Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
in 1957, Yankee manager Casey Stengel is arrested and is released on $50 bail after he allegedly curses at and kicks a newspaper photographer during an exhibition game in St. Petersburg. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) So what did the stunned shutterbug say to Stengel? Now wait a minute, Casey!
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The Hall of Famer was born this day in 1893. “Gorgeous George” languished with the browns for most of his career, compiling a lietime .340 average. He twice batted over .400 and was the 1922 American League MVP. Perhaps he was more proud of the fact that two of his sons, Dick and Dave, went […]
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The Hall of Fame outfielder for the Phillies was born this day in 1927. Ashburn, who finished his career with the New York Mets, was a popular broadcaster for the Phillies. The Amazon Report on Richie Ashburn: Richie Ashburn Remembered (excerpt here) The Richie Ashburn story
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in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles purchase the contract of first baseman Eddie Waitkus from the Philadelphia Phillies. Waitkus was the player shot by a stalker fan and the supposed inspiration for Bernard Malamud’s The Natural. The Amazon Report for Eddie Waitkus: Baseball’s Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus
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“Little Poison” was born this day in 1906. The 5’9″ Hall of Fame outfielder for (primarily) this Pittsburgh Prates batted .318 over his 18-year career (1927-45). Legend states that he has his brother, “Big Poison” Paul, were thusly dubbed by Dodger fans who said “There goes the big poison (person in Brooklynese) and the little […]
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The Minnesota Twins Hall-of-Famer was born this date in 1960. He died way too young, just shy of his 46th birthday in 2006. The Amazon Report for Kirby Puckett: I Love This Game!: My Life and Baseball Puck! Kirby Puckett: Baseball’s Last Warrior Be the Best You Can Be
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Almost didn’t get this one in today. John Franklin Baker was born on this date in Trappe, Maryland in 1886. I only mention his birthplace because it was also where he died 77 years later. I wonder how many people live and die in the town in which they were born? Baker spent his 13-year […]
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The submariner journeyman pitcher turns 58 today. Leach was another of those players who came to the Majors relatively late (27). He had one great year, going 11-1 for the Mets in 1987, including a 10-innning, 1-0 shutout, but received relatively littl fanfare. Leach wrote about his experiences, including his sense of betrayal by “the […]
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Potential is such as sad word when it comes to sports. It seems it more often used when an athlete fails to live up to the predictions. Strawberry, who turns 46 today, was one such player. When he burst on to the scene with the Mets in 1983, people started comparing him with Ted Williams […]
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in 1933, Rogers Hornsby returns to the Cardinals as a player after a six year absence (thanks to NationalPastime.com). Hornsby was not one of your happy, shining people. His reputation as a misanthrope preceded him, yet he was able to find a job because he was such an astute baseball ma who batted over .400 […]
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The man who claims to have pitched a no-hitter under the influence of LSD turns 63 today. Ellis played for 12 seasons (1968-79) with the Pirates, Yankees, A’s, Rangers and Mets, compiling a 138-199 record. He collaborated with author Donald Hall on his autobiography in 1976. The Amazon Report: Dock Ellis in the Country of […]
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in 1995, Michael Jordan decides he might have made a mistake when he quit basketball at the height of his game to try his hand at baseball. He took advantage of the labor unrest to announce his plan to give up the diamond for the hardwood. The Amazon Report: Rookie: When Michael Jordan Came to […]
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Born this day in 1958, the star-crossed pitcher died in 2006 as the result a car accident, and not, surprisingly, drug use. Howe was a sometimes brilliant reliever who played mostly for the Dodgers and Yankees. Suspended several times from substance, abuse, Howe got more second chances than just about any athlete in history. The […]
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Not the first — that honor went to Jim Brosnan — but perhaps the best of the genre he tackled, Bouton turns 69 today. “The Bulldog” enjoyed a couple of good years for the New York Yankees, winning 20 games in1963 and 18 more in 1964, the last good year the team had for more […]
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In 1941, ‘Losing Pitcher’ Hugh Mulcahy of the Phillies becomes the first major league player to be drafted into the Armed Forces. The newest member of the 101st Artillery at Cape Cod’s Camp Edwards on had lost 22 games last season and 20 in 1938 to lead the National League in defeats both years. (Thanks […]
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Born this day in 1940, “Pops” died too young, at age 61 in 2001. Stargell was one of the stars of the Pirates “We Are Family” team in the early 1970s, a fearsome batter who had a trademark windmill-style of taking his practice swings. The Amazon Report: Willie Stargell: An Autobiography Out of left field: […]
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Former Pirate second baseman Bill Mazeroski is elected by the Veterans’ Committee into the Hall of Fame along. His walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series is still ranked as one of the most dramatic moments in the game. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) The Amazon Report: Twin Killing: The Bill Mazeroski Story
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in 1912, Charles Ebbets breaks ground for his team’s new ballpark in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn. The Dodgers new home will be named for its owner after a reporter at the ceremony suggests the idea to Charley. (Thanks to Nationalpastime.com.) The Amazon Report: Hit Sign, Win Suit: An Irishman’s Tribute to Ebbets Field Greatest […]
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The fireballing right-hander was born in 1891. He spent his best years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning more than twenty games three times. Vance had his best season in 1924, with a record of 28-6, completing 30 of 34 starts, pitching more than 308 innings and posting 262 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA. The Amazon […]
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Born in 1897, O’Doul began his big-league career as a pitcher in 1919, but flamed out by 1923. He returned to the majors in 1928, reinventing himself as an outfielder. Over the next seven seasons, he batted .353, including a an NL-best .398 in 1929, the year he also had career highs of 32 homers […]
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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
