Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Actually I have a neat little hat rack for most of my baseball caps, but it is lying on top of a bookcase, so I’m gonna count it. When a Hall of Famer plays for a few teams over his career, there’s always hand-wringing over what hat his plaque will bear. Several years ago, there […]
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There’s been a lot of talk about what to do with the statistics from the Steroids Era. Some want them expunged from the record books. Others, like Tony Kornheiser, want a special note on any Hall of Fame plaque, bringing into account the possibility (probability?) that said honored player partook of PED. My take is: […]
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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, January 23. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook) 3 Satchel: The Life and Times […]
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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Saturday, January 16. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook) 3 Moneyball: The Art of Winning […]
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Here’s another good analysis of what should (and should not) go into the thought processes of those voting for the Hall of Fame, by Tyler Kepner. It should be noted that The New York Times does not allow its staffers to participate in such elections.
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So many calendars, so little time. (Hmm.) Picked up a day-by-day calendar for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for the new year. I usually have a problem keeping up with the task of tearing off that one page, but with this one, it’s all I can do to keep from sneaking a […]
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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com on Friday, January 8. HAPPY LATE YEAR! Title Rank General 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 1 Baseball Prospectus 2010 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 3 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the […]
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A Hall of Fame Pitcher & A Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game is Played, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson with Lonnie Wheeler (Doubleday, 2009) When I first heard about this book, I immediately wondered, who had the bigger ego? How was the process handled? Did Gibson tell Jackson to meet […]
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“The Hawk” was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame today. Now get gets to add that to his autograph. Dawson released an autobio in 1994 (with Tom Bird) that was published by Zondervan, a religious house, ostensibly for kids. Look for a new title soon. From the Hall of Fame press release (with […]
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Actually, most are not exactly new, but re-released in paper back editions. But I guess they’re all new if you haven’t read them yet (this sounds like one of those “if a tree falls in the woods…” bits). The only one that might qualify is A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That […]
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From the National Baseball Hall of Fame: 2010 Ford C. Frick Award Ballot Finalized Winner to be Announced Feb. 1 Ten of baseball’s most beloved and honored broadcasters were named today as the finalists for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame […]
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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com on Friday, January 1. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Title Rank General The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story […]
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Semi-shameless self promotion: this assessment was written by James Bailey and yours truly. Titles include: Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend Catcher: How the Man behind the Plate […]
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The poster-boy for Jewish sports of the boomer generation turns — wait for it — 74 today! Hard to believe he’s been away from the game for more than 40 years, but his legacy goes on. Even today, parents invoke the Hall of Fame pitcher: “If Sandy Koufax could miss the World Series for Yom […]
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Including: ◊ Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America’s Pastime, by Mark Frost. Unabridged (13:56), narrated by Andrew Garman. Hear a sample: ◊ Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk about How the Game Is Played , by Bob Gibson, […]
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This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, December 4. Title Rank General Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress (565) 1 The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci (731) 2 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of […]
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Their official spring-summer 2010 catalog isn’t online yet, but Bloomsbury is printing one new title and a 2009 title with a new afterword. The new title is Charlie Finley: The Life of Baseball’s Super Showman, a joint effort by G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius, slated for a July release. From the catalog: Before […]
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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
* Shameless self-promotion for a good cause
January 27, 2010
I was honored by the request to pen the foreword for Jews and Baseball, Vol. 2: The Post-Greenberg Years, 1949-2008, by Burton and Benita Boxerman and published by McFarland. The first volume, subtitled Entering the American Mainstream, 1871-1948, was published by McFarland in 2007. Like its predecessor, this new “must-have” serves as a thorough resource […]
Tagged as: Jews and baseball
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