Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Two legends in Atlanta Braves history have passed away within days of each other. Ted Turner, the irascible former owner of the team from 1976-2007, died May 6 at the age of 87. In addition to owning the team, Turner founded CNN and started the superstation TBS. (A personal note: when I was in grad […]
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A day late. Oopsie. If I had been on time, it would have marked the tenth anniversary of “one of the greatest moments in the history of baseball,” according to Mets announcer Gary Cohen. Colon published his memoirs, Big Sexy: In His Own Words, in 2020, two years after he retired at the age of 45. […]
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The long-time voice of the New York Yankees died today (May 4) at the age of 87. Sterling was famous for his home run calls — “It is high. It is far. It is…gone!” — along with pet names and phrases he employed such as, “All rise. Here comes the Judge.” Here’s his obituary by […]
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Congrats to Sandy Koufax for winning Baseball Digest’s sixth annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The announcement appears in the May/June 2026 issue. “The name Sandy Koufax has become a synonym for ‘great pitcher,’” according to Baseball Digest publisher David Fagley. Koufax turned 90 this past December and still looks like he could toss an inning or […]
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I can’t remember where I first saw an article about nightstand books, but it made me stop and think. At any one time, I am juggling my reading. Ninety percent is baseball, but you have to mix in other things just to spice it up. This is what’s currently on my nightstand. I always try […]
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The most confusing day for those keeping scorecards, as every player is wearing the celebrated Number 42. Here’s what I posted 10 years ago (“Wayback Wednesday”?). The sentiment remains the same, although the list of books about Robinson has grown since then, including, from 2026 alone: Integration at Second Base: Jackie Robinson and the Quest […]
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In Her Own League, a novel by Liz Tomforde about the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, is among a recent top five most-read books of the past week by Bookriot.com, which posted, “Almost 25,000 Goodreads users read it this week, and it has a 4.5 average rating.” Tomforde’s novel has to remind […]
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The stolen base maven who spent the majority of his 17-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers passed away April 8 at the age of 80. Lopes, who stolen 47 bases at the age of 40 (with just four caught-stealing), got a late start, joining the Dodgers at the age of 27 in 1972. He […]
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In the “here’s something you don’t see every day” category: With so many books, it’s a rare thing when Publisher’s Weekly does something with a baseball title, but here’s what they had to say about Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero, by Thomas Gilbert. From America Magazine: The Jesuit Review […]
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Is there any “ordinary” player in the history of the game who became a legend overnight like Bill Mazeroski? Any fan worth their salt knows that “Maz” hit the home run in the bottom of the ninth in Game Seven of the 1960 Fall Classic against the New York Yankees to give his Pittsburgh Pirates […]
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As per Frederick Frommer, author of several baseball titles either on his own or with his father, Harvey, comes this appreciation of “Baseball Bugs,” a Looney Tunes favorite that made its debut in 1946. Frommer notes, “The 1946 cartoon is so packed with funny gags, clever puns, imaginative imagery and lively music that it’s still […]
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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
