Thanks to social media and email, there are probably people you’ve known for years but have never actually met. For me, Mike Shannon is one of those people. I would venture to say I’ve been corresponding with Shannon for 20 or so years but I only recently had a chance to actually hear his voice for our […]
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Mike Shannon,
Spitball Magazine
What’s wrong with the national pastime? Seems like everyone has an opinion, but some strike me as more informed than others. That’s the feeling I came away with after reading Lincoln Mitchell‘s new book, Will Big League Baseball Survive?: Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports, and the Future of Major League Baseball. I can […]
Tagged as:
baseball broadcasting,
how to fix baseball,
Lincoln Mitchell
The warm feelings about the Chicago Cubs’ first world championship since 1908 has also had an impact on the world of baseball literature. To be fair, the Cubs have always been right up there when it comes to books about a team, comparable to the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox, but almost for the opposite […]
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Al Yellon,
Chicago Cubs,
World Series
There have been dozens of guys like Jimmie Reese, Birdie Tebbets, and many others who are known as “baseball lifers.” They spend their entire professional career in the game perhaps starting out as a player before moving into scouting or coaching/managing, or the front office. I have found there are baseball lifers among authors as well. […]
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baseball writers,
Peter Golenbock
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
baseball fiction,
Bernard Malamud,
Brian Kenny,
instructionals,
Lenny Dykstra,
managing,
Michael Lewis,
Mike Mathany,
Moneyball,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Bernard Malamud,
Brian Kenny,
instructionals,
Lenny Dykstra,
managing,
Michael Lewis,
Mike Mathany,
Moneyball,
New York Mets,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
Ron Darling,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
World Series
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Bernard Malamud,
Brian Kenny,
independent leagues,
instructionals,
Lenny Dykstra,
managing,
Michael Lewis,
Mike Mathany,
Moneyball,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Tim Kurkjian
Once in awhile a book will come along purporting to be “the next big thing” in how people perceive, discuss, and/or enjoy the national pastime. These are usually written by someone in the broadcasting industry, which makes sense. After all, these people have seen hundreds of games a year; who better to offer insight with […]
Tagged as:
Brian Kenny
You can read the introduction to Part One here. The sentiment remains the same. http://www.ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bookshelf-Michael-Leahy-Part-Two.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michael Leahy,
Sandy Koufax,
Vietnam War
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
baseball analysis,
ESPN,
Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas,
Jim Palmer,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
New York Mets,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
Ron Darling,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Tim Kurkjian,
Ty Cobb,
World Series
If you’re lucky, once in a while on your literary travels, you will come across a book that will be unlike anything you’ve read before. This is especially true if you concentrate on a specific genre or theme like mystery novels, biographies about your favorite personality or, oh, I don’t know, let’s just say baseball […]
Tagged as:
Dick Trazcewski,
Jeff Torborg,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Lou Johnson,
Michael Leahy,
Sandy Koufax,
Tommy Davis,
Wes Parker
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
baseball analysis,
ESPN,
instructionals,
Jim Palmer,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
Milwaukee Brewers,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
Tim Kurkjian,
Ty Cobb
Many of us play Strat-o-matic or some other fantasy version of the game. Robert Coover wrote the classic baseball fiction, The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. Well, Coover has company in Jeff Polman, who recently released Twinbill: Further Immersions in Historical Baseball Fiction — his fourth book — which includes a speculative […]
Tagged as:
Hank Greenberg,
Jeff Polman
Full disclosure: Howard Megdal and I go back a fair piece. I did a story on him when he published The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players and we’ve kept in touch over the years. In a sense, I consider him my “rabbi,” the consigliere type as opposed to than something […]
Tagged as:
Excelle Sports,
Howard Megdal,
New York Mets,
St. Louis Cardinals
Often imitated, never equaled, the author of the book that “started it all” turns 77 today. “Bulldog” was kind enough to share his thoughts with an incarnation of the Bookshelf Conversation in 2010. You can listen to all three parts here.
Tagged as:
Jim Bouton
Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]
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Arnold Hano,
Baseball Cards,
Bill James,
David Simon,
Dock Ellis,
ESPN,
John Grisham,
Jon Leonoudakis,
Mark Ulriksen,
NPR,
Ray Negron,
Sports Illustrated,
Trouble With the Curve,
Zack Hample
Funny how discoveries are made. My wife and I were having lunch at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, last fall and dropped by the gift shop on the way out. Now usually, I hover around the door, tapping my foot impatiently and watching my watch. But right at the front of the shop […]
Tagged as:
Kevin Larkin,
Lou Gehrig
It hasn’t even been released yet (official date: March 22) but Stealing Games: How John McGraw Transformed Baseball with the 1911 New York Giants by Maury Klein leads off this Examiner.com article on “The Write Stuff: A look at some of this year’s most notable books.” According to the piece, “The book gives a great—yet […]
Tagged as:
George Gibsonb,
Maury Klein,
New York Giants
NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]
Tagged as:
Baseball instruction,
Chicago Cubs,
John Feinstein,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michael Lewis,
minor leagues,
Oakland Athletic s,
Roger Angell,
St. Louis Cardinals
(Note: I posted this originally on my blog about Jews and sports, but since it’s based on a fantastic baseball book, I thought it would be appropriate here as well.) And when I say “The Catch,” of course I’m talking about Willie Mays’ iconic grab in Game One of the 1954 World Series against the […]
Tagged as:
Al Rosen,
Arnold Hano,
Bergino Baseball Clubhouse,
Jon Leonoudakis,
Willie Mays
is available on Amazon.com,
