Author events at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse

2014 title

The latest list of goings-on at the Bergino. I don’t get there often, but I’m hoping to finally meet Dan Epstein in June. Wednesday, May 28 @ 7:00 PM The Fight of Their Lives with John Rosengren _________________________________________________________________________________________ Wednesday, June 4 @ 7:00 PM Wrigley Field, with Ira Berkow _________________________________________________________________________________________ Thursday, June 19 @ 7:00 […]

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If you write it, they will read

Baseball and pop culture

The excellent Joe Posnanski writes about Field of Dreams, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. As such, the 1989 film, which was nominated for three Oscars and won several “best foreign language film” from international organizations, will no doubt he the subject of similar pieces, some which will heap praise, others derision. The next […]

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It’s like I’ve been saying all along

"Oddballs"

There’s something inherently unfair about lumping together post-season records. Prior to 1969, there were just two teams still active after the regular 162 slate of games. Then there were an additional four. An additional round was added in 1995, and, in 2012, an additional game for the Wild Card play-in. So the if all the […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 16

2014 title

The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat […]

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Is it kosher to have Hamm play a Jew?

2014 title

Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame plays the lead role of JB Bernstein in the new baseball film Million Dollar Arm (although I notice on the IMDB page that the character’s last name isn’t included. Hmmm). MDA is based on the true story of a contest whereby two young athletes from India try to get […]

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What authors have to put up with…

2010 title

As you probably know, there’s a podcast component to this blog on which I chat with authors, artists, filmmakers, etc. I sometimes get first-timers who reach out to me because they may not have the cachet to get “real media” attention. I know I went through that with 501 Baseball Books. Just about every author […]

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Cleaning up the Black Sox?

2014 title

Does a review carry more weight if it’s done by A Hall of Famer-award winning writer? In this case, Paul Hogan who received the Spink Award for 2013 for contributions to baseball writing published this one about Tim Hornbaker’s Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey on the MLB website. […]

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Authors appearances: Willie Randolph and Mariano Rivera

2014 title

Just saw this and one event is already sold out, but FWIW… WHO: Willie Randolph. WHAT: Signing his new book, “The Yankee Way.” WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday. WHERE: Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood; 201-445-0726 or book-ends.com. HOW MUCH: Free with purchase of book ($26.99). ALSO APPEARING: 6 p.m. May 21, Yogi Berra Museum, Montclair […]

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Is this a conflict of interest?

2014 title

Wayne Coffey, sports columnist for the New York Daily News, wrote this piece about Mariano Rivera, for whom he served as coauthor for the future Hall of Famer’s memoir, The Closer. I’ve been a big admirer of Coffey’s work both as a journalist and author; he was quite generous with his time for a Bookshelf […]

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Review roundup, May 12

2013 title

Dan Epstein’s Star and Strikes from the Dallas Morning News and the Tulsa World. Bill Littlefield, host of WBUR’s Only a Game, includes Alan Klein’s Dominican Baseball in this brief trio of sports reviews for the Boston Globe. The Baptist Press offers this one on Double Play, by Ben and Julianna Zobrist.    

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The Book of the Week contest: Doc

2013 title

First of all, congratulations to Micheal A. of Cherry Hill, NJ, winner of last week’s book, The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlees Jr. And thanks all for the comments. This week’s offering is Dwight Gooden’s 2013 memoir, Doc, written with Ellis Henican. A reminder about the rules: The fifth person […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Judy Lynn Johnson

2014 title

I first met Judy Lynn Johnson at Hoftsra University’s symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the NY Mets. Along with Jason Antos, we presented papers on literature about the team;  hers was a lot more literary than either Jason’s or mine. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that she was publishing a baseball […]

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Here’s looking at you, mom

"Oddballs"

In honor of the day, here’s a terribly brief and incomplete list of  titles by and about moms and baseball: Minor League Mom: A Mother’s Journey Through the Red Sox Farm Teams, by Pamela Carey Watching the Game, by Judy Lynn Johnson Diamond Moms: A Mother’s Guide to Raising a Baseball Player, by Candace Conradi […]

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Bits and pieces, May 9

2014 title

Looking over the overlooked in baseball books stuff. In honor of Mothers’ Day, this piece by David Seideman in Forbes urges you to “Forgive Your Mom For Throwing Out Your Baseball Cards.” Is it my imagination or are Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner turning into Ralph Branca and Bobby Thomson? MLB.com described Mookie’s new memoir […]

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Baseball best-sellers, May 9

2014 title

The top ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat […]

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A Field of Dreams heads-up

501 Baseball Books...

Obsessive as I am, I like to check the stats to see how this blog is doing and, being as niche as it is and considering the work I put into it, I can’t say I’m too disappointed. This ain’t The New York Times or Google, so I know it won’t draw huge numbers. I […]

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The more I think I know…

Fiction

the more I realize I don’t. Followers of this blog are well aware of my aversion to reviewing fiction. Doesn’t mean I don’t like a good novel now and then (emphasis on “good”), just that I don’t feel qualified to write about it it because I find critiquing it subjective. But I never realized how […]

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Here we go: The Closer

2014 title

I wonder if this is the kind of “news” that has any impact outside of New York (and now, perhaps, Seattle.) In his new book, The Closer, future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera has this to say about former teammate Robinson Cano: There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just […]

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The ole perfessor as yogi (and not Berra)

Baseball comics
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The Book of the Week contest: The Kid

2013 title

Looks like no one was interested enough in A Nice Little Place on the North Side to warrant the requisite five comments. Oh well. Let’s try it again with a copy of The Kid: The Immortal Life to Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee Jr. A reminder about the rules: The fifth person to post a […]

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