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); 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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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: […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Roger Kahn’s The Seventh Game is available for the Kindle for at least the rest of today. Another giveaway is a PDF download of the 2013 Guide to Mental Performance in Baseball, offered by The Baseball Zone. You have to give them your name and email first, though. You’re welcome.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
One of the good things about having a Kindle or Nook is the ability to read sample of a book before buying. Makes sense; if you were at a bookstore, you’d probably leaf through at least a few pages (although I once read an entire book over the course of a few lunch hours. That’s […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
While doing research for my project, I came across this list, published in 2002, of the 100 top sports books of all time as chosen by the editors of Sports Illustrated. Of those 100, “only” 32 were about baseball. The nerve. Anyway, here’s the SI piece, trimmed to just baseball titles, with commentary from the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The semi-regular roundup of things I neglected to post previously. From DriveLineBaseball, this review of The Physics of Pitching: Learn the Mechanics, Science, and Psychology of Pitching to Success. Upshot: It “falls well short of [Robert K.} Adair’s classic text [The Physics of Baseball]. Sure, it looks a lot cooler (the photography is top notch), […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Gil McDougald, born this date in 1928, was a solid player on the Yankees during their heyday (hey-years?) of the 1950s. In 10 seasons, he averaged 14 home runs, 76 RBIs, and a .276 batting average. He added another seven blasts (and 24 RBIs) in eight World Series (53 games). Sadly his legacy is to […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I have a special affinity for players who remain with one team for their career: Carl Yazstremski, Cal Ripken, Jr., Mantle, Feller, Musial, etc. Free agency has rendered such a feat exceedingly rare. (Several years ago, The New York Times produced a pretty item featuring a a dozen or so contemporary players; the date isn’t […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
A middling relief pitcher for the Braves and a couple of other teams in the 1970s, Tom House‘s biggest claim to fame was catching Hank Aaron’s 715th home run in the bullpen. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Since then he’s earned a reputation (not to mention a PhD) as […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Don Mattingly turns the big 5-Oh today. Donnie Baseball: The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingly Don Mattingly’s Hitting Is Simple: The ABC’s of Batting .300 Also born this date in 1929, Harry Agganis, the Golden Greek, who tied way too young, at the age of 26 due to massive pulmonary embolism. Harry Agganis, ” the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Gil Hodges was born this date in 1924. While compiling my list of books about Hall of Famers, I couldn’t help but ask why some of these guys were in while someone like Hodges was out. Praying for Gil Hodges: A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family’s Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Baseball: How To Play The Game: The Official Playing and Coaching Manual of Major League Baseball. Universe, 2011. This colorful and informative book comes out just in time for spring training (although many schools have already started their season). With text by Pete Williams, the large-format paperback covers all aspects of the game, from picking […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Don’t look for his name on Baseball-Reference.com. Harvey Dorfman, who specialized in helping players achieve peak mental conditioning, died earlier this week at the age of 75. I was wondering why he had multiple books on Amazon’s best-selling baseball chart when I did the TWIBB entry; now I understand. Dorfman had a major influence on […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb 25, at 1:30 p.m. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2011 1 Baseball America 2011 Prospect Handbook: The 2011 Expert Guide to Baseball Prospects and MLB Organization Rankings 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis (Kindle version) 3 The Last […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The former manager died yesterday. The NY Times obituary by Bruce Weber put his age “in his early 80s.” Tanner, who led the Pittsburgh, Pirates to the world Championship in 1979, played for eight seasons with the Braves, Cubs, Indians, and Angels from 1955-62, compiling a .263 batting average, 21 homers, and 105 RBI, mostly […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Jan. 28 at noon. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2011 1 Baseball America 2011 Prospect Handbook: The 2011 Expert Guide to Baseball Prospects and MLB Organization Rankings (Baseball America Prospect Handbook) 2 The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Also known by Mets fans as The Franchise, Tom Seaver turns 66 today. This is one of the “heroes” of my youth and an education that regardless of your perceived value, an athlete is basically a commodity, to be bought, sold, traded, discarded (although that term seems a bit harsh). After expressing dissatisfaction with the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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
