From the category archives:

Television

The Casey cliche

July 2, 2010

Why do so many stories about baseball — especially old-tyme baseball — feature a character named Casey? In this case, it’s a 50-year-old episode of Twilight Zone titled, “The Mighty Casey.” My arch-nemesis, Books on Baseball, did the legwork on this one.

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TWIBB: June 18, 2010

June 18, 2010

The top baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, June 18. Title Rank General Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, by Bill Madden 1 The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime, by Jason Turbow with Michael Duca 2 Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James […]

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Ron LeFlore turns 62 today. The speedy Tiger presented an interesting story of getting that “one in a million” chance while in prison to try out for the Detroit team, which he turned into a book with Jim Hawkins with One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story. The two collaborated on Breakout: From Prison […]

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by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, with Andrew Chaikivsky. ESPN Books, 2010 A caveat and a confession: While “hate” may be too strong a word, I “intensely dislike” sports-talk radio. The idea of (supposedly) grown men and women getting apoplectic on the air over Oliver Perez or Ron Artest or Bill Belichick, et al…not my […]

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Baseball Stuff You Never Needed to Know and Can Certainly Live Without, by Robert Schnakenberg. Triumph, 2010. Schnakenberg takes his love for pop culture (anti-culture?) and puts a national pastime spin on it in this little faux-reference volume. The connection between PC and baseball has been handled in more serious veins by Jonathan Fraser Light […]

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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, April 23. Title Rank General The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime, by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca 1 The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran, by Dirk Hayhurst 2 Moneyball: The […]

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* TWIBB — March 26

March 26, 2010

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, March 26. Title Rank General Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 Baseball Prospectus 2010 3 Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, by Dave Jamieson […]

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* Bits and pieces

March 25, 2010

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY behind here, so in an attempt to catch up, and let you all know I’m still here, I submit, for starters, a list of recent items: Our old friend Zack Hample is busy with his own writings (note to self: get cracking on the manuscript), but he has had time to glance through a […]

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Because you can keep your wrestling paraphernalia on a bookshelf: Pete Rose gets to host Monday Night Raw this evening. From the WWE website, evidently written some time ago: WWE Hall of Famer Pete Rose, one of the most controversial figures in sports, will be the guest host of Monday Night Raw live from San […]

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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, March 19. S Title Rank General Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 Baseball Prospectus 2010 3 Kiss It Good-Bye: The Mystery, The Mormon, and the Moral of […]

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After all, he can’t play forever.

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* Welcome back, Leno

March 1, 2010

Jay Leno returns to The Tonight Show this evening. Herewith a gallery of some of the baseball big shots he’s had on…

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* TWIBB — Feb. 19

February 19, 2010

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, Feb. 19. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects 3 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball […]

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The legendary broadcaster was named recipient of the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award by the National baseball Hall of Fame. The Frick Award is voted upon annually and is named in memory of the sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president, and Baseball commissioner. From the official press release: Miller, who has spent parts of five […]

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* Let me be Curt

January 25, 2010

Baseballisms.com ran this audio interview and profile of the prolific author Curt Smith, whose latest book, Pull Up A Chair: The Vin Scully Story, is a must-read for those fascinated by the veteran broadcaster.

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This TV news piece from FOX asks the scientific question: How does an outfielder catch a fly ball? The three main theories: 1. Trajectory prediction. The fielder perceives the initial conditions of the ball’s motion and compute its trajectory to predict where it will land. 2. Linear acceleration cancellation. The fielder runs so as to […]

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* Don't quit your day job

January 22, 2010

Or perhaps “Youk Ought to Be in Pictures,” (with apologies to Dana Suesse and Edward Heyman). Anyway, this item comes from Boston.com: Youk on screen He plays first base, he plays third base, and he also acts. All-purpose All-Star Kevin Youkilis is on his way to New York to shoot a scene for the indie […]

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* Bits and pieces

January 18, 2010

Haven’t done one of these for awhile, so here goes: The Dallas Morning News ran this review of The Wizard of Waxahachie by Warren Corbett, the biography of baseball lifer Paul Richards. Upshot: “Those who love baseball’s strategies and myriad statistics probably will relish this book. The author blends them seamlessly into an entertaining, warts-and-all […]

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I don’t know what else there is to say about McGwire. Some, like Joe Posnanski (twice) and my literary hero, Tony Kornheiser, are more forgiving. Mr. Tony spoke about the “confessions of Mark McGwire” on both Pardon the Interruption and his eponymous radio program on ESPN 980 in DC. Others, like Ken Rosenthal, are much […]

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From the National Baseball Hall of Fame: 2010 Ford C. Frick Award Ballot Finalized Winner to be Announced Feb. 1 Ten of baseball’s most beloved and honored broadcasters were named today as the finalists for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame […]

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