analysis,
Bill James,
Chicago Cubs,
Michael Lewis,
prospects,
rookies,
Ted Williams
By now most of you are familiar with my caveats, so I’ll just mention them briefly: The list includes only print editions of books; calendars (even though Amazon includes them on their lists), no audiobooks (as much as I enjoy them), and no kindle (because I’m old school). Second, since the rankings are updated every […]
Tagged as:
baseball analytics,
Boston Red Sox,
Chicago Cubs,
David Ross,
Houston Astros,
New York Yankees,
Trivia,
World Series
These are my favorite posts, taking a look at what new baseball books are on the horizon. A few notes: Traditional print rules the land here here. There may be a Kindle edition involved, but no Kindle-only titles are included herein. Second, Amazon does not want top make my life easier. I practically never include […]
By now most of you are familiar with my caveats, so I’ll just mention them briefly: The list includes only print editions (no kindle or audio versions) because I’m old school. Second, since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But […]
Tagged as:
Baseball instruction,
batting,
Chicago Cubs,
David Ross,
Hank Greenberg,
Houston Astros,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Rich Cohen,
Ted Williams,
World Series
Wow, has it really been more than a month since the last one of these? Yikes. As you may have notice, these entries have been falling off in the last several weeks. My apologies. A new full-time job — very different from what I had been doing as the sports and features editor of a […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Hall of Fame,
Baseball instruction,
batting,
Bob Gibson,
Chicago Cubs,
David Ross,
Denny McLain,
Hank Greenberg,
Rich Cohen,
Ted Williams,
World Series
As you may have notice, these entries have been falling off in the last several weeks. My apologies. A new full-time job — very different from what I had been doing as the sports and features editor of a weekly community newspaper in suburban New Jersey — has put new and strange demands on my […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Hall of Fame,
batting,
Boston Red Sox,
Chicago Cubs,
David Ortiz,
David Ross,
Hank Greenberg,
Lawrence Ritter,
Rick Ankiel,
Ted Williams,
World Series
Once again, a semi-regular attempt to catch up on reviews from other sources… From BlueBirdBanter, a Blue Jays-centric site — this on Stacey May Fowles’ Baseball Life Advice: Loving the Game That Saved Me. Upshot: ” It is deeply human and relatable, even when dealing with uncomfortable situations which would be easier to gloss over.” From […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Hall of Fame,
Casey Stengel,
Cincinnati Reds,
Dick Allen,
Los Angeles Dodgers
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
baseball analytics,
baseball business,
baseball statistics,
Chicago Cubs,
classic baseball book,
Moneyball,
Oakland As,
Pitching,
World Series
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Chicago Cubs,
Pitching,
World Series
So if that was indeed his last major league game, David Ross hit a home run in his final official at bat last night. That it came in the seventh game of a World Series that gave the Chicago Cubs and their long-suffering fans a championship for the first time since Teddy Roosevelt was president […]
Tagged as:
Chicago Cubs,
David Ross,
John Updike,
Ted Williams
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Bernard Malamud,
Brian Kenny,
independent leagues,
instructionals,
Lenny Dykstra,
managing,
Michael Lewis,
Mike Mathany,
Moneyball,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Tim Kurkjian
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
baseball analysis,
ESPN,
instructionals,
Jim Palmer,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
Milwaukee Brewers,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
Tim Kurkjian,
Ty Cobb
Tim Kurkjian was one of the first interviews I did for the Bookshelf in its current iteration. (I’m still surprised, after all these years all these years later, that someone on that level would bother with a relatively low level blog such as this, and that’s not humble bragging.) Over the years I’ve found Kurkjian […]
Tagged as:
Tim Kurkjian
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Baseball America,
baseball analysis,
baseball essays,
Fantasy baseball,
instructionals,
Michel Lewis,
minor leagues,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
Roger Angell,
St. Louis Cardinals
Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]
Tagged as:
Babe Ruth,
Baseball Cards,
Baseball Hall of Fame,
baseball history,
baseball statistics,
Bill James,
Branch Rickey,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Bucl O'Neil,
David Halberstam,
Jackie Robinson,
Jo DiMaggio,
John Thorn,
Mickey Mantle,
Negro Leagues,
New YorkYankees,
Roger Angell,
Roger Kahn,
Sportswriters
Busy, busy, busy. That’s the only way to describe George Castle. The Chicago-based author of some 13 baseball-themed books for adult as well as younger readers, Castle recently released one of the most fun books I’ve come across in awhile: Baseball’s Game Changers: Icons, Record Breakers, Scandals, Sensational Series, and More. But there’s another one […]
Tagged as:
baseball history,
George Castle,
media and baseball
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Baseball America,
baseball analysis,
baseball essays,
Fantasy baseball,
Independent league baseball,
instructionals,
Michel Lewis,
minor leagues,
Oakland Athletics,
Roger Angell,
St. Louis Cardinals,
youth baseball
Opinions vary
March 2, 2016
Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]
Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Baseball Cards, Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball history, baseball statistics, Bill James, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Bucl O'Neil, David Halberstam, Jackie Robinson, Jo DiMaggio, John Thorn, Mickey Mantle, Negro Leagues, New YorkYankees, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, Sportswriters
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