From the category archives:

New title

Eric Seidman, a senior at Penn State, has written Bridging the Statistical Gap, which “takes readers inside the sport’s box scores and stat sheets,” according to this article in the university’s Daily Collegian Online. The book is expected to be released in May. Some topics include: Great Batting Average Debate: What batting average does and […]

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Former pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles Jon Burnham was transformed from an egotistical, foul-mouthed baseball player headed for hell into an obedient servant of God. The author of The Winning Pitch chronicles his story of what God did in his life and the lives of many people who came to him for Biblical counsel. Read […]

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* Women and baseball

April 7, 2008

This article from the Brockton, MA Enterprise, features It Takes More Than Balls — The Savvy Girls Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball. It might not have been so if one of the authors wasn’t a local product.

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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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Two reviews from the book industry publication: The Crowd Sounds Happy: A Story of Love, Madness and Baseball, by Nicholas Dawidof (a “starred” review) and Working at the Ballpark: The Fascinating Lives of Baseball People—from Peanut Vendors and Broadcasters to Players and Managers, by Tom Jones (a different one, I’m sure).

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NPR — National Pastime Radio — is gearing up for another season. The March 21 edition of All Things Considered, considers Peter Morris’ latest book, But Didn’t We Have Fun?: An Informal History of Baseball’s Pioneer Era, 1843-1870. The piece includes an interview with the author, a link to the audio interview, and an excerpt […]

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Let the book tour begin

March 20, 2008

From The Deadbolt News, a report on the “opening night” of Jose Canseco’s author tour, which begins Monday, March 31 on Letterman. According to the official CBS press release, “Canseco will appear on the LATE SHOW to promote his new book, Vindicated, which will be published on the following day, Tuesday, April 1. Vindicated is […]

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Wilfred Santiago pays homage to his countryman Roberto Clemente in graphic novela form, due out later this year. According to the publication’s Web site, 21 is “a human drama of courage and dignity….Facing prejudice during times of change, his talent went unrecognized for most of his eighteen seasons. Clemente, however, never lost of sight of […]

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Bits and Pieces

March 11, 2008

From Umpbump.com, a Letterman-like list of alternate uses for the weighty 2008 edition of Baseball Prospectus. From a December entry on HardballTimes.com, an interview with the prolific John Thorn. Mary Ann Childers, medical editor for the CBS affiliate in Chicago, on Your Brain on Cubs in which she “takes a look at a new book […]

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Bits and Pieces

March 3, 2008

With the weeks winding down until Opening Day, look for a flurry of activity for baseball book reviews. I have two feature pieces forthcoming in the next few months: ForeWord Magazine, which concentrates on the output of small and university presses, and Bookreporter.com. In the meantime, here are a few recent reviews: The Rise and […]

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A review of Andrew Schiff’s new book on Henry Chadwick from Bleacherreport.com. Upshot: Even though I consider myself a devoted student of baseball history and lore, I didn’t know very much about Harry Chadwick and everything he meant to the game I love. But thanks to Andrew Schiff and his wonderful biography, I do now. […]

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From the Raleigh (NC) Chronicle: An exhaustive 400 page book coming off the presses in March will document the history of professional baseball in North Carolina and also features Durham’s pivotal role in Tarheel baseball. Entitled “Cradle of the Game”, the book’s author is Mark Cryan, who lives in Burlington. Cryan used to work in […]

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Review: Mets by the Numbers

February 25, 2008

As an unabashed Mets fan I’ll read anything about the team. Of course, this non-discriminatory policy can lead to some time-wasting clunkers. On the other hand, there are some time-wasters that can be lots of fun (you’re reading this, after all).  Mets by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Amazin’ Mets by Uniform […]

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From an AP report that appeared on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Web site on Feb. 22: “A budding author currently researching his second book, [Miguel] Batista was also selected to join the Major League Baseball Players Association’s executive board. Part of his duties included reviewing the Mitchell Report, an investigation into the use of steroids in […]

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On This day…

February 22, 2008

In 2005, Jerry Coleman, the former Yankee star, military veteran, and broadcaster for the Yankees, Angels and Padres, was selected as recipient for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award. Coleman, the MVP of the 1950 world Series, was a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War, along […]

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For serious collectors only

February 19, 2008

When it was first published, Ballet in the Dirt: The Golden Age of Baseball, a collection of Neil Leifer’s photographs which had a limited run of 1,000 copies, went for $400; towards the end, it was selling for $700. The 65-year-old Leifer, who has spent a good portion of his shooting for Sports Illustrate, is […]

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“Michael Long has collected the personal correspondences of Jackie Robinson in First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson. From Robinson’s integration of major league baseball, to his involvement in the civil rights movement and national politics, his letters reflect the political landscape of the fifties and sixties. Jackie Robinson’s correspondents included many […]

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Giving the fans the finger

January 25, 2008

Will Leitch, editor of Deadspin.com, recently published God Save The Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (and How We Can Get It Back). King Kaufman (I’d like to see his birth certificate), highlights the verbosely-titled book in his […]

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José Canseco, the former major league slugger and admitted steroid user who exposed other players in his 2005 best-selling book “Juiced,” offered to keep a Detroit Tigers outfielder “clear” in his next book if the player invested money in a film project Canseco was promoting, according to a person in baseball with knowledge of the […]

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Mel Didier, ex-Expo

January 11, 2008

Since my mother’s family comes from Montreal, I’ve always considered it a second home. So while you fans up north were ignoring Nos Amors, forcing them to move to DC, I was always fascinated with the team, especially since all the written material came out in both French and English versions. Very cool. I still […]

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