Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
According to a story about the ongoing battle between Alex Rodriguez and Major League Baseball appearing on ESPN.com, this was part of the official response from MLB to a statement made by Rodriguez’s lead attorney about how his client was being maligned: “Mr. Tacopina’s latest rant is so delusional it doesn’t warrant a response,” [my […]
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Well, that was relatively easy. The Boston Red Sox are your new World Series Champions! As a newspaper buff, I always like to see how the local press covers such high-profile sports events. Frequently, tabloid publications employ “wraps,” using the entire front and back page for one large photo, like these from the Boston Herald. […]
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The Cardboard Connection ran this story about Teddy Kremer, a 30-year-old with Down syndrome, whose love for the Cincinnati Reds is apparently as big as his heart. Kremer had the opportunity to serve as honorary bat boy for the Reds, was asked to return, and had a hand in this special moment for Todd Frazier […]
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From today’s New York Times: “Fit for a Film: Suit Filed Against Warner Bros. in Screenplay Theft.” The screenplay in this case being Trouble with the Curve. I saw that movie. Just sayin.’
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In this case I am the Grinch; I am the one who knocks…Ben Reiter’s list on SI.com, written after the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jose Lobaton beat the Boston Red Sox with a walk-off on Monday night. I think you would agree that the most exciting situations are one where there’s no tomorrow, where everything is […]
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The four-time all star and veteran of 17 Major League seasons passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s the New York Times‘ obit, written by Richard Goldstein, whose resume includes publishing Superstars and Screwballs: 100 Years of Brooklyn Baseball. Pafko had the distinction of appearing in the Chicago Cubs’ last appearance in a […]
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Ain’t it funny how time slips away? Baseball artist Graig Kreindler reminded his Facebook friends that today is the 62nd anniversary of Bobby Thomson’s ‘Shot heard ’round the world.” There have been several books — both fiction and non- — marking this historic event, including, in no particular order: The Echoing Green: The Untold Story […]
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I’m not a big Ales Rodriguez fan, but I do think MLB is trying to pull a fast one with its 211-game suspension, more than double any of the others handed down this season. Due process and all, yo. So the following is brought to you as a public service announcement. (Personally, I don’t think […]
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From Publisher’s Weekly: Jewish children’s publisher Kar-Ben has pulled Ryan Braun—known as the Hebrew Hammer—from the cover of Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present by David J. Goldman, which releases next month in its second edition (the original was published in 2006). Joni Sussman, publisher for Kar-Ben (which is owned by Lerner) told […]
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In a scene from the film version of Eight Men Out, Albert Austrian, the crackerjack attorney hired by Chicago White/Black Sox owner Charles Comiskey to defend his wayward players, is introducing his law partners to the defendants: Austrian: Their names may not sound familiar, but I’d say that these men are the Ty Cobb, the […]
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There’s an old saying to the effect that it is better to be silent and have people wonder how dumb you are than open your mouth and eliminate all doubt. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I heard about remarks made by former NY Mets manager Bobby Valentine concerning the rival Yankees […]
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Maybe they should have used this on the “Not my job” segment, since Alex Rodriguez might be out of one soon. From last week’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me‘s “who’s Carl this time?” This was the last of the three quotes. CARL KASELL: I want to be a role model. PETER SAGAL: That was New […]
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I imagine the overall (at least the “loudest”) consensus is that Alex Rodriguez and the “Twelve Men Out” are a disgrace to the game, to America, and to all that is sacred or holy. Monday’s Baseball Tonight podcast featured a conversation between host Buster Olney and The New York Times‘ Tyler Kepner that took a […]
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Don’t want to get involved with the whole A-Rod ban business, but couldn’t pass up this from the New York Post, which I usually only consider when lining the birdcages. Of course, if you want to get picky about it should be “played” on, but close enough for jazz. Say what you will about Rodriguez […]
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Earlier today the Pittsburgh Pirates placed 36-year-old closer Jason Grilli — recently selected for his first All-Star Game — on the 15-day disabled list with a strain in his right forearm.
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Because baseball is, in reality, just a game.
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I’m sure I corresponded about this with Dave Jamieson after my recent purchase of a pack of 2013 cards and well before this NY Times story came out, but can’t seem to find a record in any of my e-mail accounts. Drives me nuts. Anyway, has anyone else notice that Topps changed its card-numbering system? […]
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Yesterday I was supposed to be interviewed by WFMB-Am, the ESPN affiliate sports talk radio station in Springfield , Ill. about my book. The call was scheduled at 5:05 p.m., my time. Given the horrific circumstances of the events at the Boston Marathon (haven’t looked at the tabloids yet; are any of them using the […]
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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
Because I’ll never miss an opportunity to bash FOX sports
November 1, 2013
I’m grateful for this piece in today’s New York Times by Richard Sandomir critiquing the network’s handling of the last game of the World Series. A main point is the use made popular in the last few years of the baseball version of the “sideline reporter,” only much less serious. In football, a SR will […]
Tagged as: Boston Red Sox, Fox Sports, New York Times. Erin Andrews, Richard Sandomir
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