Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
There is little that I can offer that would be as eloquent as what others have said and written about the legendary broadcaster who passed away Tuesday at the age of 94. From what I know, Scully was a modest person and a real mensch. He declined to tell his own story and was almost […]
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The venerable actor who often played on both sides of the law passed away yesterday at the age of 83. Not mentioned among his many credits in The New York Times‘ obituary were his two baseball roles: Milwaukee Brewers a fictional manager Gus Panas in the 2004 feature film Mr. 3000 starring the late Bernie […]
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Dead at 94. His portrait of Joe DiMaggio has appeared in numerous books about baseball art, including the cover of From The New York Times obituary by Richard Sandomir …Mr. Dinnerstein largely depicted the life around him: on the subway, in parks, outside brownstones like his own in Brooklyn. In a rare foray into portraying […]
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Meant to post this a while back. The actor famed for, among other roles, his rendition of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams died last week at the age of 67. There have been complaints about the casting of and portrayal by Liotta as the shamed Black Sox outfielder. For one thing, there was […]
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The softball legend who once struck out Ted Williams in an exhibition appearance, died March 26 at the age of 81. Unfortunately, no video exists for that event. Today it would be all over the internet. According to the obituary in today’s New York Times, For 10 to 15 minutes, Williams, a left-handed hitter, swung […]
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AKA, the original Mr. Met. Reilly passed away last Dec. 30 at the age of 83. According to the obituary in Jan. 7 issue of The New York Times by Richard Sandomir Mr. Reilly was working in the Mets’ ticket office when two team executives asked him to breathe corporeal life into Mr. Met, who […]
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The character actor who played Chick Gandil in the classic baseball flick Field of Dreams died Nov. 17 at the age of 78 after a long battle with Parkinson’s. Gandil — a notorious member of the Black Sox — was not the only baseball figure LaFleur portrayed: he also appeared as Babe Ruth in The Sandlot. […]
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The long-time Red Sox favorite passed away Saturday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68. Remy, a native Bay Stater, was drafted by the California Angels in 1971. He played for the Halos from 1975-77 and was traded to Boston in the off-season. The diminutive second-baseman made the All-Star team for the first […]
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The long-time sportswriter and the first author to focus on a single-game analysis passed away Sunday at the ripe old age of 99. I had interviewed Arnold Hano back in 2012 to discuss A Day in the Bleachers, a classic about the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians. It would […]
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The backstop for the “Dynastic, Fantastic, Bombastic…Swingin’ A’s” (to borrow from author Jason Turbow) passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after a long battle with cancer. Here’s the obituary which appeared in East Bay Times. Fosse seems to be the poster boy when discussing “what might have been.” He was a promising catcher […]
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We lost another baseball lifer with the passing of Eddie Robinson on Monday at the age of 100. Here’s the New York Times obituary by Richard Goldstein. He enjoyed a 13 year career, spent entirely in the American League where he played on every team except the Boston Red Sox. Robinson, the oldest former big […]
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Although he played many roles over his illustrious career, Ed Asner will always be remembered as Lou Grant, the gruff but fair boss of Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (and later as the eponymous character in his own series). The long-time actor passed away yesterday at the age of 91. His baseball […]
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The 12-time All-Star catcher for the Detroit Tigers of the 60s and 70s passed away earlier this week at the age of 79. Here’s the obit from the Detroit Free Press. Freehan finished in the top three for the AL MVP vote in 1967 and 1968. He took advantage of his fame by publishing Behind […]
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The gigantic flamethrower for the Houston Astros in the 1970s passed away last night at the age of 71. Richard, who won 20 games in 1976 and 18 for the next three seasons, saw his career struck short because of a stroke at the age of 30. Although he attempted a comeback, it never progressed […]
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A reminder: 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 posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]
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Are you kidding me? I only heard about this today, even though Sutton, a 300-game winner and Hall of Famer, passed away Monday at the age of 75. Here’s his obituary from the Los Angeles Times by Bill Shaikin. As Richard Sandomir’s notes in his obit in The New York Times, this makes nine Hall […]
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The Hall of Fame manager who “bled Dodger Blue” passed away yesterday at the age of 93. Lasorda spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers. A middling pitcher, he was sent down by Brooklyn in 1955 to make room for a teenaged Sandy Koufax. Here’s Richard Goldstein’s obituary in The New York Times […]
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The MLB Network has put together a bittersweet tribute to six Hall of Famers we lost this year. Highly recommended. (Phil Niekro’s passing must have been too recent to be included.) I know I should be surprised, but I was still shocked to see how much Tim McCarver has aged. Less so for Johnny Bench, […]
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Will this year ever end? We lost yet another baseball great: Phil Niekro, the ageless knuckleballer, died December 26 at the age of 81. Here’s the obituary from The New York Times by Richard Goldstein, as well as an appreciation by Tyler Kepner. And here’s one from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Niekro had a record […]
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In addition to baseball, I’ve always enjoyed me some good science fiction. Right now the missus and I are watching Expanse (Netflix) on the recommendation of some friends. After two episodes, it doesn’t seem to be in my wheelhouse, but they urge us to keep going, comparing it with Battlestar Gallactica (also not really my […]
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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 blog 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
