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 […]
I had hoped, by the time you hear this, the New York Mets would still have been in Wold Series. Alas. But even though they lost the fall classic, they still gave their fans a season to remember, one for the books, as the saying goes. One book that might need revising, thanks to Daniel […]
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New York Mets
Missed last week because of vacation. Hey, I’m entitled. Anyway… 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 […]
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Bob Gibson,
Derek Jeter,
Kansas City Royals,
Lonnie Wheeler,
Los Angeles Dodger,
Michael Lewis,
Molly Knights,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Ted Williams,
Ty Cobb,
Yogi Berra
Now that we’ve come to the end of the season, we can see who the geniuses and pretenders are. On the one end, you have Theo Epstein, who may be on the verge of taking another team that had gone decades in the doldrums — the Chicago Cubs — to the World’s Championship, just as […]
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:
Bob Gibson,
Cincinatti Reds,
Derek Jeter,
Lonnie Wheeler,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
World Series,
Yogi Berra
Very little grass grows under Lonnie Wheeler’s feet. His second-most recent title, Intangiball: The Subtle Things That Win Baseball Games, was released on August 11 and less than two months later we have Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game, the third book he has done with Hall of Famer Bob Gibson. (Actually, […]
Tagged as:
Bob Gibson,
Cincinnati Reds,
Lonnie Wheeler
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:
Derek Jeter,
Jeremy Affeldt,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Moneyball,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
San Francisco Giants,
Yogi Berra
In addition to his “solo career,” such as one of my favorites, Cult Baseball Players: The Greats, the Flakes, the Weird and the Wonderful, Danny Peary knows how to work nice with other people. He’s served as co-author on memoirs such as Ralph Kiner’s Baseball Forever: Reflections on 60 Years in the Game as well […]
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Danny Peary,
Derek Jeter,
Gil Hodges,
Ralph Kiner,
Roger Maris,
Tim McCarver
In the Seinfeld episode, “The Boyfriend,” Jerry and his friend George Costanza encounter guest star and Mets player Keith Hernandez at their gym. GEORGE: look at this guy. Does he have to stretch in here? JERRY: You know who that is? That’s GEORGE: Keith Hernandez? The baseball player? JERRY: Yeah, that’s him. GEORGE: Are you […]
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baseball poetry,
Boston Red Sox,
Dick Flavin
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,
Cincinnati Reds,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Moneyball,
Nolan Ryan,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
Roberto Clemente,
Ted Williams
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,
baseball fiction,
BookPage,
Gary Moore,
Jerry Reuss
All of Jonathan Knight‘s books have been about Cleveland sports. While those might seem to be of interest only to denizens of that city, his latest — The Making of Major League: A Juuuust a Bit Inside Look at the Classic Baseball Comedy — is much more “universal,” appealing to fans not only of the local […]
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"Major League" movie,
Charlie Sheen,
Cleveland Indians,
Jonthan Knight
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,
Bengie Molina,
Bernard Malamud,
Derek Jeter,
Filip Bondy,
George Brett,
H.A. Dorfman,
Kansas City Royals,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Molly Knight,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
Ted Williams,
The Natural
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 […]
Tagged as:
baseball reporting,
Dan Ewald,
Eephus Magazine,
Jeff Perlman,
Marty Appel,
Nine,
NY Yankees,
Sparky Anderson,
sports reporting
While most baseball fiction leave me unimpressed, I was an early adopter of the work of Troy Soos, author of the Mickey Rawlings series of historical baseball mysteries. That’s quite an accomplishment when you think of the amount of work it takes to do any one of those well. Soos, who published first his first […]
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baseball fiction,
Troy Soos
This is how I remember Fritz Peterson. A smiling, happy-go-lucky ballplayer. And why not? When this Topps card came out, he had just finished a successful rookie year for the New York Yankees, finishing 12-11 with a 3.31 ERA and allowing just 196 hits in 215 innings. Unfortunately, the good times were few and far […]
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Fritz Peterson
Further investigation uncovered another handful of unlisted chats… Glenn Stout Dave Jamieson Roy Berger Josh Perelman Joe Schuster
I was going through some old iTunes files and was startled to see how many Bookshelf Conversations — in their various iterations — I’ve conducted over the years. It goes way beyond the oldest interview (George Vecsey) posted on the sidebar. I’m amazed and grateful that these people took the time to chat with me, […]