Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); because I’m old school. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat 3: […]
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The top-ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat 3: […]
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First of all, congratulations to Bob W. of Chantilly, VA, winner of last week’s book, Long Shot, by Mike Piazza and Lonnie Wheeler. Thank you all for your comments. This week’s offering is the brand-spankin’ new Stars and Strikes: Baseball and American in the Bicentennial Summer of ’76 by Dan Epstein. A reminder about the […]
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All of these came in this week from my “alma mater,” the University of Nebraska Press. So many books, so little time.
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This it the time of year when the baseball media offer their considered opinions on their favorite prospects. Sometimes they’re spot on, other times, not so much. So I thought, why not apply this to the upcoming “rookie crop” of baseball books? That is, titles that are making their debuts in 2014 — no reprints/reissues […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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I used to think it was unfair that a sports media giant like Sports Illustrated can make even more money by dipping into their archives and publishing the compilations or photos or writing. But you have to give them credit; they do come out with some mighty good products. The latest from the SI library […]
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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 […]
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Regardless of your opinion of Tim McCarver, endings are almost always sad. Last night’s World Series finale was the swan song of his broadcasting career. I especially appreciate McCarver’s comment that his goals as a broadcaster included “teaching you something you may not have known about this great game.” He’s done that on the air […]
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Lest we forget: 1950 – Kiki Cuyler, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1898) Hazen “Kiki” Cuyler: A Baseball Biography, by Ronald Waldo, McFarland 2012. 2011 – Chuck Tanner, outfielder, manager (b. 1928) Chuck Tanner’s baseball playbook, by Tanner with Jim Enright, Rutledge/Mayflower Book, 1981 Also on this date: 1985 – Minnesota Twins first baseman […]
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As opposed to fantasy baseball… Bruce Markusen over at Hardball Times posted this examination of “The Mighty Casey,” a classic episode of The Twilight Zone that originally aired during the series’ first season in 1960. The episode featured Jack Warden as the manager of the Hoboken Zephyrs and Robert Sorrels as the ballplayer of the […]
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Remember when I warned about the motives of Jeffrey Luria and the Miami Marlins when they signed Adam Greenberg to a one-game contract so he could get that first official at-bat? So much for the good-will he engendered with that act of kindness. Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of one of my favorite book series (and […]
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Raise your hand if you, like me, are tired to the cliche about the thinnest publication being a treatise on Jewish sports heroes (or some riff thereon). It is therefore with an understandable sense of pride that I recommend Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame. While this collection of 50 essays isn’t just about […]
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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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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
