Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Todd Ricketts, one of the owners of the Chicago Cubs, goes undercover within one of baseball’s most famous franchises and fights for the chance to redeem himself after being let go on the second day on UNDERCOVER BOSS, Sunday, Nov. 7 on CBS! Related articles Chicago Cubs Exec Throws a Curve to ‘Undercover Boss’ (dailyfinance.com) […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Triumph and Tragedy: The 1919 Chicago White Sox is scheduled to premiere on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 9pm ET/8pm CT on the MLB Network. The one-hour made-for-television program features some members of the Field of Dreams Ghost Players.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Fernando Valenzuela hits the big Five-Oh today. As a rookie in the strike-shortened 1981 season he won the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans everywhere — as well as the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award — and years later got a shout-out from Annie savoy in Bull Durham. The impetus behind “Fernandomania” […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Answer: It’s a trick question. These are all fictional characters with huge craniums (crania?). And while we’re at it… I’m as patriotic as the next guy, but isn’t there a better way to spend our resources than to have expensive flyovers during sporting events? Seriously, how much do these things cost. And for what? A […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
CBS conducted an interview with Philip Roth on the publication of his new novel, Nemesis. One of the questions posed to the author the The Great American Novel: “When you lived here, and you were growing up,” asked Braver, “did you want to be famous? Did you want to be somebody whose name everybody knew?” […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The news that a kinescope recording of the final game of the 1960 World Series was found in the wine cellar of the late Bing Crosby is being hailed as such an important discovery, one would think we were talking about the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Sure, it a cool find, kinda like an […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
premieres tomorrow on PBS. Consult your local listings. From The New York Times: “Baseball Continued: Between Rebirth and Calamity“ From The Atlantic: “Burns Back at Bat“
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Some new programs are coming to a television near you. Ken Burns tacks The Tenth Inning onto his wonderful Baseball miniseries, which originally aired in 1995. The two-part, four-hour epilogue airs on PBS Sept. 28-29 at 8 p.m. EST, but as they say, check your local listings. You’ll probably have to adjust the volume on […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Richard Sandomir of The New York Times reports on the generally disappointing documentary on the late Yankees owner, part of ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. Upshot: Documentaries soar when they reveal something new and send viewers on new paths. From the start of “One Night in Vegas,” the ESPN “30 for 30” film that had […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Haven’t seen too many of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, but happened on this one while flipping through the dial. Jordan Rides the Bus is a nifty piece by Ron (Bull Durham) Shelton that takes a studied look at Michael’s days as member of the Birmingham Barons, a minor team in the Chicago White […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
(Because you can put either a small TV or an American flag on your bookshelf.)
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Since AMC’s new original series Rubicon has received such accolades, I feel a bit stupid for not liking it as much as I “should,” according to critics, but at least it has some baseball in it. Very briefly, it’s a spy show without — for me, at least — the “thriller” part. Will is the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Aug. 6. Title Rank General Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 1 Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, by Bill Madden 2 Chicago Cubs Cookbook: All-star Recipes from Your Favorite Players 3 The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The father of sabermetrics, Bill James, will play himself on an episode of The Simpsons this fall, according to the OnTheRedCarpet website. I’m guessing he’ll be on for all of three minutes, but Big League Stew, a Yahoo sports blog, has some suggestions on how to beef up the “role.” • As a favor to Mr. […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Mmm, now them’s eats. Cookbooks with a baseball theme isn’t a new concept. Often they’re used as either promotions or fund-raisers, collected by the players’ significant others. Admittedly, some of the items included are basic, common-sense type items; with the exception of Rusty Staub and perhaps a few others, we’re not talking Julia Child here. […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
So here’s a list of unusual injuries sustained by players this season, courtesy of SI.com’s Hot Clicks blog: — Feb. 12: Brad Bergesen, Orioles: Strained his shoulder filming a TV commercial for the team. — May 29: Kendry Morales, Angels: Broke his leg celebrating a walk-off home run at home plate. — June 30: Luke […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
(Because you can put the trophy on a bookshelf.) Forget about the actual outcome… Bobby Valentine called veteran Red Sox favorite David Ortiz, Jose. Really, Bobby? Done your homework, I see. Isn’t anyone else tired of Berman’s “back, back, back, back, etc.” on every…single…shot? Can he get any more enthusiastic? Isn’t it time for a […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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
A few thoughts on The Tenth Inning
October 15, 2010 · 1 comment
While writing up the previous entry and reading the Forbes’ review of Ken Burns’ addenda, I was reminded that I wanted to add my two cents. The Forbes‘ writer thought there was too much information crammed into too little time. In one sense I agree, but perhaps if less time had been allotted for certain […]
Tagged as: "The Tenth Inning", baseball documentary, Ken Burns
{ Comments on this entry are closed }