From the category archives:

Photography

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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Charles M. Conlon, the famous baseball photographer (he might have shot other subjects, too, but I only know him from baseball), produced some wonderful close-up portraits, a number of which are included in a couple of collections: Baseball’s Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon and The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age […]

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Derek Jeter: Excellence and Elegance, compiled and edited by Tyler Kepner. Triumph, 2014. Jeter Unfiltered, by Derek Jeter with photographs by Christopher Anderson. Gallery Books, 2015. How do you tell the story of one of the most iconic players of his generation in a few hundred pages? As the Yankees’ future Hall of Fame shortstop […]

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By Douglas B. Lyons. The Lyons Press. 216 Pages. $24.95 To be fair, how do you write a book about a book that’s essentially about tables of numbers? That’s the challenge Lyons picks up in 100 Years of Who’s Who in Baseball.  While it’s fun to look at each of the covers, dating back to […]

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Baseball best-sellers, Dec. 12

December 12, 2014

Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. On with the show… As you may have notice in recent weeks, […]

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Bits and pieces, Sept. 5

September 5, 2014

Vince McKee will discuss his book,  Jacobs Field: History and Tradition at The Jake, at the  Lakewood Public Library, Lakewood, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. Another author(s) appearance: Springfield (Mass.)’s Bring It Home baseball committee will feature local writers Richard Andersen and Marty Dobrow in an Authors Night presentation on Sunday, Sept. […]

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Have to rearrange the schedule a bit between last holiday weekend and next weekend’s vacation to California. So… Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, […]

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is connecting with the Google Cultural Institute to make highlighted exhibits and an interior interactive view of the Museum accessible to baseball lovers worldwide. The Hall of Fame’s Cultural Institute presence consists of two digital exhibits and indoor Street View imagery. The first exhibit, Picturing America’s Pastime, […]

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The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); because I’m old school. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat 3: […]

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The top-ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat 3: […]

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Bits and pieces, April 23

April 23, 2014

Looking over the overlooked in baseball book news: Tidewater Tides manager Ron Johnson gets a nice profile based on his inclusion in John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name, by John Feinstein. Speaking of which, the Roanoke Times posted this review of the book. Speaking of reviews, Philly.com posted this one on Jackie and Campy, […]

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Brad Mangin, who published a collection of his Baseball Instagrams last year, has a new slideshow of some of his 2014 spring training work on the Sports Illustrated site. Here’s my conversation with Mangin, conducted last September, about his somewhat unorthodox approach.

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Baseball book ‘prospects’

February 27, 2014

This it the time of year when the baseball media offer their considered opinions on their favorite prospects. Sometimes they’re spot on, other times, not so much. So I thought, why not apply this to the upcoming “rookie crop” of baseball books? That is, titles that are making their debuts in 2014 — no reprints/reissues […]

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I used to think it was unfair that a sports media giant like Sports Illustrated can make even more money by dipping into their archives and publishing the compilations or photos or writing. But you have to give them credit; they do come out with some mighty good products. The latest from the SI library […]

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Like “Light the menora at your Thanksgiving feast”-early. So it’s not too soon to think about gifts for that baseball book fan on your list. Might I suggest (in addition to 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, which is perfect for off-season reading-by-the-fireside), the new Sports Illustrated Baseball’s Greatest. As one has […]

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Bits and pieces, Sept. 17

September 17, 2013

How different would the literary world be if Tom Wolfe had grown up to be a baseball player? So where’s his baseball novel? John Rosengren, author of Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes, will put in an appearance at his alma mater — Saint John’s University — on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. to […]

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If you’ve been following baseball for the past couple of decades, you probably have seen Brad Mangin‘s work. His shots have been a staple of Major League Baseball and Sports Illustrated, as well as other websites and publications. As such a veteran, I thought it somewhat counterintuitive for him to publish Instant Baseball: The Baseball […]

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The literary magazine is carrying an interesting series — Bull City Summer — which follows the 2013 exploits of the Durham Bulls. Not sure, at a cursory glance, which is the chicken and which is the egg, since Bull City Summer is a stand-alone website: From the “about” page on bullcitysummer.org: 2013 is the 25th […]

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As per Mangin’s Facebook post of Aug. 20: DROP EVERYTHING! Hey South Bay Giants Fans! Brian Murphy and I will be at San Jose Municipal Stadium (former home of Giants #1 draft pick Adam Hyzdu, shot by me in 1992) signing copies of Never. Say. Die.: The San Francisco Giants – 2012 World Series Champions […]

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A programming note

August 20, 2013

Working on podcasts of interviews with authors Eric R9lfe Greenberg (The Celebrant: A Novel); Brad Mangin (Instant Baseball: The Baseball Instagrams of Brad Mangin); and Thomas Djya (Play for a Kingdom), not necessarily in that order. I am also trying to wrap up editing on a mini-documentary I created on The Merchants of Cooperstown (coming […]

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