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"Ripped from today's headlines..."

From today’s New York Times: “Fit for a Film: Suit Filed Against Warner Bros. in Screenplay Theft.” The screenplay in this case being Trouble with the Curve. I saw that movie. Just sayin.’

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How the Grinch stole SI‘s “Top 10 postseason walk-off home runs” joy

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

In this case I am the Grinch; I am the one who knocks…Ben Reiter’s list on SI.com, written after the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jose Lobaton beat the Boston Red Sox with a walk-off on Monday night. I think you would agree that the most exciting situations are one where there’s no tomorrow, where everything is […]

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National Pastime Radio: Vin Scully

Broadcasting

Speaking of the Dodgers, the legend (wait for it) ary broadcaster was himself the subject of this interview on All Things Considered. Scully began working for the Dodgers in 1950, but he wasn’t calling that historic 1951 playoff game with the NY Giants where Pafko was left hanging. From “Vin Scully Remembers His Greatest Calls,” […]

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Lest we forget: Andy Pafko

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

The four-time all star and veteran of 17 Major League seasons passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s the New York Times‘ obit, written by Richard Goldstein, whose resume includes publishing Superstars and Screwballs: 100 Years of Brooklyn Baseball. Pafko had the distinction of appearing in the Chicago Cubs’ last appearance in a […]

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It was 57 years ago today…

History

That Don Larsen threw his World Series perfect game. Holy cow, as Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto — who did not appear in that game — might say, they haven’t even finished the Division Series yet. Books about this singular event include: The Perfect Yankee: The Incredible Story of the Greatest Miracle in Baseball History, by […]

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Coming never to a book store near you

"Oddballs"

Jeremy Blachman at FanGraphs.com suggest these baseball non-titles for non-reading.

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Heh.

"Oddballs"

As first seen on HardballTalk (the writer is no relation):

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Author appearances: Michael Long and Dan Gilbert

2013 title

Dan Gilbert, author of Expanding the Strike Zone: Baseball in the Age of Free Agency, will be the featured speaker at the next Varsity Letters event hosted by Gelf Magazine on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at The Gallery at LPR,  158 Bleecker St. Gilbert, will be joined by Michael O’Keeffe, Teri Thompson, and […]

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Remember, Hanukka comes early this year

2013 title

Like “Light the menora at your Thanksgiving feast”-early. So it’s not too soon to think about gifts for that baseball book fan on your list. Might I suggest (in addition to 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, which is perfect for off-season reading-by-the-fireside), the new Sports Illustrated Baseball’s Greatest. As one has […]

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Let the out-of-context buzz commence

2013 title

Reggie Jackson is publishing his memoirs this fall (official release day tomorrow), so look for the most salacious excerpts to pop up in the press. To wit: the New York Mets were racist because they didn’t make him their No. 1 pick in the 1966 draft. This is not necessarily a new accusation. George Foster […]

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Authors appearance: Tim Wendel and Tom Dunkel

2013 title

From Wendel’s Facebook post: For those in the D.C. area, I’ll be appearing with Tom Dunkel, author of Color Blind, tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 4, at One More Page Books in Arlington, Va. Yep, that’s the place the president did his Christmas shopping. Fun starts at 7 p.m.

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For the love/ambivalence of the game

Commentary

The New York Times published two pieces recently about baseball (outside the usual stuff) about aspects of love and ambivalence. The first, by Karen Crouse, considers the marriage between Oakland As rookie Nate Freiman and golfer Amanda Blumenherst and how their athletic careers were keeping them apart. So Blumenherst, has been playing her sport since […]

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‘The Shot’ at 62

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Ain’t it funny how time slips away? Baseball artist Graig Kreindler reminded his Facebook friends that today is the 62nd anniversary of Bobby Thomson’s ‘Shot heard ’round the world.” There have been several books — both fiction and non- — marking this historic event, including, in no particular order: The Echoing Green: The Untold Story […]

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“But you must act today!” Robert Creamer’s Babe: The Legend Comes to Life

501 Baseball Books...

I just love those radio commercials that implore listeners to either call within the next few minutes to take advantage of an extra special promotion (even though the spots run all day), or to be caller number xx. Like they won’t take your money if you’re late. Actually, I always thought of these things as […]

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Impending titles for Pedro, Roberto

2013 title

Multiple Cy-Young winner Pedro Martinez will release his eponymous memoir, Pedro, next spring. The book, co-written by the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The family of Roberto Clemente has collaborated on Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero, was released last month. The book was the Hall of Famer’s […]

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National Pastime Radio: Jamie Moyer (UPDATE)

2013 title

Baseball’s Methuselah appeared on Fresh Air, interviewed by Dave Davies, to discuss his long and storied career and new book, Just Tell Me I Can’t: How Jamie Moyer Defied the Radar Gun and Defeated Time You can read the story and listen to the segment here. UPDATE: I had not yet listened to the segment […]

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More “baseball” movie news

Baseball in movies

Last month, Baseball Nation posted this entry about baseball-themed movie posters, even if the movies weren’t about the game itself, which led to some semantic reservations by yours truly. This time they come out and say that these are “The top 10 baseball scenes (in non-baseball movies)” The piece, by Jim Baker, is especially timely […]

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Bookshelf review roundup, Oct. 1

2013 title

Haven’t done one of these in awhile. * The Washington Times posted this one on Willard Mullin’s Golden Age of Baseball: Drawings 1934-1972, edited by Hal Bock and Michael Powers. * WTOP in Washington DC ran this story and audio interview on Fred Frommer’s You Gotta Have Heart: A History of Washington Baseball from 1859 […]

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Of course they did: Nike unveils baseball star Rivera’s clothing line

"Oddballs"

Because who’s associated with fashion more than the future Hall of Famer? Whatever. An item might make a handsome addition on your bookshelf.

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And now for something completely different: Zombie Baseball Beatdown

"Oddballs"

Normally I don’t deal with books written specifically for young readers, but this review of Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi was pretty engaging as it discusses themes of ” bullying, racism, corporate power, and factory farming,” and what teenager wouldn’t be interested in the latter two issues?

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