Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
What might have been. From the New York Times obituary by Michael S. Rosenwald: Joe DePugh, the Little League teammate of Bruce Springsteen who inspired the rocker’s hit song “Glory Days,” a rousing, bittersweet anthem to their hardscrabble childhoods in Freehold, N.J., where time passed by “in the wink of a young girl’s eye,” died on […]
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This popped up on my daily Google alerts for baseball book-related stuff from Fine Books & Collections: “Early Baseball Sheet Music, Arrowsmith’s Maps, JFK Presentation Copy: Auction Preview” Image: Potter & Potter — “The earliest known baseball lithograph, for “The Live Oak Polka,” offered at Potter & Potter this week.” According to the accompanying story […]
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♦ Several baseball titles are mentioned in this list of 2022 sports books — most with a local angle — posted by Cleveland.com including Stolen Dreams: The 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars and Little League Baseball’s Civil War, by Chris Lamb Covey: A Stone’s Throw from a Coal Mine to the Hall of Fame, by Harry […]
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Not unusual to have a think piece about the state of baseball during the lull between the end of the LCS and World Series. Nor is it unusual for the “sky is falling” stories about how the sport is losing relevance, especially among African-Americans. So here’s this year’s model, penned by David Waldstein in yesterday’s […]
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Still unsure of what lies ahead for the 2020 season. All it takes is for one team to explode with cases of Covid-19. God forbid it ever comes to this. So on that happy note, humbly submitted for your amusement.
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Guess who has a new tune out about baseball? The song has been getting mixed reviews. Actually, the only “review” I’ve found so far is far from favorable, but since it’s from Deadspin, you have to take that into consideration. That’s it. I’m outta here. Enjoy your Mothers’ Day.
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The Inductions may be over, but the fun is just beginning. From the Hall of Fame: Baseball and opera intersect annually in Cooperstown with The Glimmerglass Festival and the Baseball Hall of Fame both drawing thousands of fans to Central New York. Emmy Award-winner Mark Schubin will discuss the connection between the two beloved institutions […]
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Big surprise: baseball games take longer than they used to. The Mets played three straight “overtimers” that went into extra innings against the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. The NY Times included this item (—>) comparing the trio of contests to the last time this occurred, in 1975 against the Chicago Cubs: Note that the first […]
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In my copious spare time, I like to unwind by playing the ukulele. I’m always looking for on-line sources of music, preferring the tunes from the early 1900s and jazz classics. I’m also a Tom Lehrer fan. So it was with a degree of amusement that I found this piece on one of my go-to […]
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The Baseball Project was the guest on the April 22 Soundcheck, performing three songs off their latest album, 3rd. Tracks on the new release include: Stat From Nails To Thumbtacks Hola America! 13 The Day Dock Went Hunting Heads To The Veterans Committee Monument Park Box Scores They Don’t Know Henry The Babe They Are […]
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Baseball Nation’s Jim Baker posted this list of “The 10 best songs about baseball players.” Counting down from ten, we have: 10. “Ken Griffey, Jr.” by Doe B. featuring Jr. Boss 9. “One Man, Five Tools” by Puig Destroyer 8. “Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)” by Richard (Popcorn) Wylie 7. “Panda and the Freak” […]
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Rob Neyer over at Baseball Nation posted this entry about this version of a Woody Guthrie song about Joe DiMaggio and his hitting streak. Houndmouth covers Billy Bragg & Wilco Sorry, and with all due respect to Mr. Neyer, but I much prefer the peppier Wilco version; the other one sounds too much like a […]
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From the folks at Mental Floss. Just curious: As a New Yorker, I know there are “official” songs for the Mets and Yankees. And “Tessie” has historically been considered the theme for the Boston Red Sox There are lots of songs about teams, but I’m just looking for more “official” tunes. For example, is this […]
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Got a nice writeup for 501 from Benjamin Hill at MiLB.com yesterday, which you can read here. Perhaps just as important, he sent this link to videos of several more teams doing the Harlem Shake, Gangham Minor League style. Enjoy.
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I wonder if that was an edict handed down by MLB. Submitted for your enjoyment: Cleveland Indians: A (Annotated!) Miami Marlins: B+ Arizona Diamondbacks: B Oakland A’s: B- Kansas City Royals: D
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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
