We lost another Hall of Famer with the passing of Lou Brock. In addition to being the stolen base king before Rickey Henderson took the title, Brock was involved in what has usually been considered one of the top ten controversial trades of all time, coming over from the Chicago Cubs for Ernie Broglio. Here […]
Tagged as:
Lou Brock,
Tom Seaver
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Art Shamsky,
Jackie Robinson,
Michael Lewis,
Moneyball,
New York Mets,
Pat Jordan,
Ted Williams,
Tom Seaver
Once in a while at work, we have some fun by going around with our favorite fill-in-the-blank at the end of our pre-opening meeting. Last Friday — Aug. 28 — we were asked to name our favorite childhood and current movies. I couldn’t recall a flick from my youth at the time (The Wizard of […]
Tagged as:
Chadwick Boseman,
Jackie Robinson
Lost in all the drama of the continuing pandemic, presidential election conventions, and other items: August 17 marked the 100th anniversary of the only fatality on a major league baseball field. Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Naps (as the Indians were known at the time) was killed by a pitch from the New York Yankees’ […]
Tagged as:
Carl Mays,
Gary Cieradkowski,
Mike Sowell,
Molly Lawless,
Ray Chapman,
Rick Swaine
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
Bernard Malamud,
Doc Gooden,
Jim Bouton,
Joe DiMaggio,
Lou Gehrig,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Ted Williams,
Willie Mays,
Yogi Berra
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Missed over the holiday weekend: the passing of the talented Mr. Wheeler, a writer who assisted on the autobiographies of superstars like Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, and Mike Piazza, as well as his own thought-provoking work. Here’s The New York Times‘ obituary, contributed by Richard Sandomir. I had the pleasure of talking with Wheeler for […]
Tagged as:
Lonnie Wheeler
According to Bert Sugar’s Rain Delays, one of Willie Mays‘ literary collaborators had an ignominious interaction with his subject. “[A]t the end of the 1965 season, when [Charles] Einstein gave his subject a follow up call, after having taken notes with Mays throughout the season and after having identified himself over the phone, Mays said ‘Charlie […]
Tagged as:
John Shea,
Willie Mays
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
Jim Bouton,
Lou Gehrig,
New York Mets,
New York Yankees,
Roy Halladay,
Ted Williams,
Yogi Berra
Ever since Moneyball came out in 2003, most books analyzing the national pastime dealt with cold hard numbers. Putting a team together, it seems, is a lesson in math. But according to veteran journalist and author Joan Ryan, it’s a science. Chemistry, to be precise. (Full disclosure: I was never very good in that particular […]
Tagged as:
Barry Bonds,
Joan Ryan,
Jonny Gomes,
San Francisco Giants
Going old school here as we return to an audio-only Conversations. A couple of years ago, I was engaged to work on the memoirs of a gentleman from the Middle East. He was in my town on an extended trip, staying at an Air BnB run by friends of ours. Just about every day after […]
Tagged as:
Bartolo Colon,
Michael Stahl
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Babe Ruth,
Jay Horwitz,
Jim Bouton,
Lou Gehrig,
New York Mets,
New Yortk Yankees,
Roy Halladay,
Washington Nationals,
Yogi Berra
Curt Smith and I go way back, relatively speaking. My first interview with him came in 2012 when he published Mercy!: A Celebration of Fenway Park’s Centennial Told Through Red Sox Radio and TV. In The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House — the subject of this Conversation — he […]
Tagged as:
baseball and politics,
Curt Smith
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
Jay Horwitz,
Jim Bouton,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Lou Gehrig,
Milwaukee Brewers,
Moneyball,
Rod Carew,
Roy Halladay,
Willie Mays,
Yogi Berra
Remember last time when I said I wasn’t going to make a whole, long intro because it was on the video and would be redundant? Nevermind. Now I’ve removed the intro from the video, preferring not to tell you what I’m going to tell you, telling you, and telling you what I wold you. You’re […]
Tagged as:
Alan Gaff,
Lou Gehrig