Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
From ESPN.com: WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals’ director of player development has clarified remarks in which he compared No. 1 draft pick Bryce Harper to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. “My sole intent was to speak to the scrutiny that Harper faces on a daily basis,” Doug Harris said in a statement Tuesday. “The hardships […]
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Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler believes it’s never too early to get on the road to reading. Hometown Hero: Ian Kinsler: MyFoxDFW.com
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Last weekend’s interleague series between the Red Sox and Cubs was the impetus for this New York Times story that “reveals” the idea of throwing a World Series did not originate with the Black Sox of 1919, but the year before when Boston and Chicago last faced each other at Fenway Park. The Times’ piece […]
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I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but there was once a time in my life when I indulged in… professional wrestling. One of the most popular of these “athletes” at the time was a guy know as “Macho Man” Randy Savage, a semi-bad guy, who had a very pretty “valet” who would accompany him to […]
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Before this season began, there was speculation about Derek Jeter, the fixture at shortstop for the Yankees since the mid 1990s. With his contract complete and at the advanced age of 37, fans and sports pundits opined about his future with the team specifically and the game in general. Perhaps that’s why Derek Jeter: From […]
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A recent episode of Jeopardy featured these questions under the category “Presidential Fantasy Draft”: Like his dad, he made the Big Leagues and his 1749 appointment to the Netherlands pads his INTL stats. In saying there was no “right of secession” but not backing it up, his PTCWOL (Push the Civil War on Lincoln) is […]
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Lenny Dykstra turns 48 today. Along with Davey Johnson and Keith Hernandez, Dykstra was one of those Mets who parlayed his sudden fame following their 1986 World Championship to publish a book (Nails: The Inside Story of an Amazin’ Season, written with Marty Noble). At the time, I remember thinking how vulgar the language was. […]
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George Castle, the Illinois-based journalist, has made a sideline writing about baseball in general and the Cubs in particular. I had a chance to speak with Castle about his latest title, When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball’s True Golden Age: 1969–1979. Amazon.com Widgets http://www.ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/RKBBGeorge-Castle1-2.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts […]
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Apropos to what James Bailey and I were going back and forth about last week, this piece by Neil Genzlinger on the merits — or lack thereof — of memoirs in the Times’ Sunday Book Review caught my eye because one of the four authors included was Sean Manning, who had edited last year’s Top […]
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Haven’t done one of these in awhile, so here goes. MLB.com posted this story about Andrew Zimablist, who published Circling the Bases: Essays on the Challenges and Prospects of the Sports Industry last October. WithLeather blogs about Jose Canseco’s upcoming (and unpromising?) appearance on he new season of Celebrity Apprentice. Speaking of television, will baseball […]
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I know you’ve got your own version of the truth; There’s only three things left now I can do: Deny, Deny, Deny From “Deny, Deny, Deny,” by Kix Brooks and Bob DiPiero Just for the heck of of it, I thought I’d say a couple of words in defense of Raphael Palmeiro, who’s on the […]
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Sorry. Trying to figure out what’s wrong here.
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For many fans, the off-season starts early. So here’s a piece from Amazin’ Avenue on what you should be reading to stay in the game until spring training. Many of the usual suspects are on the list, but among some of the others are: Pure Baseball, by Keith hernandez (well, it is a Mets site, […]
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There’s a scene in the Steve Martin classic, The Jerk, in which… well, watch for yourself: Now just substitute “The Huffington Post” for the phone book, and my name for “Navin R. Johnson,”and that’s kinda how I feel about having my first piece published there. (Although I hope no one will want to take a […]
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Ron Blomberg turns 62 today. The Yankee favorite published his memoirs — Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story — with Dan Schlossberg in 2006. Catcher Ed Hearn, who wrote about his struggles with kidney disease in Conquering Life’s Curves: Baseball, Battles & Beyond in 2000, hits the big five-oh. Hall of Famer George Kell published […]
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The Giants’ third baseman turns 24 today.
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Yes, I’ll be away, but I’ll be reading and thinking of you, my friends. If I have a chance, and can find a wi-fi spot in the middle of nowhere, I’ll post. Back soon.
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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
Bits and pieces
September 17, 2010
Spurred on by the hubbub around the 40th anniversary of Ball Four, Delia Cabe, who hosts the Creative Type blog at Boston.com, had this piece about the best baseball books, not just from her POV, but from those of local celebrities and others. And as the Baseball Reliquary program heralding that anniversary beckons, look for […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, Negro league baseball, Rube Foster
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