Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The North County Times of California published this review/profile on the new autobiography of Jerry Coleman. Ted Williams got the major press for serving in both WWII and the Korean War, but Coleman, the second baseman for the New York Yankees during their post-war juggernaut run, was right there, too. After his playing career, he […]
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The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson, and Tim Wiles. Hal Leonard, 2008. This year marks the centennial of what baseball fans believe to be the true “national anthem” and this trio of authors have done the ditty proud. Baseball’s Greatest Hit is an “everything you always […]
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…in 1978, the A’s end the fifteen-year career of Dick Allen by releasing the aging superstar. The Wampum, Pennsylvania native finishes his stormy relationship with major league baseball with 351 homers, 1,192 RBIs and .292 batting average. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) The Amazon Report on Richie Allen: Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen September […]
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in 1973, the Braves release former 30-game winner Denny McLain two days before his 29th birthday. In a career which spanned ten years, McLain compiled a 131-92 record with an ERA of 3.39. I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect In 1982, the Mariners sign 43-year old Gaylord Perry to a one-year contract. The ‘Ancient Mariner’ […]
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(Because you can put the souvenir postcards of the plaques on a bookshelf.) For the first time ever, the Hall of Fame plaques of Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson will leave their home in Cooperstown, as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will travel the plaques to Memphis, Tenn., this weekend for a […]
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in 1957, Yankee manager Casey Stengel is arrested and is released on $50 bail after he allegedly curses at and kicks a newspaper photographer during an exhibition game in St. Petersburg. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) So what did the stunned shutterbug say to Stengel? Now wait a minute, Casey!
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Baseball’s real anthem celebrates its centennial this year, a fact marked by the new book, Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, by Tim Wiles, Andy Strasberg and Bob Thomson as well as Allen Barra’s March 22 story in The Wall Street Journal.
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In 1951, the Dodgers sign a 21-year lease with the City of Vero Beach for use of their spring training site. That arrangement ended this spring. (Thanks to nationalpastime.com) The Amazon Report on Dodgertown: The Rise and Fall of Dodgertown: 60 Years of Baseball in Vero Beach Dodgertown (CA) (Images of Baseball)
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in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles purchase the contract of first baseman Eddie Waitkus from the Philadelphia Phillies. Waitkus was the player shot by a stalker fan and the supposed inspiration for Bernard Malamud’s The Natural. The Amazon Report for Eddie Waitkus: Baseball’s Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus
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From the Adam’s Life blog, an unusual connection between baseball and the antithesis of the national pastime.
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Bob Uecker, the Brewers’ TV/radio play-by-play announcer, is chosen for induction into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award in 2003. The 68-year-old former back-up catcher, who joined the Milwaukee broadcast crew in 1971, is best known for the humor he has brought to the […]
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in 1933, Rogers Hornsby returns to the Cardinals as a player after a six year absence (thanks to NationalPastime.com). Hornsby was not one of your happy, shining people. His reputation as a misanthrope preceded him, yet he was able to find a job because he was such an astute baseball ma who batted over .400 […]
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in 1995, Michael Jordan decides he might have made a mistake when he quit basketball at the height of his game to try his hand at baseball. He took advantage of the labor unrest to announce his plan to give up the diamond for the hardwood. The Amazon Report: Rookie: When Michael Jordan Came to […]
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In 1941, ‘Losing Pitcher’ Hugh Mulcahy of the Phillies becomes the first major league player to be drafted into the Armed Forces. The newest member of the 101st Artillery at Cape Cod’s Camp Edwards on had lost 22 games last season and 20 in 1938 to lead the National League in defeats both years. (Thanks […]
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Former Pirate second baseman Bill Mazeroski is elected by the Veterans’ Committee into the Hall of Fame along. His walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series is still ranked as one of the most dramatic moments in the game. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) The Amazon Report: Twin Killing: The Bill Mazeroski Story
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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
* The Sports Illustrated "Vault": An early appraisal
March 22, 2008
Sports Illustrated launched its new digital archive earlier this week. After a quick glance, and realizing it’s still in beta, I have mixed feelings. Bear in mind I’m only talking about the baseball here, but I’m assuming the same applies for everything else. As of today, there are 14,985 articles, 3,750 pictures, 69 “galleries” (photo […]
Tagged as: archives baseball research, SI, Sports Illustrated Vault
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