Every year, I buy a pack or two of Topps baseball cards, just to see what they’re up to. At the risk of sounding like a GOML (“Get off my lawn”) grump, I firmly believe the cards were “better” when I was a kid. Sure, the photography and production methods have improved, the colors are […]
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Topps baseball cards
It’s becoming almost a bittersweet habit talking with Erik Sherman. On the one hand, it’s great reliving past glories of my favorite team. On the other, it’s sad to see the heroes of my youth aging and even dying. It reminds me of my own mortality and who the hell wants that? Last time it was Kings of Queens: […]
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Art Shamsky,
Erik Sherman,
Maury Allen,
New York Mets,
Tom Seaver,
World Series
Headnote: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
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Billy Martin,
Ernie Banks,
Houston Astros,
New York Mets,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
Pitching,
Ron Darling,
Ted Williams
I will watch any movie or TV program that has baseball as a main component of the story. So I was quite disappointed when I didn’t get to see The Catcher Was a Spy, based on Nicholas Dawidoff’s wonderful 1994 bio of Moe Berg, at the theaters. Should have realized by how quickly it moved […]
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Moe Berg,
Nicholas Dawidoff,
Paul Rudd,
The Catcher Was a Spoy
Via Bookreporter.com. Just to add a bit… One of the things I enjoyed most about this new look was the impact Ruth had on not just the way the media covered sports, but the whole concept of celebrity culture. There’s not a whole lot in the way of the Bambino’s exploits on the field, but […]
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Babe Ruth,
Jane Leavy
I’m Keith Hernandez? How could he miss mentioning Sienfeld’s show? E-3.
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Keith Hernandez
They say the Golden Age of a thing — in this case a sports thing — is often what you remember from your childhood, a time when you had a love for the game that wasn’t affected by too much “grown up” knowledge of salary disputes, gossip, scandal, etc. Roger Kahn got the ball rolling with The Boys of Summer, […]
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Bob Gibson,
Denny McLain,
Detroit Tigers,
Sridhar Pappu,
St. Louis Cardinals
The legendary umpire, who did not lack for self-assurance, passed away Saturday at the age of 87. Doug Harvey, who had been in failing health for a few years, published They Called Me God: The Best Umpire Who Ever Lived with veteran baseball journalist Peter Golenbock in 2014. I reviewed that one, along with Al […]
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Al Clark,
Doug Harvey
Mazel tov to Michael Leahy, winner of the 2016 CASEY Award presented by Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine, as the best baseball book of the year for The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is certainly one of my all-time favorites; if I ever get a chance […]
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Bergino Baseball Clubhouse,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michael Leahy
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 […]
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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
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
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
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:
Detroit Tigers,
independent leagues,
instructionals,
Lenny Dykstra,
managing,
Michael Lewis,
Mike Mathany,
Moneyball,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
Tim Kurkjian,
Tom Stanton
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 […]
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amateur baseball,
baseball analysis,
baseball fiction,
Bernard Malamud,
ESPN,
H.A. Dorfman,
instructionals,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
Shoeless Joe Jackson,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Tim Kurkjian
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
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,
baseball statistics,
ESPN,
instructionals,
Jackie Robinson,
Los Angele Dodgers,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
Tim Kurkjian,
Ty Cobb,
Washington Nationals,
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:
baseball analysis,
baseball statistics,
ESPN,
instructionals,
Jackie Robinson,
Michel Lewis,
Mike Matheny,
New York Mets,
Oakland Athletics,
Pitching,
Ron Darling,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Ted Williams,
Tim Kurkjian,
Ty Cobb,
Washington Nationals,
World Series
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