Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Ty Cobb was born this date in 1886. Among the scores of books written about this intense, bigoted ballplayer are: My Life in Baseball: The True Record Ty Cobb (Sport in American Life), by Charles Alexander Ty Cobb: Safe at Home, by Don Rhodes Ty and The Babe: Baseball’s Fiercest Rivals: A Surprising Friendship and […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Dec. 10, at 11 a.m. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh […]
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Anyone else surprised that “Little General” was Johnny Bench‘s nickname? The Hall of Fame catcher turns 63 today. Books on Bench include: From Behind the Plate Catch You Later: The Autobiography of Johnny Bench Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life’s Pitches In addition, Bo Belinsky was born this date in1936. He collaborated with the […]
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The popular Chicago Cubs and White Sox third baseman died Wednesday at the age of 70. At the heyday of my fanhood — 1969 — the Cubs were the hated enemy and Santo was the epitome of the arrogant, self-entitled rival, deeming the Mets unworthy to shine the shoes of the Chicagoans. But later in […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Dec. 3 at Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton with Tim Keown 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, […]
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As we observe Veterans Day, I just wanted to put give a shout out to the men and women who have sacrificed in the service of their country. A sampling of the literature on the subject: Ted Williams at War An American Journey: My Life on the Field, in the Air, and on the Air, […]
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Johnny Damon turns 37 today. He’s only 429 hits away from 3,000. Following the 2004 season, it seems there were 429 books written about the Boston Red Sox, on one topic or another, from team profiles, to individual biographies, including Damon’s Idiot: Beating “The Curse” and Enjoying the Game of Life, written with Peter Golenbock. […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Nov. 5 at Noon. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, […]
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Bob Feller, one of the fastest pitchers in Major League history, turns 92 today. Feller was one of those “Greatest Americans” who served in combat in World War II (as opposed to ballplayers who continued to play, albeit within the confines of military service). He lost more than three prime years. Several sabermetricians have posited […]
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Mickey Rivers turns 62 today. Rivers was one of the ex-Yankees down in Florida last year when I attended Fantasy Camp. He wasn’t one of my coaches, so I didn’t have too much interaction with him. But one indelible memory: After the games one day, the campers and staff gathered in the plush snack bar […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood , by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair […]
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The Hall of Fame slugger and host of the popular Mets post-game show bearing his name, turns 88 today. Kiner is one of those former players employed as a broadcaster to compare contemporary players to those of their (back in the) day. Like many of his fellow announcers, Kiner was known to mangle a few […]
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Hats off to Mr. Brosnan, who penned the first of the “in-season” adult autobios/memoirs with The Long Season in 1960. Like Jim Bouton, whose Ball Four was released in 1970, Brosnan was considered something of a turncoat for “revealing” the secrets of the locker room. And this was without all the sex and foul language! […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, by Josh Hamilton 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael […]
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Tim McCarver is either a genius or an annoyance, depending on your point of view. For some, he’s a keen analyst, for others, he just one of those ex-player blowhards with whom the modern rarely finds favor. He’s been accused of trying to make the game too “deep inside,” although there are plenty of fans […]
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To Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, who was born this date in 1906. Cronin was one of those baseball lifers who excelled as a player and then went on to have a lengthy career as a manager and front office executive. Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball, by Mark Armour From Sandlots to League President: […]
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The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 8. Title Rank General The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis 2 Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams, […]
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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
