Author appearances: Shawn Green

2011 title

The ex-major leaguer will be discussing his new book, The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 mph (See all Personal Transformation Books) at a couple of venues in the New York area over the next week or so. On Monday, June 6, Green will be at Book Revue in Huntington, NY at 7 p.m.  Call […]

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Hail to the heroes

2011 title

On this Memorial Day, I just wanted to offer a totally inadequate not of appreciation to all the men and women who sacrificed for this country. In addition to Gary Bedingfield’s thorough Baseball’s Dead of World War II: A Roster of Professional Players Who Died in Service, other books on baseball players and wartime include: […]

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Author profile: Lawrence Baldassaro

2011 title

MLB.com ran this piece about Baldassaro, author of the 2011 release, Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball. Other baseball titles by Baldassaro include  The American Game: Baseball and Ethnicity (Writing Baseball), Ted Williams: Reflections on a Splendid Life, Ted Williams Reader (editor), and Ed Abbaticchio: Italian Baseball Pioneer.

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Author appearances: Robert Lipsyte, Robert Weintraub, and Alan Hirsch

Author appearance

Robert Lipsyte (Accidental Sportswriter, An: A Memoir) , Robert Wientraub, (The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923), and Alan Hirsch, (co-author with Sheldon Hirsch, The Beauty of Short Hops: How Chance and Circumstance Confound the Moneyball Approach to Baseball) will discuss their new books as […]

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Literary birthday greetings: Manny

Biography

Come on, admit it, won’t you miss hearing “Manny being Manny?” The one-time sure-fire Hall of Famer turns 38 today. I wonder if the authors of Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball’s Most Enigmatic Slugger would consider a revised edition? Also born this date, actual Hall of Famer Amos Rusie (1871). Bonus nicknames of […]

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Of course it’s a Mets affiliate

"Oddballs"

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a 3-2-6-1-5-3-4-6-8 double play pulled off by the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats against the Binghamton Mets. You need a scorecard with extra large boxes for that one.

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Literary birthday greetings: The Big Hurt

Biography

Frank Thomas turns 42 today. He’s one of the few sluggers of the recent vintage who have not been (overly) tainted with the steroids suspicion brush. He was a two-time MVP and five-time All-Star in his 19-year in which he averaged 36 homers and 119 RBI per season. There have been several books written about […]

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Lest we forget: Dana Brand (updated)

Lest We Forget

Had the Mets game on in the background yesterday and heard the sad news that Dana had passed away suddenly. Update: Here’s the obituary from yesterday’s NY Times. I knew Dana on very casually through his written work, including Mets Fan and The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a […]

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Buster Posey: Occupational hazard

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

San Francisco Giants’ star catcher Buster Posey was severely injured on a collision at the plate with Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins on Wednesday. By all accounts it was clean play, the kind that’s been a part of the game since its inception. The runner’s job is to try to score at all costs […]

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Well, that was interesting: “Pitching” for WNET

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Had an unusual and fun experience on Tuesday. WNET/Channel 13 will broadcast the documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story on Monday, June 6, at 8 p.m. According to the program description on the website, “Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax and more greats are featured in this look at Jewish Americans and baseball.” Didn’t know […]

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A different set of dirty Sox

Uncategorized

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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One down, one to go

History

With the Red Sox having broken their long, long streak without a World Championship, the Cubs are still standing at the wall, waiting to get into the dance. Chicago Heights Patch, one of the new trend of  hyper-local sites, published this story about an appearance by Charles Billington, author of the 2005 book Wrigley Field’s […]

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Q&A with Robert Wientraub

2011 title

The Business Insider conducted this Q&A with Robert Weintraub, author of the 2011 release, The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923. Not surprisingly, the emphasis is on the business of baseball in the roaring 20s. You can read an excerpt from the book here. Don’t […]

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Maybe these guys should concentrate on playing

"Oddballs"

Or, “The Cursed Pen.” What is it with the current batch of players who desire to be writers? First it was Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey who announced in spring training that he was going to pen a memoir. So he’s currently 2-5 with a 4.50 ERA and just came out of his start against the […]

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Allergy alert: Gold’s product injurious to Mets?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

The product in question is the collectible bobblehead doll that serves as an occasional giveaway at games. At least that’s the sense you get when you see this piece by Ken Belson in today’s Times. The Mets plan to offer an Ike Davis model for the July 19 game. He’s already on the disabled list. […]

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Literary birthday greetings: Lipman Pike

2011 title

The first Jewish major Leaguer was born this date in 1845. A few months back I did an interview with Richard Michelson, author of a new children’s book about Pike. You can hear it here.

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Belated musical birthday greetings: Bob Dylan (updated)

"Oddballs"

The American troubadour turned 70 yesterday. So what does Dylan have to do with baseball? (Is that a rhetorical question? Obviously, or I wouldn’t have asked it.) In 2006, Dylan featured baseball music and poetry in his “Theme Time Radio Hour” on XM Satellite Radio. The one-hour program, available on CD, consisted of several of […]

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Baseball Prospectus announces free public access to archives

Annoucements

Good news for researchers: Baseball Prospectus will make all materials older than one year available to the public. For free! “It’s our way of saying thank you to the Internet for making our work possible over the years,” said Dave Pease, a partner at Baseball Prospectus in a statement. Very cool. One of the departments […]

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Bits and Pieces

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

As I try to play some catch-up: From the Atlantic: “Why the Royals are a Better Baseball Team Than the Yankees.” Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci gives us more Wilpon analysis. Marc Tracey published this review of Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game by Dan Barry. Upshot: “More than an Easter play, […]

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Enter Captain Queeg?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

When did Fred Wilpon become George Steinbrenner? Perhaps the pressure of the season — with all the Madoff business, the rumors about being forced to sell the team, etc. — have finally gotten to the Mets owner. at least that’s what some might say given this story in The New Yorker. I have not read […]

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