Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
One of the unsung players for the World Champion Mets in 1969, pitcher Jim McAndrew has died at the age of 80. He was just 6-7 for the Amazin’s that year (37-53 over seven seasons, the last with the Padres), but he was nevertheless a part of the rotation that included Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, […]
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Sad news today. Bud Harrelson has passed away at the age of 79. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019. Harrelson, of course, was a key player for the Mets since joining the team in 1965. A member of the Miracle Mets in 1969, he was perhaps better known for his fight with Pete […]
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No, Michael Nussbaum never played professional baseball. Nor was he an executive or a coach on any level. So what’s the connection? Recognize him now? It’s a scene from Field of Dreams (1989) in which Ray Kinsella and his wife, Annie, attend a school meeting regarding book censorship (unfortunately still a topical issue today. Not […]
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The only pitcher on the 1962 New York Mets with a winning record, MacKenzie passed away December 14 at the age of 89. The Gore Bay, Ontario-born lefty also went 3-1 for the 1963 Mets. Rookie Grover Powell, at 1-1, was the only other hurler not to have a losing record that year. MacKenzie made […]
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This is kind of a tree-falling-in-the-forest thing. If the “paper of record” carries an obituary, does that make an otherwise obscure player more of a celebrity? Probably, since many readers might never have heard of him before. The New York Times published this AP article noting the passing of Vic Davalillo, “a two-time World Series […]
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Rough day to report on writers, although this one happened more than a month ago. Jim Caple, long-time ESPN baseball scribe, died October 1 at the age of 61 after battling ALS and dementia. Caple covered 20 World Series for ESPN, the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I particularly enjoyed his work on […]
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The author of one of my favorite baseball novels, Brittle Innings, passed away on Nov. 13 at the age of 78. Here’s his obit from locusmag.com and his entry from the online Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Normally I don’t rely on Wikipedia, but in this case, the synopsis for the 1994 publication is pretty accurate: […]
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The bespectacled slugger passed away yesterday at the age of 87. Known for his gargantuan home runs as well as his size, the “Capital Punisher” lost 382 balls over a 17 year career that included the LA Dodgers, with whom he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1960; the Washington Senator/Texas Rangers, where […]
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The news that Tim Wakefield had died at the age of 57 from brain cancer was a shocker (the leaked info from Curt Schilling notwithstanding). I heard the sad tidings during the Mets game on Sunday. It never ceases to amaze me how “life goes on” after a few minutes of eulogizing. Back to the […]
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And another legend bites the dust. “Brooksie” passed away today at the age of 86. Here’s his obit from The Baltimore Sun by Mike Klingaman and The New York Times by Richard Goldstein. There was no “Mt. Rushmore” of third basemen; Robinson was ne plus ultra. There have been other great defensemen at his position, […]
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Unless you’re a Mets or Knicks fan, you might not know the nae. But Dennis D’Agostino was a vital cog to both teams, serving as a statistician long before computers were de rigueur. D’Agostino, who passed away last week at the age of 66, was author or co-author of three of my favorite baseball titles: […]
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Before Roger Craig was an innovative coach and manager, he was a pitcher for the fledgling New York Mets (and before that a Brooklyn Dodger) who led the NL in losses with 24 in 1962 and 22 the following year. He also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in ’64, the Cincinnati Reds in ’65, […]
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Even though I had been collecting a few cards in the mid 1960s, this is the one that stands out in my mind: Mike Shannon from the 1967 Topps set. Shannon, who was associated with the Cardinals for almost 60 years as a player and broadcaster, passed away Saturday at the age of 83. Here’s […]
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Dick Groat, an eight-time All-Star who won the NL MVP award in 1960 while playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, died April 27 at the age of 92. Here’s his obituary by Richard Goldstein in The New York Times. (The Times piece notes he was a five-time All-Star, but I’m saying eight since they played […]
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The co-author of one of the best selling baseball books ever — The Science of Hitting — has died at the age of 88. Underwood collaborated with Ted Williams for this classic, which was first published more than 50 years ago. It has appeared on my Baseball Best Seller entries just about every week since […]
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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. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]
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The first thing you have to have is a catcher. Because if you don’t have a catcher, you’re going to have a lot of passed balls and you’re going to be chasing the ball back to the screen all day. Casey Stengel on the decision to make Hobie Landrith the expansion New York Mets first […]
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Not a ballplayer, manager, or coach. But the actor, who died at the age of 81 on Saturday, played a famous figure in Major League history. Or rather infamous. Learner portrayed the gambler Arnold Rothstein in the 1988 feature film, Eight Men Out. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Lauren McCarthy.
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It’s been a tough week. We lost three former players, each of whom were icons in their own right. On February 28, Jean Faut, a star pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, died at the age of 98. From The New York Times‘ obit by Richard Sandomir: Over eight seasons, the right-handed Faut […]
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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
