Review roundup, May 22

2013 title

Lucas Mann’s Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere is turning out to be the sleeper favorite in the new baseball book season. Several reviews have appeared recently, including a mention on the Hot Corner Book Club, NPR Books, Boston.com, and Bookreporter.com. Harper’s Magazine also did this Q&A with the author. H.C.B.C., a component […]

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How do you get into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Academic/scholarly journals

Well, one way is to sign up for the annual Cooperstown Baseball Symposium, which is where I’ll be May 29-31. Veteran sportswriter, author, and commentator Frank Deford is the keynote speaker for this 25th anniversary edition. You can look at the whole program here. As you will see, it’s very eclectic (and that I serve […]

Tagged as: Baseball Hall of Fame

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Dandy Sandy and Dennis the Menace

Television

Talk about your odd couples. A few weeks ago on Kaplan’s Korner, I posted about a Jewish-themed episode of the old Bill Cosby Show. This one titled “Dennis and The Dodger,” doesn’t have a Jewish slant, aside from the appearance of Koufax himself. And this was in 1959, before Koufax began his streak of five […]

Tagged as: Sandy Koufax

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Back at ya

2013 title

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Spent a very nice evening at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on May 9, chatting about the new book. An intimate group attended. My wife accompanied me  there and commented on how knowledgeable they all seemed to be on the general topic and how impressive the conversation was. My […]

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Eat up (or, What’s a ball game without a nosh?)

"Oddballs"

I have been begging for an update of the classic Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks: The Ultimate Guide to America’s Top Baseball Parks, originally published in 1988 by Bob Wood. If they ever get around to do that, they’ll have to update the info to include not only the new teams, as well as the […]

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Review roundup, May 7

2013 title

Can’t believe it’s been five days since my last entry. Things have just gotten so crazy of late, between my book and those from others that keep arriving at my doorstep. So let us begin: Boston.com posted this review about Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere, Lucas Mann’s memoir about the minor leagues. […]

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An oldie and a goodie.

Baseball movies

I had the opportunity to watch Big Leaguer yesterday. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I can get a little cynical at times, but I was pleasantly surprised by this modest endeavor about young athletes at a New York Giants try-out camp, led by Edward G. Robinson as a kind-but-firm former Major Leaguer. Sure […]

Tagged as: Big Leaguer

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An oldie but a goodie?

"Oddballs"

That remains to be seen, but Baseball National posted this about one of the few baseball movies that I have missed: the 1953 vehicle Big Leaguer, starring Edward G. Robinson as a former, well, big leaguer. Pro ballplayers Tony Ravish (!), Bob Trocolor, Harv Tomtor (in an uncredited role), and Al “Necessities” Campanis all appeared […]

Tagged as: Big Leaguer, Edward G. Robinson

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Review roundup, April 30

2013 title

Apologies for the lapse in posting. New computers at the office and at home and necessitated some down time. So where were we? The very kind Tom Hoffarth concludes his 30/30 series with my 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. His previous week included: ==Day 29: The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: […]

Tagged as: 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, Tom Hoffarth

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Man, these cards are uggggggg-leeeee

"Oddballs"

Some people are nostalgic for the old days. Boomers might think the 1950s and 1960s were the best of times (despite social unrest, Jim Crow laws, fewer rights for women, worse health care, etc.). Their parents might think it was the simple more innocent time of the 30s and 40s. I know I long for […]

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Bookshelf review: ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast

2013 title

There are a few podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, including NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Pop Culture Happy Hour and Pardon the Interruption (when I can’t catch up on the DVR). Recently I’ve added ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, hosted by Buster Olney, to that elite group. To be frank, a lot […]

Tagged as: Baseball Tonight, Buster Olney, ESPN

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Bookshelf review: 42

2013 title

This will be relatively short (and hopefully sweet?), since there’s not much I can add to the dozens of critiques previously offered on the new Jackie Robinson biopic. Although I had read just about everything I could find on the film, I still believe I went in with an open mind. I am predisposed to […]

Tagged as: 42

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Lest we forget: Stan Isaacs

2008 title

Ironically, I did forgot to post news about the passing of longtime sportswriter Isaacs when he passed away on April 2. According to the obituary in The New York Times, Isaacs was one of the Chipmunks, a group of young reporters, mainly in New York, who brought irreverence and daring to sports coverage beginning in […]

Tagged as: Stan Isaacs

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Review roundup, April 23

2013 title

At Home Plate posted this review of Tom Dunkel’s Color Blind:  The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line. Upshot: “This book is the story of those men and it’s a great story.  One worthy of being read over and over by fans who truly love the game and understand what we all lost during […]

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42 overview

2013 title

The critics seem to fall into two main camps: movie critics with no special knowledge about baseball, who based their comments solely on the production values and storytelling and those baseball nerds with lots of knowledge about the topic who were mostly interested in the attention to detail, some to a most picayune level. Let’s […]

Tagged as: Jackie Robinson

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501 at Watchung Booksellers

2013 title

Well, that went well. Got the first 501 book event under my belt at, appropriately, my hometown bookstore, Watchung Booksellers. About 20 friends, neighbors, and supporters to listen to me drone on, reading a few passages from the book (I quickly learned what not to do in the future — less reading, more extemporaneousness), and […]

Tagged as: 501 Baseball Books

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Shameless self-promotion: Books about, by Jews among baseball’s ‘must-reads’

2013 title

(Haven’t done one of these in awhile. The following appears in the April 18 issue of the New Jersey Jewish News) This year, at least seven Jewish athletes will ply their trade League rosters (two more are on the disabled list). It might be argued that a much larger contribution to the women who write […]

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Review roundup, April 16

2013 title

Catching up on Tom Hoffarth’s “30/30” feature: Day 12: The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age, by Robert Weintraub Day 13: Smoky Joe Wood: The Biography of a Baseball Legend, by Gerald C. Wood Day 14: Keepers Of The Game: When The Baseball Beat was the […]

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Dickey profiled on 60 Minutes

2013 title

R.A. Dickey was the subject of a profile on last Sunday’s 60 Minutes. I’m curious about the timing; one would have thought it would have come last year, in connection with his book. As has been the case, Dickey is well-spoken.  

Tagged as: R.A. Dickey

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Triviality vs. “life goes on”

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Yesterday I was supposed to be interviewed by WFMB-Am, the ESPN affiliate sports talk radio station in Springfield , Ill. about my book. The call was scheduled at 5:05 p.m., my time. Given the horrific circumstances of the events at the Boston Marathon (haven’t looked at the tabloids yet; are any of them using the […]

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