Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci considers one of the questions I’ve been wondering about for a long time: Why do teams keep hiring the same old managers rather than give someone new a chance? I’ve often thought of baseball in terms of television shows: you keep getting the same actors in different roles though similar roles. […]
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The 16-year veteran died today at the age of 66. Here’s an obituary from the Los Angeles Times; Kirkpatrick played for the Angels from 1962-68. He also played for the Royals, Pirates, Rangers, and Brewers. In 1970 Topps inserted a mini-poster in each wax pack. I had all of them, as I also had the […]
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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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At least when it comes to Derek Jeter winning the AL shortstop trophy. Not that I’m a Yankees fan, but stop picking on the guy. There have been previous examples of undeserving players receiving awards. Raphael Palmiero won the first-base GG in 1999 despite playing just 28 games there that season. Back in the mid-90s, […]
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So much for beach reading. Adult Hardcover Sales Decreased 40% in September Duh! No, really. What are people reading these days? Are we turning into Eloi (and if you don’t know what that is, you’ve perhaps proved my point)?
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The MLB Network will broadcast Thursday’s Silver Slugger Awards, given to the best offensive player at each position. Why not, they have to do something to fill the time between now and spring training. I would love a marathon movie schedule once a week, bringing back all those movies that don’t get played ad nauseum, […]
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“ESPN Breaks Up Sunday Night Baseball Team Of Jon Miller And Joe Morgan” I know a lot of people had problems Morgan, citing his monotonous prattle and over-analysis, but frankly, I don’t care who the announcers are. In fact, call me perverse, but I find the more they annoy, the more enjoyable the game. In […]
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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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That was quick, and perhaps for the best. “If it were done, when ’tis done, then twere well it were done quickly.”
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The former Dodger and Reds pitcher and Giants, Braves, and Yankees manager (62 games in 1982), died today at the age of 86. He published his memoirs — A King’s Legacy: The Clyde King Story — in 1999. This, strangely, is one of my favorite cards of King, taken back in the day when Topps […]
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From ESPN.com: Former Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson has been placed in hospice care at his Thousands Oaks, Calif., home for complications resulting from dementia. Anderson, 76, was one of the first baseball personalities I ever interviewed. It occurred shortly after his book They Call Me Sparky came out in the late […]
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If you thought it was worth that much. “Sammy Sosa bat doesn’t sell” Speaking of bats, they’re still the comic book weapon of choice.
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Nuns selling rare Honus Wagner card [T]he Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame… are auctioning off the card, which despite its poor condition is expected to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000. The proceeds will go to their ministries in 35 countries around the world.
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I was shocked this morning to hear the news of the passing of Bill Shannon, the long-time and popular official scorer and baseball historian, who died yesterday in a house fire in West Caldwell, a few miles over from my residence in Jersey. Shannon, 69, lived with his 92-year-old mother, who, fortunately, was rescued from […]
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One of these days, some enterprising person is going to go back to all those historic baseball games and write about the secondary events that helped pave the way for a Kirk Gibson, a Joe Carter, or a Bill Mazeroski to become part of the lore of the national pastime. But don’t forget the Hal […]
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The cover of this week’s issue, which features Minnesota Twins’ power-hitter Jim Thome, struck me as eerily reminiscent of a long-ago photo: Well, maybe not so much, but pretty close. Anyway, Thome gets the main feature, written by Joe Posnanski. JoPos also writes about Derek Jeter’s upcoming free agency, but surprisingly, there’s no mention of […]
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Now that Derek Jeter’s behavior has been the subject of several ethical ramblings — including Bruce Weber, author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires — the gloves are off (and the caps are on). Without their beloved captain and role model towing the line, the rules of propriety […]
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This from SI.com: “Strasburg has ‘significant tear’; Tommy John surgery likely.” Seems I’ve seen this movie before.
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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 you could put this on your bookshelf…if your name was Steinbrenner
September 23, 2010
They probably have humongous bookshelves in their palatial estates. Wouldn’t you know, the Steinbrenners can never do anything simple. The latest deal: is the monument honoring the late King George too big? Many fans have a problem with tributes to players like Mantle and DiMaggio This big while the new one saluting GS monument is […]
Tagged as: George Steinbrenner, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Monument Park, Yankee Stadium
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